Help me clarify my job title

[darktiste]

Hi i am a aspiring concept artist with no prior experience in the game industries.

I am kinda unsure exact;y about how to describe what position i am trying to get hire as like i like to design a bunch of thing but at the same time i don't know to what job offer i must seek to respond or create opportunity and brand myself as THE GUY WHO DOES ''THIS''. I know the position i am looking to fill is concept artist but i am unsure if the thing i like to draw put me in the position of being call a environnement artist or a prop artist i also can't seem to find any job title that sound like concept artist (that specialize in object)like when i try to understand if i am an environnement artist i get the image of myself drawing background landscape which isn't something i am really interest in.There a some categorie of thing i like to draw like character,creature and asset design(prop design) my question is what is the name of the job title i am suppose to apply to?I suppose this also put me in a position to be more specialize which might be against my best interest as a aspiring junior concept artist but at the same time i keep hearing echo that you don't want to be a jack of all trade because it make you average at everything and that prevent you from standing out.

Thank you for feed back and i hope i can clarify this confusion as to better prepare my portfolio. The intention is mostly for me to apply to position that are relevant to me and save time for people who review those portfolio.

[Who]

Job title is irrelevant. Your Folio will speak more than anything else you will put on a cv or cover letter for an application.
Prop artist, junior artist, concept artist, mobile game asset artist, whatever.
It depends on the company what they call anything. The job description should describe the job tasks and skills they are looking for.

Several months have already passed since you were recommended by many here to start creating Folio worthy work right away. Have you completed anything yet?
No Folio no job

[darktiste]

Job title is irrelevant. Your Folio will speak more than anything else you will put on a cv or cover letter for an application.
Prop artist,  junior artist, concept artist, mobile game asset artist, whatever.
It depends on the company what they call anything. The job description  should describe the job tasks and skills they are looking for.

Several months have already passed since you were recommended by many here to start creating Folio worthy work right away. Have you completed anything yet?
No Folio no job

You know it the same old same old struggle of i am ready?To make a portfolio which is always can be answers by yes.Sure i can aim low for indie but that would be splitting my time between a job and learning which i would probably prefer to be putting in learning but at the same time i could be learn so much more at a job than by my own.I know i am getting more and more positive feedback which seem to be a good sign i could be doing a portfolio in the next few month but it the question of what i am gonna put inside that come after.Those are question as you seen i am trying to answers by starting to define what kind of job title i should be responding to and how it affect what should be inside.But thank you seem to encourage me to work more toward my portfolio i was trying to expand my visual library and creative skill but it as much a struggle about creating my own opportunity putting my work out.I felt like i didn't wanted to just let say pass the art test and still be struggliing so i wanted a bit more ''expertise'' but that hard to judge when i am ready... not gonna lie.I also wanted to get my hand on some 3d modelling understanding to give myself a edge over my competition which isn't giving me much of a edge because it now pretty much assume you have that at entry level  to a certain extent i suppose it get more and more difficult the more i wait.
 
Anyways thank for the clarification. Sometime your biggest critic is yourself sadly.

[Who]

You will never be ready. The more sustainable and less pressured way to make a Folio is not to try to "make it" in one hit like a one off project in x months. I can almost guarantee you stress no fun and burnout. You need to attempt to produce finished work consistently to as high as a level as you can manage NOW as a habit. Make your Folio site, artstation is quick, easy, free and gets the job done. Then get used to cycling your best work through it and removing your worst work as you improve. Pros are you always have a Folio ready to go if some unforseen opportunity arises that requires you to send someone your work immediately. This becomes a kind of indicator too. The overall quality of your best work and folio will rise as your skills rise.

I'm not sure how many times this can be repeated to you till you take it on board tbh dude. Generic cgcookie exercises are totally useless for your Folio even if you can reproduce the results effectively. Sure learn, study but worrying about getting a job when you aren't producing any finished work of your own at all is totally pointless.

[darktiste]

I get the point that those execise are not portfolio worthy piece and they are not going anywhere near that folio. What i am trying to expose is i do not believe to be hitting level where i do consistency on a regular basis i still struggle alot with basic concentration.Plus most of the time i am not pushing for finish work if it not to go in my portfolio but i do understand i need to start hitting that harder so as to produce those piece to get the ball rolling

I am actually right now trying to improve the quantity and quality of work i put out but i understand overall it the quality before quantity for a portfolio and i can build it as i go.It would be stupid to think that you keep your job base on quantity but at the end of the day if you ran out of idea your at risk of losing your job so i am also working on improving my ability to think outside the box.

Here an other though of why i do what i am doing i just feel like i would be selling myself short as a concept artist if i am not able to give the team i would be working with it enough visual solution.Balance is such a struggle without mileage(quantity) you simply don't make enough error you can improve on and without it your quality suffer. 

Sorry i don't want this turning into me overthinking and starting to doubt myself that just unecessary i think it more productive if you like to come kick my ass to do it at the sketchbook level for now.I don't know if you got any final word... or any other thought on this.

As always you hit where it hurt and i can only be thankful someone believe in my art enough to do that.Big respect.

[Who]

I don't know if this is possible for you, but your long running obsession with getting a job is imo a large part of the ongoing issues you appear to have with your journey and causes you to second guess almost everything constantly.

Can you just chill out on that for a bit? Is this possible for you, to do some art without it being always about an imaginary job, the nature of which you seem to have many firmly held assumptions about but no actual experience of.

Can you just do some original design work in the present, for the simple pleasure of doing so and finish it to a clear quality that you would be very happy with achieving, for yourself, not for some imaginary team or company in your mind? Just once, try it.

