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TIPS FOR ASPIRING GAME ARTISTS by DAVE INSCORE
I often visit my alma mater, Maryland Institute College of Art to give talks on life as an artist in the gaming industry. I've also visited other art schools for recruiting and speaking events: Savannah College of Art and Design, Pratt, Art Institute of Washington and School of Visual Arts. During these visits I've been routinely approached for advice on how to break into the industry. There are so many avenues for gaining entry into the game art world that I've gone ahead and written out a few tips to organize and more effectively share those resources. With that said, here's my advice on gaining entry into the industry...
- Pick up a copy of Game Art: Creation, Direction and Careers by Riccard Linde. Comprehensive, informative and well written, it's currently the best resource out there for up and coming game artists. It's also a great tool for current game artists looking to brush up on their tech and terminology. I've been in the industry for over 11 years and refer to it often. Each new art intern at Big Huge is presented with a copy on their first day.
- There's no better way to get your foot in the door than landing an internship. We do a significant amount of recruiting through our intern program. Currently the Big Huge Games' art department has six artists that began their careers as Big Huge interns. Their skills span user interface design, character creation, conceptual design and special FX. I started as an intern with Microprose back in 1995. In 2000 I went on to co-found Big Huge Games with three others. Without question the Microprose internship was a crucial step in my path to greater opportunity. (click here for Big Huge Games' art internship program info.)
- Immerse yourself in the online creative community. There are a myriad of great sites out there showcasing top art talent, sharing tips and tutorials, conducting contests for cash and prizes, and advertising job openings throughout the industry. My favorities... www.gamasutra.com, www.cgtalk.com, www.conceptart.org, www.polycount.com, and www.gamingartist.com. Many of these sites have forums that are frequented by industry professionals sharing insights into their creative worlds.
- Learn a high-end 3D software package... for free! While we use 3D Studio Max at Big Huge there's unfortunately not a free learning version of Max available. The creators of Maya offer a free downloadable version for anyone wanting to play around with it. Once you familiarize yourself with the basic theories and operations of Maya, or any other high-end 3D package, transfering those skills over to another 3D software package becomes merely a matter of adjusting to a new interface.
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