1 on 1 Questions

 1. If you could project out past graduation, what is your overall career goal? 

My end goal would be an indie studio, but in order to get there I’ll work where I can to pay off loans and get experience. I’m open to simulation or theme parks if I cant get into video games right out the gate. As long as my team is reliable and communicates well I don’t care about our # of people. I want to eventually be able to lead and give art direction and help people to learn to create, so I could eventually lead the art creation of an indie game. I'm really passionate about telling stories, which is what drives my ultimate goal: to help tell a story that matters to people. I want to do what it takes to get there and get experience.

While my end goal is art director/lead, before then I hope to specifically be a character artist at an indie studio. I enjoy stylized art the most and more indie studios lean towards than than AAA.

2. If you could project out into starting your career, what sounds the most appealing to you? 

I want to be a character artist, but prop artist also sounds very appealing if I cant land a character artist job. I like doing stylized the most, but I think it’s important I practice my realism as most AAA companies nowadays lean toward realism. I want to do stylized things as well to prove I can match a given style well, which might make me more appealing to indie. My opinion as of now is I don't want to deviate from 3D art, and I think an indie studio would treat me better than AAA. But as pay would be higher at an established AAA studio and I have loans to pay off, I would prefer to start there (unless the indie opportunity of a lifetime presents itself).

A big worry of mine is that most jobs (especially outside of the industry) want 3D artists geared towards props and environment rather than a character artist. I don't want to limit myself to characters even if that is the end goal because I don't want to accidentally box myself in to only a few open jobs because that's all I have in my portfolio. I think learning the ins and outs of Material Designer is a really good idea.

3. What are some of the top companies that you are interested in working for? 

My end goal is to work at an indie studio such as Digital Sun, Supergiant, Sandfall, Hopoo Games, and Sloclap. I also want to work at an AAA studio like EA, Riot, or Capcom.