Welcome to the industry. Specialization?

                   

^ Shamelessly posting a piece of work.

One thing I have learnt in University is that it is better to be mostly specialized in one area of your course, but adaptable to other parts as well. For example it would be better to be very good at environmental design and shave basic skills with characters/UI design than to be mediocre at all subjects on your course. Or at least this is the principle I have been following.

 We often see how companies employ freelancers who specialize in a certain area of games design or animation for a short time rather than employ someone full time who is relatively good at a specific role but are not quite as good as a specialist freelancer. That doesn't mean the jobs aren't there, but to me it means companies would prefer short time contracts with professionals than people who are mediocre at lots of areas. Work is there, building up contacts and accepting smaller jobs until you get enough recognition for a permanent contract - which aren't offered out as often anymore.

http://www.animationarena.com/getting-into-video-game-industry.html

Above: An article I found useful reading.

Industry now expects good skills in understanding shape, form and how assets sit in a real world environment, how light disperses through the skin and how that could be recreated in engine - as an example.
 Time management - in my case a bit of a lack of, and a larger work load is also important to employers. You want someone who works fast and to a good standard, this is what I am working to perfect with hopefully lots of practice over summer with daily paints and modelling. For me the current goal would to become a Games Artist. I enjoy creating the environment and seeing my work placed in engine. This means I need to be fluent in drawing from life, understanding colour and composition, have strong observation skills and imagination - which I certainly have. However I must also be able to work well in a team and alone. There are many skills needed for such a job role, one I believe with more practice, would be perfect to me.

 You may have noticed that my skills in English are not the best. I am not brilliantly coherent and things which make sense in my own head may not make sense to others. This is why I have always been striving to be best at the visual arts. They say a picture is worth a thousand words right? I can only hope this is true, as drawing is all I have really ever wanted to do - if it wasn't then I wouldn't be on my course right now. I feel this blog is a way to get to know me, as well as a chance to research further into the topic of gaming I love so much, so why shouldn't it reflect what I am like too?


  It is important to have an up to date portfolio available and easily accessible to employers, the industry is hard to get into for a reason. You want to show the best work you have done and make it easy enough to navigate so potential employers do not waste time on your website. The industry demands professional people with the imagination needed to create a beautiful game, I only hope to contribute to this myself as an artist.




Links and references:

http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/games