Category:GameIndustry

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Category Game Industry

Links and articles about the game industry: how to get game jobs, how to manage your role, etc.


Industry Insight

Art Disciplines

  • lists the various artist roles in game development:

Education

The basic argument in the Polycount community is between going the self-taught route or going the formal education route. The best path seems to depend on what kind of person you are: self-motivated or team-motivated.

Artists on Polycount generally agree it is rare to find schools that teach current high-quality game art techniques. The web and forums are often the best places to learn these, maybe even |-) . We see it time and again... the students who succeed at entering the work force after graduation are almost exclusively those that work on their own side projects, beyond the course material. Would they have been better served without using a school?

Beware of education scams and debt! Schools can cost a lot of money and some promise easy employment afterwards, but unfortunately the reality is not so forgiving. Student loan debt can also be a crushing burden for many years, especially with the relatively low wages most game artists make. See the blog post Don’t go to art school, the Polycount forum thread Profit Schools - Can we condemn them publicly?, and the Penny Arcade episode "On Game Schools".

There are many Polycount forum threads about game art education, for a great list see Education In The Games Industry: Yes or No?, or you can do a forum search for education.

Portfolios

  • has links to tutorials and advice about creating an artist portfolio for a career in game development.

Resumes

Job Searching

Most game developers get their jobs by word of mouth, this industry puts personal contacts first and foremost. Networking is key; keep in contact with your friends and former co-workers.

Interviews

Art Tests

Game companies often ask their art applicants to complete an art test, to gauge their talent relative to that company's particular needs, and to make sure you can actually do the work (portfolios can be faked or stolen).

Art test threads and links:

Salary Research

Do the research to figure out what a fair offer is for your skill level and geographic area.

Freelancing

When working by yourself it is generally more difficult to keep a steady income, but the flexibility can be very rewarding.

Freelance Rates

These are averages, posted by Polycount members. All numbers are in USD unless stated otherwise.

Freelancer Type US Day Rate US Hourly Overseas Day Rate Overseas Hourly
Individual contractor $300/day * $37.50/hr * $250 - 375/day $31.25 - 47/hr
Low-end art studio $350/day $43.75/hr $140 - 180/day $17.50 - 22.50/hr
Average art studio $500/day $62.50/hr $200/day $25/hr
High-end art studio $800/day ** $100/hr ** $300/day $37.50/hr

<<Anchor(IndividualContractor)>>* Individual contractors in the US range from $275 - 500/day ($34.50 - 62.50/hr).<
> <<Anchor(HighEndArtStudio)>>** These rates are for rare high-end boutique studios.

Time Estimates

From the Polycount forum thread Info: going rate for 1,500 tri model+texture.

Questions for the Client

Get the information you need when you start a project.

  1. Software (i.e. Maya 2012, 3DSMAX 2013)
  2. Polycount (i.e. 1500 tris)
  3. Texture count, sizes, and type (i.e. 3 512x512 textures, head+upper body+lower body, diff+norm+spec)
  4. Sculpt required, or is Crazybump\nDo okay?
  5. Target engine ( UDK, Unity, etc.)
  6. Target screen resolution (in general but especially for mobile)
  7. Player perspective (FPS, third person, top-down iso)
  8. Timeframe (2wks, 4wks, ?)
  9. Concept or reference given?
  10. Sample asset provided? (art style, quality level, tech specs)
  11. Complexity? (complex rig, animatable parts, per-pixel painting, etc. can increase the time needed)
  12. Deliverables? (i.e. finished .MA file with texture flats in TGA format, plus layered PSDs)

Don't forget to use a contract!

Freelancer Advice

Advice on art tests:

Advice on payment:

Negotiation

Salary negotiation is an essential skill that will be put to the test after a successful interview.

Employee Rights

Pages in This Category

Pages in category "GameIndustry"

The following 6 pages are in this category, out of 6 total.

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