During this project, I've been able to research different individuals, roles and companies, which has given me a broader scope of where I want to fit into the Industry in the future. It's given me more of an opportunity to consider where I might find myself in the next few years.
I've decided that Freelancing would be the most likely outcome in a few years time, as my skillset can easily be transferred to different Creative Industries. For example, Concept Artist has variants in the VFX and Animation Industries, which means that as a Freelancer I'd have a larger field of practice.
Concept Artist isn't the only role I'm interested in, and I'm interested in other creative roles as well. I already considered the similarities and differences between a Games Writer and Screenwriter in previous posts and my essay, but with my interest in both art and story telling, I could easily turn my hand to being a Storyboard Artist in a VFX or Animation company. Not to mention that pre-vis art is something that is becoming common now, and with my experience with 3D Modelling, it is something I could do.
The other roles I'm interested in are a part of the Design Department in the Games Industry, which is a perfect blend between creativity and logic. A stretch goal of mine would be to become Lead Game Designer for a project, which would mean I would oversee all the roles in the department. This would include having input on all the work that is completed, such as the Game's script, the gameplay and mechanics and the level design. I also wouldn't mind having a go as a Level Designer, but this is something that I'd rather do after learning a few more skills.
One skill I hope to learn is programming, which would open me to new possibilities. For example, if I was an artist that could 3D model and code, I could be hired by an Indie company to fill out those three roles. I might even take an artistic route and become an illustrator or create comics, which is something I've always considered doing.
To gain any kind of role, I'd need to get my name and work out there. To do this, I could use things like social media to promote my work. Logically, ArtStation and LinkedIn are good starting points, as they foster good communities and can gain me a lot of friends in the industry. I could go and ask for advice from Jordan Grimmer, one of the concept artists I researched, as well as other artists like Jorge Jacinto and Hethe Srodawa. I could even ask for feedback on my own work to help me hone my skills.
From there, I could start promoting, maybe as a freelance artist taking commissions. This would be a good way to help me gain more confidence, as that's currently what's holding me back the most. During this time, I could also create a website or a blog to showcase my work and further my reach into industry. This would help bolster my reputation and give me a lot of experience of being a freelancer.
Once I feel as though I've accumulated a good amount of experience and a great portfolio, I'd start putting my name out there to work on games projects. To start off, I'll look to work with indie companies, which would give me experience working in a company with deadlines and teamwork. From there, I could work my way up to getting some sort of permanent position.
If I wasn't going to go down an exclusively artistic route, I could also showcase some of my other work (scripts, writing, game designs and concepts), which in turn I could use to promote myself for roles in indie companies. As a stretch, and assuming I learn how to programme to a moderate level, I could become an indie developer myself.
But, for the moment, education is where I am, which will grant me the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills required. Skills don't have to be learned in education, and can be instead learned within a company or whilst freelancing. For example, in a company, teamwork would be far easier to integrate than it sometimes is in education. And on my current course with under ten students, it's made harder to incorporate team exercises. In a company, learning the communicate and work with others is far easier.
In a workplace environment, with everyone relying on each other, the relationship between everyone is different. Someone may be giving you work that you must then add to and send to someone else. In college, students don't usually rely on each other for work to be completed, and instead only have to worry about themselves. In college, since there haven't been any group projects yet this year, none of us have had to experience a pipeline in which we must complete work with. However, in both the professional practice and education, responsibility and time-management can be learned.
Learning in education and professional practice is different as well. In education, there is a curriculum that's followed, but in professional practice, anything that's learned is usually self-driven. Whilst new skills can be learned during a job, work still has to be completed that may differ from what is being studied. In education, what is being studied relates directly to the work that is due in.
As someone that is currently in education, I'm determined to learn all I can before the course ends in the Summer of 2022. With that, I should have a much better chance of being employed in the future. I could also enrol in online art and programming classes if I felt as though I wanted some extra schooling.
Overall, I have enjoyed this project a lot. It gave me a lot of areas to study and also helped me out with other units as well. Looking back, there are things I would do differently if I was given the chance. For example, I definitely would've gone into virtual production in my essay, which is a modern VFX practice, and I would've mentioned more old FX techniques that have survived and are still in use, like set-building. Despite this, I still think I did a great job fulfilling the brief.
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