IndieGamesCon '02 - Indie Artists
by Joe Maruschak · in General Discussion · 10/10/2002 (8:49 am) · 8 replies
I am going to be heading a roundtable discussion on 'Making it as an Indie Game Artist" at the IndieCon. I want to make sure that we cover the topics that are most important to the community.
If anyone has any comments, questions, or ideas of what you would like to cover in this session, please post them in this thread and I will figure out a way to make sure they get addressed.
Thanks,
Joe
If anyone has any comments, questions, or ideas of what you would like to cover in this session, please post them in this thread and I will figure out a way to make sure they get addressed.
Thanks,
Joe
About the author
#2
1. Concept art.
2. Low poly modeling.
3. Texturing.
4. Animation.
5. 3D applications. Programs available to developers; benefits and shorfalls of each.
6. Do's and don't's of the industry.
7. Difference between Indie and Corporate art development. Benefits and downfalls of each.
8. How to sell yourself (portfolio, etc).
9. Pricing your work.
10. Protecting yourself legally.
11. Getting work.
12. Working with a team. Defining the artist's role.
That's about all I could think of for upstarts. Looking forward to meeting you, Joe. :)
*Pascal beat me. :)
10/10/2002 (9:18 am)
Very Cool. I guess tips in these areas would be a good start.1. Concept art.
2. Low poly modeling.
3. Texturing.
4. Animation.
5. 3D applications. Programs available to developers; benefits and shorfalls of each.
6. Do's and don't's of the industry.
7. Difference between Indie and Corporate art development. Benefits and downfalls of each.
8. How to sell yourself (portfolio, etc).
9. Pricing your work.
10. Protecting yourself legally.
11. Getting work.
12. Working with a team. Defining the artist's role.
That's about all I could think of for upstarts. Looking forward to meeting you, Joe. :)
*Pascal beat me. :)
#3
Don't forget education, where to start, what school to go to, what classes to follow, what books to read.
10/10/2002 (9:25 am)
Sorry Tyler =O)Don't forget education, where to start, what school to go to, what classes to follow, what books to read.
#4
10/10/2002 (9:47 am)
"How to become a game-making chick magnet"
#5
Possible subtopics off the cuff:
- Pros/cons of attending school?
- Training resources other than RTFM.
- How to learn 3D?
- How to figure out what to learn?
- Supplemental training not specific to computer art.
10/10/2002 (10:44 am)
Education is a very important thing to discuss. Now I feel like I have something to contribute. :)Possible subtopics off the cuff:
- Pros/cons of attending school?
- Training resources other than RTFM.
- How to learn 3D?
- How to figure out what to learn?
- Supplemental training not specific to computer art.
#6
Could touch on setting realistic goals as an indie artist. Things like how to judge the quality of your work realistically, hitting polycount budgets, effective ways of using billboards instead of actual models, etc.
You fall asleep. Or get really rich....
Alc
10/10/2002 (2:06 pm)
There's a related ongoing thread over at polycount that addresses a lot of the issues here and also touches on some others (here).Could touch on setting realistic goals as an indie artist. Things like how to judge the quality of your work realistically, hitting polycount budgets, effective ways of using billboards instead of actual models, etc.
Quote:"How to become a game-making chick magnet"
You fall asleep. Or get really rich....
Alc
#7
I am going to be writing up my notes and planning how I am going to run this session this upcoming Monday. If you have any thing that you would like me to make sure gets addressed, please post it here and I will try to make sure it gets talked about...
10/19/2002 (8:08 am)
Any more comments on this? I am going to be writing up my notes and planning how I am going to run this session this upcoming Monday. If you have any thing that you would like me to make sure gets addressed, please post it here and I will try to make sure it gets talked about...
#8
I think it would be helpful to talk about the challenges specific to doing projects with team members in far-flung locations. Most game development is done by full-time teams of on-site employees. One reason for this is that making art for games can be so technologically challenging that you need to be in the same building as the programmer who made the plug-ins/tools/etc that you're using just to figure out how to get your art in the game (luckily GarageGames is going a long way towards addressing this problem). Another reason is that it's assumed that the only way to keep people "on the same page" is to have them inhabiting the same space, under the watchful eye of a lead. Still another, and perhaps the most important reason, is that it's simpler and cleaner from a legal standpoint to have artists whose every model, doodle, and thought is, according to the work-for-hire employment agreement, considered company property.
Then there's the matter of decision making and re-doing work. Who decides? What determines when art is considered finished? These issues get much stickier outside of a full-time on-site situation. Good freelance illustrators in traditional media are aware of these issues and usually address them up front in air-tight signed agreements. Agreements that incidentally also address the issues of ownership and copyright I touched on above.
I've worked in professional situations where off-site people contributed art, and I've seen first hand how messed up it can get. But I think it can work, just as long as you take the right precautions.
10/30/2002 (9:15 am)
So it looks like I'm just a bit late replying on this, but hopefully you can take this into consideration. I think it would be helpful to talk about the challenges specific to doing projects with team members in far-flung locations. Most game development is done by full-time teams of on-site employees. One reason for this is that making art for games can be so technologically challenging that you need to be in the same building as the programmer who made the plug-ins/tools/etc that you're using just to figure out how to get your art in the game (luckily GarageGames is going a long way towards addressing this problem). Another reason is that it's assumed that the only way to keep people "on the same page" is to have them inhabiting the same space, under the watchful eye of a lead. Still another, and perhaps the most important reason, is that it's simpler and cleaner from a legal standpoint to have artists whose every model, doodle, and thought is, according to the work-for-hire employment agreement, considered company property.
Then there's the matter of decision making and re-doing work. Who decides? What determines when art is considered finished? These issues get much stickier outside of a full-time on-site situation. Good freelance illustrators in traditional media are aware of these issues and usually address them up front in air-tight signed agreements. Agreements that incidentally also address the issues of ownership and copyright I touched on above.
I've worked in professional situations where off-site people contributed art, and I've seen first hand how messed up it can get. But I think it can work, just as long as you take the right precautions.
Torque Owner Pascal Bos
- Tools, what tools do you need especially regarding modeling there are quite a few programs out there. What is the best choice???
Let me think of some more...