With it been the final year of my degree I’ve been looking at various job descriptions in the industry (Mainly Environment Artists and Level Designers) and what they entail so I can work towards improving certain skills that are required and what companies look for and demand in their employees.
Here are some notes from the ones I looked at:
Environment Artist..
- Collaborate with level designers.
- Strong communication skills.
- Strong understanding of light, value, composition, colour, staging and detail in environment design.
- Good sense of scale and spatial awareness.
Multiplayer Environment Artist..
- Troubleshoot environments to ensure they stay within frame rate, memory and schedule.
- Understanding of how the environment effects gameplay.
Mission Designer (Level Designer)..
- Strong problem solving ability.
- Team player.
- Ability to communicate ideas for 3D spaces in 2D
Level Designer..
- Collaborate with other designers.
- self-manage to meet deadlines.
- Be proactive in solving problems.
- Familiarity with shooters.
Environment Artist..
- Model and texture realistic, modular, hard-surface and organic pieces.
- Experience creating photorealistic pieces.
- Zbrush experience.
- Work from photo reference.
Environment Model and Layout Artist..
- Create models and assemble scenes.
- Maintain levels to stay in frame rate, memory and design spec.
- Deadline oriented.
Game Designer (Single Player)..
- Responsible for designing and producing engaging and fun third-person action gameplay and levels.
- Work directly with artists.
- Responsible for level layout by creating simplified level geometry.
3D Artist..
- Shader and animation setup.
- Optimization according to performance guides.
- 3D modelling.
Level Artist..
- Ability to think in 3D.
- Excellent sense of scale and level of finish.
- Team player
Most of the stuff I expected came up, like specifically for Environment Artists is skills in 3DS max, Maya and Zbrush as well as good communication skills and traditional art. And for Level Designers is skills in using game engines, strong problem solving skills and good communication skills. I need to improve all my skills but my traditional art skills are lacking and need to be improved so I can communicate ideas easily and effectively.