This article was written by Adam Bromell, artist at Threewave Software in Vancouver BC.
In the past, artists aspiring to work in the game industry were generally hobbyists seeking to do what they loved on a full-time basis. These people relied on support from friends and the online community to get the input needed to succeed in their field. modelers, texture artists, and animators would post their work-in-progress (WIP) for others to critique and comment on. Recently, more people are going to schools that offer courses in “videogame design” with hopes of one day making it into the game industry. It is my firm belief that although schooling can teach you the fundamentals, it isn't until you get your work shown in front of others to have it critiqued and compared that you'll fully develop a skill set and acquire the knowledge needed to become a successful professional. In addition, the networking options available to those active in online communities is far greater than anything a school can offer.
Joining a community gives you the chance to post your WIP's and get nearly instant feedback from others in your position or who those who already have professional art careers. CGTalk, CGChat, Polycount, ConceptArt.org and others are all websites that offer message boards for those who are looking for constructive criticism of their work. You'll receive opinions from people with a wide range of experience and knowledge that are willing to offer words of advice to make your work that much better.
Then there’s networking. Online artist communities are full of professional artists who, to this day, still post and remain active. Infact, if it weren't for my favorite artist community, Polycount, I'd have never have made friends with industry professionals, made contact with the people at Threewave Software, or been given the chance to work with them as a full-time artist. However, be tactful. Artists hate nothing more than getting messages from people with the pure intention of knowing someone at a specific company. Networking should be about making friends and meeting people with similar interests. If you are contacting people just for the sake of a business contact the artist will know, and probably not appreciate it.
I recently spoke with Ben Mathis & Andrew Risch to find out what they thought of online communities and what they can do for aspiring artists. Ben is an artist at Neversoft (Gun) with 2.5 years of experience. His employment history includes Mythic Entertainment (Dark Ages of Camelot) and Terminal Reality (BloodRayne 2). Andrew is the founder of Polycount.com which celebrated its 7th anniversary this year.
Q.) What's your opinion on online videogame communities? Should someone seeking to become a videogame artist who is also taking a course on it in school get involved?
Ben: Definitely. I met the people who recommended me at Terminal, at Mythic, and at Neversoft, as well as my contract work through online communities.
Andrew: My opinion on whether someone interested in being a videogame artist, if they are in school or not, is that they should find some value in a community of said activity. Whether they should be involved or not is really a personal choice. I think that its different for different people, but I can say that it seems the more involved one is with the community, the more leanings they have to being successful in general.
Q.) What about developing your skills as an artist? Do you think it offers something you can't get in school?
Ben: You are doing yourself a disservice and you will be at a disadvantage if you don't get involved. By disservice I mean you are robbing yourself of the opportunity to learn and get critiques from professionals and hobbyists of all levels. And you will be at a disadvantage to those people who do get involved. Yes, there is definitively something offered on the boards not offered in school.
No school in the world could afford to employ all the pros we have in the communities that will comment on your stuff.
Andrew: I think it offers direction of a sorts. The schools teach them to be artists... I hope, and we offer a place to apply that skill. A place to measure one's skill against others in a mostly constructive forum.
Q.) What about networking? Is there an advantage to being a member of an online community? Is there a disadvantage?
Ben: Yes, many times if you are a well known member of the community places you apply to will have at least one of two employees who can both recommender you, as well as talk to you about the decision. And in today’s market, what's even more important is to be able to grill them about the working conditions.
Andrew: Well again it depends on the person and how they present themselves. If you can make friends and what not, sure that’s good in a general social direction. And yes its generally known that a lot of jobs are through networking. But in my own experience, "community" people are the far minority.
Q.) Would you like to add anything else?
Ben: Somewhere, someone out there is practicing, and when you meet them, they will beat you. Aim to make yourself that someone, somewhere.
Andrew: Its an old saying but its truer than anything else: You gotta do it because you want to, not because you have to.
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Thanks to both Ben and Andrew for taking the time to answer my questions.
My hopes with this is that game artists will take the time to join a community, get their work posted, and start the process of becoming better artists.
Get active. By getting active in a community you will help it stay strong.
Offer help when people need it. You do not have to be a “pro” to critique the works of others. If you think someone can benefit from a bit of information you know, offer it up.
Take criticism constructively. No one is out there to tell you you're a poor artist. We all want to see each other succeed. That is the beauty of our industry.
-Adam Bromell
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Ben Mathis' website can be seen at http://www.poopinmymouth.com
Andrew Risch's website, Polycount, can be seen at http://www.Polycount.com
Big thanks to both of them for taking the time to answer my questions. I know their words will help a lot of people. Thanks guys!
Biggups to gauss aswell; my proofreading buddy. Yes, biggups.
