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By Posted in Applying No Comments
To land a job in game art, you'll need a strong and compelling art portfolio.

If you’re applying for jobs as a game artist, there’s nothing more important than building a strong game art portfolio to showcase your talent and creativity. When you apply for jobs, your portfolio is your calling card — it’s your first and best chance to make a great first impression.

But building a strong game art portfolio isn’t easy. It can be a daunting task, especially if you’re just starting out. That’s why we’ve assembled the best advice from professional artists and art directors in the game industry. Their advice will help you navigate the process, and create a portfolio that sets you apart from your competition.

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By Posted in Careers No Comments

A growing number of avid gamers are showcasing their creativity by making fan art and fanfiction to support their favorite game franchises and characters.

Have a scroll through Twitter and Instagram, and you’ll see hundreds of drawings and comic strips from the Among Us community, while fanfic platforms are filled with lots of Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon-inspired novels and short stories.

But while some of the best fanfic authors and fan artists get a lot of love and support from their peers online, they often don’t get the commercial recognition they deserve. Can you really turn fan art or fanfic into a career?

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By Posted in Culture 6 Comments

[Graphic] Periodic Table of Video Games, by Jason W. Bay, GameIndustryCareerGuide.com
You need this on your wall right now! (Click to see it big)
BUY NOW
Have you ever had an awesome idea rattling loudly around inside your head for months, or even years, but for some reason you can’t bring yourself to start? I’ve had this idea for years to make a poster of all the best games ever made. It would be organized like a periodic table of elements, grouped by genre, with each game’s release date instead of atomic weight.

It would be an incredible (and incredibly geeky!) conversation piece. My friends and I could debate about which games made the cut and how they were organized into which genres, and get excited about which games were our favorites from childhood (or, ahem, college). It would spark so many great memories–I couldn’t think of a better way to explain my life-long love of games with the people around me.

Well guess what? This year, I finally started making it… and today, I finally finished it! Gimme a high-five! Read more »

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By Posted in Careers, Schools No Comments

Portrait of Branden Brushett, 3D video game artist
“Do not give up. Working in the game industry is worth the struggle.”

Branden Brushett is a professional 3D artist in the video game industry, with credits on hit games like Minecraft, MetalStorm, and Paradise Bay. But it took more than an art education to break into the game industry. After art school, Branden’s journey had only just begun. Success as a game artist demanded serious effort, countless hours, and literally chasing his dream across the country.

We’re speaking with Branden today to learn why you should (or shouldn’t!) get an art degree, how to choose and apply to art schools, and how you might be able to score a free education and follow a non-standard path into the game industry. Read more »

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By Posted in Portfolio Advice, Tools No Comments

An artist building an online portfolio website
Which online portfolio site is right for you… and your budget?

Every artist needs an online art portfolio. Whether you’re applying to art schools or applying for a job, your artist portfolio site is your key to success.

But what if you don’t know how to build a website from scratch? Fortunately, it’s no longer 1995 — you don’t need to learn code to build a website. Instead, use one of the artist portfolio sites we’ve analyzed in this article. Each one lets you to build an online portfolio using pre-made templates, and then customize the look and layout using simple drag and drop.

But here’s the catch: There are currently seventeen (seventeen!) popular artist portfolio sites to choose from. They’re all pretty good, but they all offer a different mix of features and pricing, so it’s hard to compare them. Which one is the best for you? Read more »

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By Posted in Applying No Comments

Futuristic weapon concept art by Eliott Lilly
When it comes to your online portfolio, you’ll need more than a good aim to hit your target.

Eliott Lilly has been a concept artist in the video game industry for over a decade, and is credited on mega-franchise titles such as DOOM, F.E.A.R, and Black Ops. He currently works as a freelance artist, but he also finds time to mentor thousands of aspiring artists through his books and website.

All that coaching and question-answering has given him unique insight into three portfolio “traps” — fundamental problems that could be sabotaging your job hunt. In this guest post, Eliott discusses how to find and fix the most common art portfolio problems. Read more »

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By Posted in Careers 1 Comment

This is one of more than 30 interviews with professional game developers. For more, visit Which game job is right for you?.

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What’s Eliott Lilly’s secret recipe for getting attention and standing out as a concept artist?

Eliott Lilly is a concept artist working as a freelancer in the video game industry, with credits on heavy-hitting franchises including DOOM, F.E.A.R, and Black Ops. It takes hard work and persistence to achieve success as a concept artist, but it also takes dedicated mentorship (Eliott was personally trained by Donato Giancola) — and that’s why he’s paying it forward by mentoring thousands of aspiring concept artists through his books and his website, BigBadWorldOfConceptArt.com.

We spoke with Eliott to learn how new concept artists can start their careers and stand out from the crowd, and build their own success in the big bad world of concept art. Read more »

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By Posted in Portfolio Advice, Portfolio Examples No Comments

“As I review animators’ portfolios, I often look for animators that can wear multiple hats.” Indeed, if Mathias Takacs is as whimsical as the characters in his 3D animation portfolio, he may be wearing actual hats himself — witch hats, pirate hats, or tall furry gorlatnayas.

But when he’s evaluating job applicants, he’s specifically vetting artists for a diverse skill set and stylistic range. Because artistic breadth, not just technical depth, is required to excel in the competitive world of video game art.Read more »

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By Posted in Portfolio Advice, Portfolio Examples 2 Comments

“Draw every day.” Those three words of advice appear simple on the surface, but they’re the foundation of a long and successful art career for video game concept artist Caleb Parrish.

Parrish has been creating gorgeous interactive game environments for nearly twenty years. He’s worked on art teams for over a dozen video games, including blockbuster franchises like Spiderman, Assassin’s Creed, and Spore. He’s also been a consultant and technical resource for game teams, to maximize fidelity and performance on resource-limited devices like mobile phones and handheld consoles.Read more »

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