Overview

A career in game development, art & design is not simply a profession for “computer geeks” with an passion for code. Rather, this is creative, dynamic and exciting field that is always on the cusp of change and innovation. Computer games remain in high demand, and the technology behind it is growing more sophisticated each year. There is a high demand for people like you who are artistically gifted, computer-savvy, and creative.

There are many places to specialize in this profession besides just computer code and graphics. No video game is worth playing, for example, without a good story driving it along. Game development involves people with creative minds who can devise a good interactive storyline and characters to function in it. At that point, the artists go to work and design the characters and the virtual landscapes in which the characters move. If you are creative and technically proficient, and if you’re excited about keeping up with the latest advances in gaming, this could very well be the career choice for you.

A storyboard artist works closely with directors, heads of a story and producers, working from a script to create a sequential visual drawing of that story. These storyboard drawings provide the initial vision and concepts of commercials, movies, video productions (corporate or entertainment), video games and any other place where animation or moving images will be produced.

The storyboards provide the concepts of the production’s storyline, the characters and the tone to be created when produced. Typically, a storyboard artist works collaboratively with the production leads making required revisions until completed. He/she may also be required to pitch storyboards. These sequences can then be edited into a story reel to provide an initial feel of how the production will appear. Read More...

Responsibilities may include:

• Sophisticated shape creation and editing.
• Shape animation (by hand and with trackers).
• Shape compositing, fill modes, opacity settings.
• Correcting work as may be required and/or directed.
• Paint based on layer information and customer requirements as defined by the Stereographer and Shot Producer.
• Paint and edge fill to meet the highest quality standards.
• Perform conversion activities using manual and tool related techniques within each task based on layer information and customer requirements as defined by the Executive Producer and Shot Producer.
• Provide conversion to meet the highest quality standards.

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An effects animator is responsible for creating and rendering two and three dimensional animate organic characters and non-organic objects, such as scenery, text and particle effects. He/she will be completely versed in the main 2D and 3D computer applications in order to create these objects, such as Light wave, Electronic image, Wavefront or other high end 3D applications. Artists typically receive source art from other teammates from which to create and render the effects, and must be willing to take broad conceptual guidance from requesters, and use their expertise and judgment to develop proposed products. Read More...

A compositor creates photorealistic final composites for film, video or digital projects.

He/she is ultimately responsible for the aesthetic integrity and technical quality of the final image delivered to the client. Compositing combines live action and computer generated elements into visual effects shots, bringing the vision of the creative direction to life.

The position requires extensive skills using creative and high-end three dimensional software. A compositor must be able to perform all the creative and technical tasks, such as 2 dimensional tracking, matte extraction, layering of elements, digital matte painting, texture painting or paint, lighting, and color grading. A compositor will work closely with producers and visual effects supervisors, so the ability to work collaboratively is a must. Read More...

An animatic designer creates animates a storyboard to create the next step in a production so concepts can be tested. Anamatics are used for a variety of purposes, such as testing advertisements, previewing scenes of live-action films before they are shot, in the pre-production stages of animation and in the video game industry.

The position requires excellent computer skills in creative and two and three dimensional software applications, such as Photoshop, Illustrator and AfterEffects. An anamatic designer must be capable of carrying a conceptual thought through from the story boards to production using Photoshop or After Effects. Read More...

An electronic gaming production designer is responsible for developing the design documents for new games. These are detailed design documents that contain descriptions of all aspects of an electronic game, such as mission, plot, rules, flow charts, sound, artwork, and special features, for the production teams to create the game software.

The electronic gaming production designer maps out a game, providing information about the characters, worlds, story and other details. He/she may build some of the interactive elements using 3-dimensional modeling software. She/he collaborates with other team members to develop the vision, production and possibly marketing of the game. Read More...

An electronic gaming modeler models, textures and lights three dimensional environments and props necessary for a game’s development. An electronic gaming modeler creates detailed environments/worlds, set-pieces, buildings, vehicles, foliage, props, weapons, characters and more, for video, PC, arcade games and handheld systems.

Experience with stylized environments and lighting are added skills that make the electronic game modeler more desirable. The ability to create hand painted textures is necessary. A strong artistic background is essential.

An electronic gaming modeler can earn a game design degree to make him/her more highly sought after. This degree differs from a design degree in that it deals with game design only, but it is a necessary specialization because of the complexity of creating games. Read More...

An electronic gaming concept artist is often considered the holy grail of art positions. His/her main focus is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in an electronic game before it is put into the product.

This is accomplished using two-dimensional sketches and three-dimensional preliminary models. The position is highly collaborative with graphic designers, programmers, copywriters and the team marketing the game, and takes the lead to present concepts to all departmental levels within an organization. In a team setting, a great concept art can inspire the team and give them a strong goal to progress toward. Read More...

An electronic gaming character designer is a specialized animator, working solely on creating two- and three-dimensional character animations for a wide variety of games. He/she has a thorough understanding of human and non-humanoid anatomy and he can model, texture and animate complex but realistic characters using his/her good sense of volume, lighting and materials.

More than anything a successful character designer knows what makes a great video game and the style of character(s) that best suite that game. He/she has extensive technical training in graphic design and two and three dimensional animation software and can model form, shape, structure and silhouette. Read More...

An electronic gaming animator is responsible for creating two- and three-dimensional animations for a wide variety of games. He/she has an understanding of human and non-humanoid anatomy and has developed a creative eye for modeling form, shape, structure and silhouette.

An electronic gaming animator needs to create animations that look great, flow smoothly, follow established model sheets, and are versatile enough to be customized by users. She/he can model, texture and animate complex but realistic scenes, characters and background items, using his/her good sense of volume, lighting and materials. Read More...