[dizzypope]

Hello, I just have a really quick question,
provided the right person replys.

Ok. I am wondering to things.

1. Is it possible for a professional level
photo manipulator (ie. photoshop guru)
to land a job in the gamming or movie
industry doing something like textures or
skins.

2. What applications and to what level
of expertise should I know before I
apply.

Right now I work in the ad industry. I have
completed many ads that have ran in
LIFE, Time, National Geographic and
others. I tell you this because it is my
only way to inform you of the quality level
of the projects that I work on.

I DON'T have a degree in art. I know this
hurt's.

But still, If I learn something like MAYA
what level would I have to be at to get
into the industry. Does knowing
PhotoShop at my level help with the
possibility of getting a position at
an entry level?

O.k. that's it. Thanks for taking
the time to read this.

[black_fish]

I can only answer for the game industry. To my knowledge the answer is NO. We are looking for well rounded artists who can paint and draw. Photos are a nono.
I could be wrong, but this is my answer.

[dizzypope]

what about the applications I would
need to know. I'm on my way to
improving my drawing/painting skills
but I also want to learn the applications
needed for the industry.

[dizzypope]

Oh ya, wouldn't part of the production
team be one who kicks ass at rendering
an creating textures in photoshop.

[dizzypope]

Ah I'm sinking

[black_fish]

You need to know Ohotoshop. That's the tool everybody uses. A lot of company also use Debabelizer for managing palettes and whatnot.

That's about it for 2D really. If you know Photoshop really well you're pretty much covered

[dizzypope]

black_fish, are you saying that all
you need to get into the movie or
game industry is to no photoshop?

I'm not so sure about that, I'm sure
I'd have to know Maya or something.

Are you sure, 'cause I know photoshop
really really really well and I work as
a photo manipulator.

So your saying I can make it in the
gaming or movie industry just on those
strengths?

[gArGOyLe^]

Dizzypope. Can you use photoshop to make pictures from scratch? Like I think the guy on top means...

>> Know anatomy of animals, humans
>> Landscaping
>> Know drawing techniques
>> Shading, Lighting knowhow
>> Skiilz
>> Textures

and other artsy stuff.. I am in no way anything near a game artist or anything like that.. but I would think that those things would be needed.

[mythwarden]

Basic Guideline for Gaming Industry Submission

Website/Demo Reel:

5-10 Life Drawings

4-6 plus Colored Paintings

At least 15-20 Environmental Texture Maps of at least 512*512 resolution.

3 or more character models

Texture Maps for each, 512 resolution plus.

At least one set of animations for a character:

Non-Animator- Run Cycles, Simple Defense, Simple Attacks, Jumping, etc.

Animator- Don't do simple cycles rather do a wide range of complex animations showing that you have a strong grasp on physics.

----------------------------------------

Here's the critical part.

No Tutorial Based Artwork - That means don't do a tutorial in a book/website and use that as your submission.

School Submissions- You have 10% chance that your schoolwork will get you in. You have a 30% chance that something creative you had done in your own time will get you in. Most the work schools have you do for demo's is repeated and repeated and repeated in each demo we see. You need to break away from the rest and stand out. Show persistency and dedication in your own time with your own private work. Learn from the people who are in the position you want to be in. (A degree has little impact in this industry. However, it’s still a good idea to get one.)

Creativity- Make sure your work stands out and is interesting to other people. (I was about to say this was most critical...but "Teamwork" definitely comes first.)

Constructive Criticism- You'll need to dish it out so learn to take it in.

Quality- Only submit your best work. Remember that, you’re only as good as your worst piece. Be sure the quality of your work matches the 5 star games you see out there.

Genre- Make sure you don’t push one genre alone.

Style- Cartoon, Realism, etc

Timing- Place your eye-popping stuff in the beginning and in the end. Make sure you show your contact information at the end too.


Exceptions:

"I don't have 3D Software" "I don't have the money"

Get yourself a game like "Unreal" Unreal comes with an editor that is widely used across the board by gaming companies. Learn the editor and do some cool levels along with some nice textures for it.
Place some of the levels up on a site for people to download and try to get into a Tester or Intro Level Design position from there. Once your a Tester/Designer you can learn some of the tools and try moving up into the position you want to be in from there.

