WE NEED MORE VESPENE GAS!!!
Well, it's the weekend and I'm at work. Working the weekend shift is for the most part extremely simple and laid back (read: i'm bored out of my effing mind), so what better way to curb my boredom than to write a post! Yay!
Well, in total I sent my resume to 4 different game companies. You guys know that I sent one to BethSoft, and I haven't really heard anything back from them, but I have heard back from 2 of the companies, and I wish I had good news, but I turned down by both of them. Sucks. When I got my first rejection letter (from NetDevil, somewhere up in Colorado, makers of the upcoming LEGO MMO), it kind of hit me harder than I expected. It was a gamble, I knew before I even started typing up my resume that I could be turned down, and considering how hard and competitive it is to break into the industry, it was very likely to happen. So after I read that, I spent a couple hours just laying down on the couch next to my wife, quietly sulking and hating myself for not being better. I then slowly started to shake it off, and then sent off another resume to a company in Orlando. I'll be damned if I let one rejection letter break my confidence.
And then I got another rejection letter the next day from a different company (from Big Huge Games in Timodium, MD).
Sigh. Oh well. After doing some thinking, I realized that even though that I put on my resume that I am a concept artist, with my strongest skill in character concept, I really don't have much at all to show what I can do on my website. I know I can do it, I just... don't. I don't really have a fucking thing on my website that shows my range of skills, aside from a couple 4 panel comics and a smattering of sketches. I feel so fucking lazy for not doing shit. But it's not that I'm lazy, it's my fucking job that wears me out and drains me of any sort of stamina I have left by the time I get off. I think I really need to start digging deep and just forcing myself to work on my artwork. I know I've said that a million times already, and every one is probably sick of me saying that. But I need to keep reminding myself. Saying one thing and actually doing it are two very different things. It's the only way I'll ever achieve my goal.
I also got a letter back from a guy I wrote to in the industry, who specializes in recruiting game developers. I wrote him pretty much asking for help, especially because not having a degree of some sorts always dampens my spirits. Here's what he had to say:
Game companies are still fine with hiring applicants who do not have a degree, it is not as important as having the talent and necessary skills needed for the position they are trying to fill. This applies even more so for concept art positions, because there are no extra technical skills and programs needed which a degree -might- help in teaching (I am studying game art and design at the moment, and it has many negative aspects as well. It is too expensive). Concept art jobs in the game industry are pretty competitive. I would suggest checking out conceptart.org, speaking with some people there and checking out some of the already existing threads about tailoring your art to what game companies are looking for.
So that made me feel a bit better about it all. And I already knew about conceptart.org, and I've tried to participate in some of their forum discussions before, it's just that a ton of the artwork I see there is just so fucking amazing. Haha it's damned intimidating to me. But I suppose that I would like to have constant comment and critique on my artwork. I used to frequent the Penny Arcade Artist's Corner Forums pretty frequently, and towards the end of my run with it, I was starting to become a favorite of the artist's corner forum members. Apparently the forum has gone to crap nowadays, I read on some website (another artist's who was a frequent poster of that forum, his name was Special_Olympics, hunt him down, his artwork is pretty damn cool) a long while back that idiots decided to take over forums and have ruined it for everyone, so it looks like I had left just in time. But that forum was such a huge help to me, because it actually made me such a better artist, and now that constant commenting and critiqueing is gone, and I've no real way to tell if I'm actually progressing with my artwork aside from my own biased point of view (biased in the way that I think it all sucks). So I think conceptart.org might just be the way to go, not to mention that game companies regularly frequent those forums, and even post job openings. Blizzard is one of those companies that do that, might I add. So here I go, guess I might as well invest in some flame-retardant clothing and goggles before I dive in. If anything, it'll help motivate me to do more artwork.
Speaking of Blizzard, I recently got ahold of the first Starcraft, and I now know the true meaning of the term "Zerging." All I can say, is "HOLY SHIT." Fucking Zerg. Fucking my shit up and killing everyone. I also finally understand why everyone yells "WE NEED MORE VESPENE GAS!!!!" hahahaha. It's been hella fun though, despite the dated graphics and that I'm not a huge strategy game fan (the last real strategy games I ever played were Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics, which were both fun, but I never played them to completion). But then again, I do enjoy me some retro gaming, so that just adds to the charm.
... And after reading that, I really need to put the video games down so I can focus on my artwork. Fucking games. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUN?!?!??!!! In the same breath, I already know I won't be doing shit when Halo 3 comes out, so me doing anything constructive that week, no, MONTH, has already gone out the window. HALO 3 FEATURES 4 PLAYER CAMPAIGN CO-OP OVER XBOX LIVE!!!! WOO!!!!! KHAIL!!!! YOU, ME, DAN, AND AARON. IT'S ONNNN. ON FUCKING LEGENDARY, BITCHES!!!!
Ahem. All this Sci-fi goodness is starting to have an impact on me regarding my artwork though. I'm really itching to get some stuff done that have a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. It should be interesting.
