Getting work at game and animation studios

[Ceece]

He can offer to intern at a studio to gain some experience, one of the small, independent studios that use his kind of talent. Don't jump into the big ones right off the bat because he probably doesn't have much to offer yet. It may not even be animation or video games, there are a lot of other artist jobs out there. If they like his work they may hire him. Be prepared that he may be offered an unpaid internship so you should have some savings to live off of for awhile. Or hold out for a paid internship. That's how you get known, and meet people, and make connections. And he may be doing a fair bit of freelancing/job hopping since things in that industry seem to be project based and not the full time, steady jobs people are used to.

[Arus]

I work in the game industry and most of the advice is spot on, but I'll add and support to what has been offered:

1) Start your own website, or if you can use deviantart.com to self-publish your work. That way, when you are getting your resume and portfolio together, you can use your site or deviantart site to showcase your talent

2) DRAW draw draw and draw. Always draw. Work in various mediums from digital to even contemporary art (painting, sculpture, etc)

3) keep on taking art classes. Figure and life drawing are a must . Never stop taking these types of classes.

4) Most beginning graphic jobs in the game industry are texture designers. Get familiar with Photoshop and Illustrator quickly. 3D models in games need textures and texture artists are always needed to make sure they have thousands of textures to work from.

5) Get familiar with various 3d programs as well (most commonly used is Maya). If you have basic understanding of the programs, then you can help the 3d Modeler/animators with any questions they have about using textures and such in their work.

6) 90% of jobs in the game industry are achieved via people YOU already know in the industry or by headhunters. If possible, attend Gaming conferences like the GDC or E3. NETWORK like crazy. Get business cards whenever possible. Get a profile on Linked In as well, to start off.



First and foremost, get something up, get a portfolio together and start promoting yourself.

[ashley5]

Thanks for all the advice. I've been searching for companies in both cities and found about an equal amount in both - though LA certainly has more tv/film companies as well. I'm not sure how helpful that would be in the concept art industry? I am surprised to hear from a couple of you that LA is a much better market than the Bay, maybe we will focus some extra effort there. We've both decided to narrow down the moving decision to one of these two cities, possibly even pursuing both - I know there are good game companies elsewhere in the U.S., but it's hard to get consideration when you apply out of state so we need to move. It seems a better choice to go someplace where there are 50 opportunities rather than 5.

Arus, thank you for your input. He has a website, business cards, DeviantArt, and is active on conceptart.org. He does nothing but draw, all day every day, and is never without a sketchbook. Unfortunately there are not many opportunities for art classes around here that aren't during the workday, but he got a good foundation in college. He'll be published next month in ImagineFX and is constantly on the lookout for freelance work. We will be re-working his website to gear it more towards his concept art goal (he started out in comics) and he is currently developing new work. Great tips on working as a texture artist though, and I hadn't thought about the conferences. And an internship would be great, but sadly a lot of those look only for students or recent grads. So freelance may be the way to get started.

[Arus]

ImaginefX?? Awesome.. good magazine and a good way to say "I was published". That is always good when prospecting.

Again, you really need to network. That is best way to get into the industry, and once you get to know someone really well, they can give you an "in" that may not be available.

Also, if you can, get a "Artist Table" at some Conventions (example San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic-Con, WonderCon ) as well, because I can tell you that, many producers from games, do look up and down at conventions at the Artist Alley section to see if they can get a new artist to work on their game. We make trips sometimes to conventions just to do that (collect business cards, get samples of artist works).

For a game we did last year, three sequences were done by an artist (on contract) that we found in Artist Alley at San Diego Comic-Con.

[OSHI]

We are in need of hiring multiple senior artists who have animation experience working with "after effects" specifically in the game industry. Many of these positions can work remotely. These are permanent full-time positions. Please contact me if know someone who may fit the criteria. We are also in need of hiring Game Developer Engineers, Game Producer and Level Designers.

Originally Posted by ashley5

I am wondering if anyone here could give me some information on the job market for artists in San Francisco. My boyfriend is an illustrator with a desire to get into concept art or storyboard art for games and animation. (His dream job would be working at Pixar). We've spent the last two years since we graduated hopping around the southeast and currently live in Florida, working at jobs we hate in an area with zero opportunity for him. But we're saving up money and hoping to move to California, either San Francisco or LA, because that's where the majority of jobs in his industry are.

I am a graphic designer with experience in ecommerce and web, and there are several companies I will be applying with (the direct competitors of the online retailer I now work for) - I hope to move out there first, rent a bedroom for a few months, and he will follow.

I just wanted to get an idea, if anybody here has advice on this, of what the job market is like for concept art in San Francisco - how's the competition, how much has the economy affected the game/animation studios, is who you know more important than what you know (something I heard about LA), etc. I am trying to decide which area would be better, SF or LA, since they both have numerous opportunities. I know CA is a bad place to be looking for work right now and is more expensive than I can imagine, but it's where the opportunity is.

Any input on working as an artist in CA (San Francisco or LA!) is greatly appreciated, thanks!