Progression opportunities within art and design
I am pursuing my passion for art and creative design but the next step will require some consideration. First, more education- I could study further and achieve a better qualification, further improving my skills and C.V.. Secondly, employment- I could contact different games, art and design studios seeking work. This could be direct employment or freelance as a self-employed worker.
Looking at further education routes after my course, I looked through the following sites:
http://www.sae.edu/gbr/babsc-hons-game-art-and-animation
SAE Liverpool offers an interesting course with a focus on creating an animation portfolio. The small class size is also appealing with personal tutoring.
http://www.sthelens.ac.uk/courses/game-art
St. Helens College (and University Centre) is a little further away but offers a range of skills for game art, animation and design. The associated University Centre would make further educational progression smoother, should i choose.
http://liv-coll.ac.uk/
The City of Liverpool College has been a great learning environment with talented, experienced staff and a varied educational experience. My course has been enlightening, helping me focus my skills and present them in a more professional way. The course of most interest to me is the Level 3 extended diploma in game character art and is largely focussed on creating 2D and 3D game art. The aspect that appeals most is the prospect of working with my peers to place my own character designs in a working 3D environment.
Looking at work opportunities in the area, I investigated the following Game/Art studios:
http://firesprite.com/
Firesprite is a games studio with a relaxed atmosphere and talented team and have created ‘Run, Sackboy! Run!’ and collaborated on ‘The Playroom’ for PS4.
http://www.lucidgames.co.uk/
Lucid Games is a well established and prestigious studio with a many productions for a range of platforms, including the ‘Goat Simulator’ range and ‘GTA: Liberty City Stories’.
http://www.fabrikgames.com/
Fabrik Games are relatively new publisher with a passion for developing and publishing games with a ‘uniquely British flavour’. They are based in Manchester in ‘The Sharp Project’ centre with a range of digital creative media companies and would provide plenty of opportunity to network with others in the industry.
I have found a variety of choices available in both education and employment. There are many games development studios based in the Liverpool/Merseyside area and many are working on very interesting projects that I could see my skillset being well-suited to. As much as I would love to work with one or more of these companies, or those further afield, I think that I might benefit from improving my talents further, creating more professional- looking work and adding to the qualifications on my curriculum vitae. After weighing my options, I have decided that continuing at the City of Liverpool College and studying the advanced diploma would be the best for pursuing my career in Game art and design.
I am pursuing my passion for art and creative design but the next step will require some consideration. First, more education- I could study further and achieve a better qualification, further improving my skills and C.V.. Secondly, employment- I could contact different games, art and design studios seeking work. This could be direct employment or freelance as a self-employed worker.
Looking at further education routes after my course, I looked through the following sites:
http://www.sae.edu/gbr/babsc-hons-game-art-and-animation
SAE Liverpool offers an interesting course with a focus on creating an animation portfolio. The small class size is also appealing with personal tutoring.
http://www.sthelens.ac.uk/courses/game-art
St. Helens College (and University Centre) is a little further away but offers a range of skills for game art, animation and design. The associated University Centre would make further educational progression smoother, should i choose.
http://liv-coll.ac.uk/
The City of Liverpool College has been a great learning environment with talented, experienced staff and a varied educational experience. My course has been enlightening, helping me focus my skills and present them in a more professional way. The course of most interest to me is the Level 3 extended diploma in game character art and is largely focussed on creating 2D and 3D game art. The aspect that appeals most is the prospect of working with my peers to place my own character designs in a working 3D environment.
Looking at work opportunities in the area, I investigated the following Game/Art studios:
http://firesprite.com/
Firesprite is a games studio with a relaxed atmosphere and talented team and have created ‘Run, Sackboy! Run!’ and collaborated on ‘The Playroom’ for PS4.
http://www.lucidgames.co.uk/
Lucid Games is a well established and prestigious studio with a many productions for a range of platforms, including the ‘Goat Simulator’ range and ‘GTA: Liberty City Stories’.
http://www.fabrikgames.com/
Fabrik Games are relatively new publisher with a passion for developing and publishing games with a ‘uniquely British flavour’. They are based in Manchester in ‘The Sharp Project’ centre with a range of digital creative media companies and would provide plenty of opportunity to network with others in the industry.