One last thing before I bring this post to a close: who really gives a shit about the Beckhams?!?!
Take care, everyone. :)
Well, in total I sent my resume to 4 different game companies. You guys know that I sent one to BethSoft, and I haven't really heard anything back from them, but I have heard back from 2 of the companies, and I wish I had good news, but I turned down by both of them. Sucks. When I got my first rejection letter (from NetDevil, somewhere up in Colorado, makers of the upcoming LEGO MMO), it kind of hit me harder than I expected. It was a gamble, I knew before I even started typing up my resume that I could be turned down, and considering how hard and competitive it is to break into the industry, it was very likely to happen. So after I read that, I spent a couple hours just laying down on the couch next to my wife, quietly sulking and hating myself for not being better. I then slowly started to shake it off, and then sent off another resume to a company in Orlando. I'll be damned if I let one rejection letter break my confidence.
And then I got another rejection letter the next day from a different company (from Big Huge Games in Timodium, MD).
Sigh. Oh well. After doing some thinking, I realized that even though that I put on my resume that I am a concept artist, with my strongest skill in character concept, I really don't have much at all to show what I can do on my website. I know I can do it, I just... don't. I don't really have a fucking thing on my website that shows my range of skills, aside from a couple 4 panel comics and a smattering of sketches. I feel so fucking lazy for not doing shit. But it's not that I'm lazy, it's my fucking job that wears me out and drains me of any sort of stamina I have left by the time I get off. I think I really need to start digging deep and just forcing myself to work on my artwork. I know I've said that a million times already, and every one is probably sick of me saying that. But I need to keep reminding myself. Saying one thing and actually doing it are two very different things. It's the only way I'll ever achieve my goal.
I also got a letter back from a guy I wrote to in the industry, who specializes in recruiting game developers. I wrote him pretty much asking for help, especially because not having a degree of some sorts always dampens my spirits. Here's what he had to say:
Game companies are still fine with hiring applicants who do not have a degree, it is not as important as having the talent and necessary skills needed for the position they are trying to fill. This applies even more so for concept art positions, because there are no extra technical skills and programs needed which a degree -might- help in teaching (I am studying game art and design at the moment, and it has many negative aspects as well. It is too expensive). Concept art jobs in the game industry are pretty competitive. I would suggest checking out conceptart.org, speaking with some people there and checking out some of the already existing threads about tailoring your art to what game companies are looking for.
So that made me feel a bit better about it all. And I already knew about conceptart.org, and I've tried to participate in some of their forum discussions before, it's just that a ton of the artwork I see there is just so fucking amazing. Haha it's damned intimidating to me. But I suppose that I would like to have constant comment and critique on my artwork. I used to frequent the Penny Arcade Artist's Corner Forums pretty frequently, and towards the end of my run with it, I was starting to become a favorite of the artist's corner forum members. Apparently the forum has gone to crap nowadays, I read on some website (another artist's who was a frequent poster of that forum, his name was Special_Olympics, hunt him down, his artwork is pretty damn cool) a long while back that idiots decided to take over forums and have ruined it for everyone, so it looks like I had left just in time. But that forum was such a huge help to me, because it actually made me such a better artist, and now that constant commenting and critiqueing is gone, and I've no real way to tell if I'm actually progressing with my artwork aside from my own biased point of view (biased in the way that I think it all sucks). So I think conceptart.org might just be the way to go, not to mention that game companies regularly frequent those forums, and even post job openings. Blizzard is one of those companies that do that, might I add. So here I go, guess I might as well invest in some flame-retardant clothing and goggles before I dive in. If anything, it'll help motivate me to do more artwork.
Speaking of Blizzard, I recently got ahold of the first Starcraft, and I now know the true meaning of the term "Zerging." All I can say, is "HOLY SHIT." Fucking Zerg. Fucking my shit up and killing everyone. I also finally understand why everyone yells "WE NEED MORE VESPENE GAS!!!!" hahahaha. It's been hella fun though, despite the dated graphics and that I'm not a huge strategy game fan (the last real strategy games I ever played were Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics, which were both fun, but I never played them to completion). But then again, I do enjoy me some retro gaming, so that just adds to the charm.
... And after reading that, I really need to put the video games down so I can focus on my artwork. Fucking games. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO FUN?!?!??!!! In the same breath, I already know I won't be doing shit when Halo 3 comes out, so me doing anything constructive that week, no, MONTH, has already gone out the window. HALO 3 FEATURES 4 PLAYER CAMPAIGN CO-OP OVER XBOX LIVE!!!! WOO!!!!! KHAIL!!!! YOU, ME, DAN, AND AARON. IT'S ONNNN. ON FUCKING LEGENDARY, BITCHES!!!!
Ahem. All this Sci-fi goodness is starting to have an impact on me regarding my artwork though. I'm really itching to get some stuff done that have a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. It should be interesting.
One last thing before I bring this post to a close: who really gives a shit about the Beckhams?!?!
Take care, everyone. :)