So You Want To Be a Video Game Artist

In a market that’s oversaturated with incredibly talented artists and writers, up-and-comers and semi-professionals alike face the outrageously difficult task of gaining recognition in their chosen field. One dilemma out of many is that many young artists are forced to compete against traditional animators that didn’t get out of the mass layoffs and salary cuts plaguing Disney in the year 2001, the eventual closure of the animation giant’s 2D studios creating a flood of overqualified professionals entering into jobs that would normally be more accommodating towards talented students and other entry level applicants.

While this is hardly a bad thing– one would have a hard time arguing against widely-distributed mediums getting a boost in artistic quality– it leaves a lot of people scratching their heads, wondering how the hell they could possibly make it in the professional world, especially when it comes to video games. You know how they say the right answer is often the simplest? Well, here’s a simple answer to the headscratching:learn how to become a professional.


Art in its many varied forms has, and always will be, a staple of every human culture that has ever walked the Earth. Over time, nearly everyone has debated what constitutes art that’s worthy of display, of reflection; why a single image may evoke a great deal of emotions in one person while it leaves another cold and uninterested. This works rather well for art contained within the many varied galleries scattered across the globe, but that kind of ambiguity will rarely get you honorable mention in mediums that rely heavily on– you got it– technical expertise.

The consumer market may be easy to fool with rudimentary attempts at fan art from your favorite game or anime, but knowing you have the talent and expanding that talent are two extremely different things. Unfortunately, thanks to social networking sites like deviantArt and its numerous clones, many are under the delusion that the groping their ego receives in the form of comments or favorites make them impervious to conventional criticism. So here’s rule number one, in case you missed it:

You are never above criticism no matter how good you think you are.

The only way an artist will be anywhere near capable of making ends meet in a market that’s incredibly competitive is by standing out, both in their list of skills and in the body of work they present in their portfolios. Fresh ideas are just as paramount to getting that dream job you’re drooling over, but having a solid understanding of drawing fundamentals– perspective, life drawing (prudes are advised to get over naked people) and proper use of negative space– is going to be one of your most treasured assets.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak to a representative from Raven Software’s creative team over lunch, and later received a tour of their headquarters (which I, unfortunately, can’t tell you about, other than to say: holy crap that was cool). My tour guide had been a technical artist for Electronic Arts in the past, citing the impressive wealth of knowledge that landed him those jobs in the first place. He stated in no uncertain terms that one of the ways an applicant can really stand out is by showing proficiency in manipulating game engines, saying that being able to produce mods for various games using the Unreal Engine would be an immediate edge over other prospective employees. Similarly, a solid understanding of 3D software such as Maya– including how to create detailed textures for the models you create– is included in the mix, even if your entire job revolves around sketching concepts with pen and paper. In short: wherever your strengths may lie, being able to showcase versatility in many different aspects of game design is much more likely to land you a job in the industry.

Sounds difficult, doesn’t it? As if learning all the basics of drawing wasn’t hard enough, right? Well, it is difficult; no matter how much encouragement you might receive from your peers and loved ones, nothing will erase that fact… but if you’re anything like me, you look forward to the learning process as much as you look forward to landing that dream job.