I have found a variety of choices available in both education and employment. There are many games development studios based in the Liverpool/Merseyside area and many are working on very interesting projects that I could see my skillset being well-suited to. As much as I would love to work with one or more of these companies, or those further afield, I think that I might benefit from improving my talents further, creating more professional- looking work and adding to the qualifications on my curriculum vitae. After weighing my options, I have decided that continuing at the City of Liverpool College and studying the advanced diploma would be the best for pursuing my career in Game art and design.
Communication Skills
As in most industries, communication is a vital aspect of any student or employee’s skillset. I have a good grasp of English language- formal, creative or otherwise- and a varied vocabulary, but there is a lot more to effective communication than this. Of course, my A*/A grade in English won’t hurt but the subject must be engaging, the information easily understood and the target audience suitably moved. Listening/reading is an equally crucial aspect of communication and often overlooked. Maintaining focus and absorbing the information given, even responding to confirm your understanding of the subject can be critical to good communication, with feedback being one of the best ways to learn. Modern communication includes more than just talking but these mediums can often fall short by not providing the visual and vocal clues to a person’s intent and mood, leading to misunderstandings and confusion. Thus, a wide range of skills and techniques are important for communication and I have been learning more about each in this course.
Working with fellow game art students has enforced the importance of communication to me, helping me to cooperate with them, learn from them and in turn, understand them, help them and earn their respect. With group discussions rose the need to share ideas and critique each other’s work respectfully and practically. This is a vital skill for the workplace where team projects fail or succeed on the communication within the group and collaboration requires this sort of group critiquing. Building the confidence to show my own work and receive constructive criticism has become easier with this practice and I also feel more confident to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of my own work and others without upset on either side. I have learned the value of keeping regular contact with a team through the use of social media, email and other means- strengthening the team bond and helping each member stay up-to-date with developments.
Communicating design ideas via digital and traditional media is a skill that I have developed considerably during the time of my education here. I have learned about showing the idea generation process, creating ‘mind maps’ and moodboards to help illustrate the ideas and themes raised during research and design. I have learned the value of annotation, explaining the work processes involved and considering how to improve or develop my ideas. I have also gained an appreciation for the value of a good brief, providing a clear and concise guide to what is expected, how it should be delivered. Project analysis has shown me the value of evaluating my own work as others might, considering how it would be received and how I might improve and how I can progress further. With these techniques, it has been easier for viewers to understand the processes I go through and make helpful suggestions, such as how to achieve a result that I was aiming for where I have had less success or provide information and inspiration. It has made me consider how such information during the design process represents exactly what an employer (or client) might want to know during the project, allowing them to give feedback and steer a project in a way that better suits their requirements or evaluate progress.
In conclusion, I have developed many skills relating to the games industry and learned about communication in art and design and hope to use them to share ideas and progress further in the future.
As in most industries, communication is a vital aspect of any student or employee’s skillset. I have a good grasp of English language- formal, creative or otherwise- and a varied vocabulary, but there is a lot more to effective communication than this. Of course, my A*/A grade in English won’t hurt but the subject must be engaging, the information easily understood and the target audience suitably moved. Listening/reading is an equally crucial aspect of communication and often overlooked. Maintaining focus and absorbing the information given, even responding to confirm your understanding of the subject can be critical to good communication, with feedback being one of the best ways to learn. Modern communication includes more than just talking but these mediums can often fall short by not providing the visual and vocal clues to a person’s intent and mood, leading to misunderstandings and confusion. Thus, a wide range of skills and techniques are important for communication and I have been learning more about each in this course.
Working with fellow game art students has enforced the importance of communication to me, helping me to cooperate with them, learn from them and in turn, understand them, help them and earn their respect. With group discussions rose the need to share ideas and critique each other’s work respectfully and practically. This is a vital skill for the workplace where team projects fail or succeed on the communication within the group and collaboration requires this sort of group critiquing. Building the confidence to show my own work and receive constructive criticism has become easier with this practice and I also feel more confident to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of my own work and others without upset on either side. I have learned the value of keeping regular contact with a team through the use of social media, email and other means- strengthening the team bond and helping each member stay up-to-date with developments.