Hope this helps. Good luck! ;-)

-myth

[dizzypope]

mythwarden

Thank you so much for your response.
It is exactly what I was looking for.
I believe I can do was you suggested.
I am so happy, I feel like I can focus
now. Your idea about creating some
gaming levels for Unreal Tournament
is great. Can you imagine going into
an interview, "well I'm self-taught but
........my maps and levels or the most
downloaded on the net"......instantly
showing what an asset you could be to
there company. This is going to be great.
I'm going to learn MAYA as well. I think
that would be a big plus.

Thank every single one of you for your
time and wisdom......

[sunraven0]

www.garagegames.com www.igda.org http://holodeck.st.usm.edu

a few more places with either good gaming forums or info

[jbirn]

Since it sounds as if you got a lot of replies on the gaming side - I'll add a few options to think about on the film & TV side:

Texture painters, digital matte painters, and conceptual artists all are often photoshop experts, but also need to be good painters.

Rotoscopers and assistant compositors often use photoshop to clean up plates and do other tedious work, but those are entry-level jobs you probably aren't aiming for.

The real photo-manipulation experts working on film (and television) projects are the compositors. They aren't using Photoshop, because Photoshop is for still images, they are using high-end compositing programs like Shake from Nothing Real, and they are compositing together filmed plates, 3D imagery, and other effects elements to form completed visual effects shots or animation frames. Compositing is a big department at any studio producing visual effects or computer animated features. Being a photoshop expert is a good start, but you should learn more about manipulating moving footage, or take a class or two in motion graphics and film editing, and try putting together some moving sequences for your demo reel.

The whole film/TV computer graphics and visual effects industry in the US has been going through some difficult times recently, there have been a lot of lay-offs, and I'm not suggesting that a job as a compositor is easy to get, but as cyclic as the industry is, it is also growing over time, and we'll always need lots of good compositors to put together and enhance our footage.

-jeremy

[Steven Stahlberg]

Hey, your first post, welcome Jeremy!



edit: guys, listen to this guy, if anyone knows this stuff it's him.

[ March 29, 2002: Message edited by: Steven Stahlberg ]

[dizzypope]

jbirn

Thank you very much jbirn, I went to your
site. I see your well established in the
industry. Super nice work. I've save your
site in my bookmarks for inspiration
and direction.

Thanks again.

dizzypope

[nova]

pope --

these guys have covered most of what i was going to say, but i think i can give you some encouragement i used to work as a graphic designer, about a year ago and now i'm in the games industry working as a 3d modeller/texture artist, and i do some minor concept design for stuff like the environment props i'm working on. when i was a graphic designer, i worked at a company that made any and all the graphics needed at a golf course, for golf tournaments, etc etc. i also designed, made graphics for and coded websites.. i finished an ad or two as well.

i got into the games industry through my senior project at school [game design], which at the end of the project i interviewed a game designer at valve software with general questions about the games industry. he had also given me input on my project over the year over e-mail. it's funny because i ended up kind of being interviewed by the ceo of the company that walked through the door while i was interviewing marc, and later by a producer when the ceo offered me an internship.

so... i worked all summer half of the day at the graphic design place, half goofing off and absorbing knowledge at the game company. the end of the summer came by and i quit the graphic design company and worked full-time at the game company.

i think i got in because i had done a lot of personal work like drawing concepts, painting digitally and learning stuff by collecting articles on games and going to forums and stuff. i think they were interested by a girl who wanted to get into games.

it was hard at first because all i knew how to do marginally well was draw concepts and color a little, but i learned to model in MAX and create textures and stuff while i helped with drawing characters and some creatures. one thing that i took from graphic design was well, design i had an eye for composition when it came to concepts and environments and stuff. thank God the guys at work had the patience and hope that i could actually do something productive in the future they've kept me so far.

anyway, that's my story.. shows that a graphic designer can get into games

[Frog]

Sorry to go OT, but this place is getting better and better. With Jeremy Birn posting here we've got yet another giant of digital graphics partaking in the community, there simply cannot be a better learning environment on the net. Welcome

[dizzypope]

Nova, your so right. You have inspired
me. I'm coming from the same path
as you where on. I do mainly PhotoShop
manipulation and color correction but
I do a lot of Quark and Illustrator production as well.

P.S. it's funny 'cause I just started using
upper and lowercase letters when I
write on forums but I usually use
all lowercase like you. Just another thing
we share other than our history in graphic
design. Anyway have a good Easter if
you celebrate it. And if not have a happy
weekend.

dizzypope

P.P.S. Yes I am realizing the awesome
level of artists that we share these
boards with.