What should i be doing?

[Aaronindhouse]

Hi guys. I'll start out by saying that i absolutely love game art. Ive loved it ever since i got my first game console(n64). I'm a very determined person, and by 6th grade i was already working at learning how to make games. I started out with programming which left a bad taste in my mouth to say the least. Then i moved on to making my own 2d sprites. It was fun, but it just wasn't enough. I actually stumbled upon 3d stuff when i bought this doom3 making of mag. That's when i started to research into 3d. Here i am now in 12th grade and about to graduate.

Right now I'm not so sure about what i should do with all of this economic uncertainty. I'm set up to go to U of H as a buisiness major. I was thinking about double majoring in art but I'm not sure its worth the extra expense. Am i better off working up a portfolio/reel while making my way through college and keeping myself artistically keen instead of taking art?

Also, if things get worse economically would you be able to maintain yourself on the salary of a game artist? i only ask this because i stumbled upon some articles saying that the newbies make just about 40,000 a year and that a senior artist makes only about 20,000 more. How true is that?

Thank you for any responses. Its really difficult to find answers to these kinds of things since this is really a niche profession. My parents are pretty much clueless about all of this.

[zeke3d]

I would say, if you do not want to make game art for a living then do not get into this as a career. if you do then do so. as for the money part, there are doctors who drive cabs and high school dropouts who fly in private jets. In life there are no sure things, other than death and taxes.

[seven]

You're not going to be rich if you want to be an artist. The most you can ask for is to be comfortable.

[spetch]

Seven has pretty much nailed it.
Your pay scale is on par as well. It varies based on the company and the location. Professionals in California have a higher cost of living so they get paid more. It all averages out though. If you have more experience you may get paid more. If you are looking to make good money once you've graduated college it's usually not going to happen. Unless you have a great demo/art samples and can produce top quality art. You really have to dedicate yourself to this profession because the industry changes so fast and there is a great deal of competition.

I can tell you one thing based on my experience. Working in the game industry is the best job I've ever had. The people are great and you have alot of fun while you work. I can't imagine being anywhere else right now.

[seven]

I can tell you one thing based on my experience. Working in the game industry is the best job I've ever had. The people are great and you have alot of fun while you work. I can't imagine being anywhere else right now.

:thumb: that makes two of us. Most people I talk to (my coworkers included) feel it's an awesome environment to be in. The hours are long, you'll work harder than most people have but in the end there isn't much that beats it.

[Aaronindhouse]

i couldn't imagine doing anything else but game art. i really wanted to ask just in case circumstances might force me out of the job. Do y'all have any advice about college? any classes worth taking that might help me out creatively? architecture or design or something?

[Twindragon]

I taught at a tech school here where I live and the one thing Ive noticed is there are a lot of young students who want to get in the game industry who don't necessarily have any artistic talent and only want to be in the industry because they love playing games. I think if you have some artistic talent you should do fine but if you can only draw stick men then its going to be a tough road.

Some of the students also come to school and don't even know what a polygon is...my advice is to learn on your own at first then if you like what you are doing then maybe go to a school.

Heck I still don't have a job in the industry yet but it will happen eventually I suppose.

[Sicarius]

Being a student myself, I feel that it would have been helpful to dabble with the stuff more before going to school so that would be my biggest recommendation. As for classes, I suggest really stressing color theory type classes, the basics can go a really long way.

I can't really speak from a professional standpoint, but I have been hearing about a few studios making layoffs and such, but I would say that if your work is good enough (whatever that implies) your employment status wont be affected. The game industry is still growing despite all of this mess.