Communicating design ideas via digital and traditional media is a skill that I have developed considerably during the time of my education here. I have learned about showing the idea generation process, creating ‘mind maps’ and moodboards to help illustrate the ideas and themes raised during research and design. I have learned the value of annotation, explaining the work processes involved and considering how to improve or develop my ideas. I have also gained an appreciation for the value of a good brief, providing a clear and concise guide to what is expected, how it should be delivered. Project analysis has shown me the value of evaluating my own work as others might, considering how it would be received and how I might improve and how I can progress further. With these techniques, it has been easier for viewers to understand the processes I go through and make helpful suggestions, such as how to achieve a result that I was aiming for where I have had less success or provide information and inspiration. It has made me consider how such information during the design process represents exactly what an employer (or client) might want to know during the project, allowing them to give feedback and steer a project in a way that better suits their requirements or evaluate progress.
In conclusion, I have developed many skills relating to the games industry and learned about communication in art and design and hope to use them to share ideas and progress further in the future.
Presentation Skills
Presenting ideas is a vital part of art and design. An idea is a very abstract concept without suitable explanation and will get little attention without a clear, concise and appealing presentation. During this year of Game Character Art I have learned about many aspects of presentation. The skills I have gained will be vital for showcasing my work and ideas as I will probably need to do with employers, teammates, tutors, clients and financial meetings, etc. Presentation skills can be useful for pitches, briefings, acquiring sponsorship, applications for jobs and education and many other situations in the industry.
I have presented sketchbook work to my classmates and learned the value of making my work clearly visible from a short distance and large enough to be clear and detailed. Using bolder tones helps this greatly. Layout of work should be uncluttered to avoid confusion and as not to detract from the individual elements. Annotating work with a clear and concise few words or sentences can be very useful to clarify the work process followed and intended results. When explaining and discussing with my peers, I tried to consider all involved and describe the project/s in a similarly direct and uncomplicated manner. I asked for feedback and listened with the intent to learn from their perspective.
My work has been largely documented online on my Weebly.com webpage and presentation has been equally important there. The target audience is potentially much wider, being available to the online community as well as my tutors and fellow students. The presentation must remain clear, informative and accessible to any viewers, especially if they are potential employers or clients. All pages must be organised in a unified style, plus easily found and navigated. Shortcut buttons and navigation menus can help with this but should not be over-used or complicated.
I have experience enough to confidently make a presentation using a variety of mediums, including microsoft powerpoint, written materials, digital and traditional media art, spoken word, moodboards and internet web pages, plus a digital portfolio.
Presenting ideas is a vital part of art and design. An idea is a very abstract concept without suitable explanation and will get little attention without a clear, concise and appealing presentation. During this year of Game Character Art I have learned about many aspects of presentation. The skills I have gained will be vital for showcasing my work and ideas as I will probably need to do with employers, teammates, tutors, clients and financial meetings, etc. Presentation skills can be useful for pitches, briefings, acquiring sponsorship, applications for jobs and education and many other situations in the industry.
I have presented sketchbook work to my classmates and learned the value of making my work clearly visible from a short distance and large enough to be clear and detailed. Using bolder tones helps this greatly. Layout of work should be uncluttered to avoid confusion and as not to detract from the individual elements. Annotating work with a clear and concise few words or sentences can be very useful to clarify the work process followed and intended results. When explaining and discussing with my peers, I tried to consider all involved and describe the project/s in a similarly direct and uncomplicated manner. I asked for feedback and listened with the intent to learn from their perspective.
My work has been largely documented online on my Weebly.com webpage and presentation has been equally important there. The target audience is potentially much wider, being available to the online community as well as my tutors and fellow students. The presentation must remain clear, informative and accessible to any viewers, especially if they are potential employers or clients. All pages must be organised in a unified style, plus easily found and navigated. Shortcut buttons and navigation menus can help with this but should not be over-used or complicated.
I have experience enough to confidently make a presentation using a variety of mediums, including microsoft powerpoint, written materials, digital and traditional media art, spoken word, moodboards and internet web pages, plus a digital portfolio.