I wholly recommend beginner artists to not shy away from bigger companies and to seize the opportunity to work for one if given the chance. I almost didn’t go for the job I have now, thinking I was too inexperienced and would get drowned out immediately. I always had it in my head that I would be ready for a big studio in maybe tens years time, but then came the unexpected opportunity to start at one immediately. I figured this was a rare chance to hit the ground running, and hit the ground running, I did! If you can keep up with the pace, there is so, so, so much to learn. It will be incredibly overwhelming at first, but you’ll find yourself improving at a remarkable pace. There’s just such a wealth of experience to learn from; I was constantly, and still am, learning something new every day.

There is some room for creative exploration at large companies, but how much is somewhat inherently tied to a person’s role. A 3D prop artist, for example, is usually at the end of an asset’s development – the prop has already been designed, tested, and given artistic direction with concept art. The 3D artist will have to interpret that concept, (never expect a hyper-detailed orthographic), and here is where creativity can shine, but for the most part, the direction of the asset is already decided. A world artist, on the other hand, may have more creative input in fleshing out design block-ins, though they, too, usually work within concept, an established palette, and need to adhere to gameplay design. I guess what I’m getting at is: creative exploration exists to varying degrees, but at the end of the day, a production requires constant collaboration, and isn’t a space for complete independence. A team needs to work as a team.

Approach to 3D Modeling