[darktiste]

I guess what we putting a finger on is being execessively goal oriented... i didn't though this could be use to describe me.Yes there is this constent of second guessing base on leak of experience in the industry but also exploring my option before entering a field and shooting my own foot.I think at the end of they day it boil down to does this artist work show he enjoy what he is doing that for my personal portfolio vs a more ''i want to work for this compagny'' in particular which would be more focus on there IP and showing your a great addition to there talent pool.

So what your saying is establish your identity throught piece you enjoy making than see where it lead you?.If i understood correctly.

[Who]

I wrote a whole bunch of shit and realised it was just repetition of much of what has already been said over time in many different ways and as such I don't think it's worthwhile to rehash it again.

My feedback is to obsess less on hypotheticals about your imaginary future job, and obsess more over producing something final right now of high quality. It may be Folio worthy, it may not, and it simply doesn't matter one iota which it ends up being because of the situation you are in atm which is zero work done towards a Folio.

We can all maybe help you get yourself eventually to find the holy grail you think a job is, once you've taken the first step. Until then, we are in dangerous mental masturbation territory and the Natives have set up traps every where to keep us there indefinitely

[Zizka]

Can you just do some original design work in the present, for the simple pleasure of doing so and finish it to a clear quality that you would be very happy with achieving, for yourself, not for some imaginary team or company in your mind? Just once, try it.

I love this quote (also, check your pm).

@darktiste:
I’m new here so I’m not up to date with your tribulations. What I get from reading your messages is that you’re afraid of something, afraid of not being good enough which makes you constantly second guess yourself.

Have you been following the advices and feedback you were given? If not, what’s holding you back?

Have you considered that thought isn’t a solution here? As in thinking won’t get you closer to your goal? Just like getting fit doesn’t come from thinking about getting fit?

What is your goal? What are you doing to achieve it on a daily basis? How is thinking an asset in your situation?

[darktiste]

[color=#9f9f9f]It is hard for someone like me to avoid developping stress over thing he cannot control. What i control i try to do my best to try to put everything on my side. This mean i have to make sure everything i would like the employer to see is in my portfolio and is well presented this mean i must make my role and position pretty clear and not send mix signal.

[color=#9f9f9f][size=small][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Trying to explain what i do everyday is what artist generally do i don't know exactly how i can describe this without getting to specific but it does involve drawing which is what is already establish as the solution. Certainly the proportion quality and quantity of what i am doing can be tweak for better result but that is not something easy to learn you have to practice having a honest internal dialogue about what are your priority are and when second guessing arrive that when no priority seem to be clearly defined it just a matter of choosing one over the other which become problematic because you want to be in control of the outcome.But the outcome you don't know until you try.A plan is about setting a vision of a possible outcome.So overplanning can also become the issue.

It just bad cycle of not being able to let go of the desire to have the best outcome possible.So in a sense i would say i am perfectionist in my approch of drawing but it end up putting the break on my ability to draw.Because as artist we are constently tweaking were approch. I don't want to be the guy who bang is head against a wall reaching plateau a not leveling up.

So my most recent decision was to learn more about Z brush and maya because that was on my list of thing to learn more about and it might not directly translate to drawing but it will improve my way of thinking in term of 3 space which i think is a great tool to have on top of drawing skill. Why is it a priority one might ask. Because i also have to understand how to collaborate with the other artist once i start working and it probably not a good idea to try to stack that on top of other thing i will need to quickly learn once i can land a job.

Art quality is still a priority but my work still as to be understood by other and that why i am trying to understand how to better communicate and understand there expectation aswell as there 3d language else it like talking 2 language and not understand one an other.Who as a better job safety?Someone who understand is role in the bigger picture? or an artist who make great work but can't work with people? It not clear at the end of the day there is no one recipe for sucess but having a killer portfolio in my eye open alot of door. Do i want to be a team player or do i want to be an independant artist i choose to try to be a team player to start to work toward building the confidence to be an independent artist some day.

[Toxicpanda]

Hi. I'm not sure if this is going to help, but I'll give it a try.
I was asked to review portfolio of applying artists in some of the studios I worked in. All of them were rejected unfortunately and most with the same two reasons - we couldn't see the artist in it (it looked more like a homework), and because they didn't pass the test.
Now, just a short background of what those studios were looking for. All of them were looking for a 3d artist, or a person who knows how to use tablet and has a potential to learn basics of 3d very quickly. If we see the potential in that person, we would help him learn 3d and support him to grow. We live in a small country- and there isn't many people doing this kind of work- specially 3D. Most of the artists are describing themselves as "concept artist" while all we see in their portfolios are illustrations, studies or sketches unrelated to concept. Title of concept artist should be related to person who is above everything a concept designer- a person who can develop a character, an object, anything and show that thought process on paper or tablet. Concepts don't have to be pretty or rendered or anything like that. Most of the concept art for games that you see on artstation are rendered after just to show them on portfolio- real concepts are created just enough so the client and 3d artist can understand the design.
For example- my boss would come to our concept artist/animator and say- we need a new concept for THAT- you have one hour. He is not going to think about rendering all those beautiful leather jackets and buckles and every strand of hair. He is going to think about design.
Now why am I writing all this. When we look at the portfolio- we don't look at how someone render things, we look at their thought process, about the design, about how you think and what can you contribute to the project. We don't want to see something you can see on artstation or pinterest- we want to see you, as a person, as a person who thinks- what are things you like, what inspires you, what drives you to work further. And that way we can risk and take you in, and give you a stable ground for you to grow on.
It is easier to just get an artist with experience and start working with him right away- but in our country, there isn't much people with experience- and we would rather give opportunity to someone who is working really hard.

A side story again. This is exactly how I got my first studio job. I went to one convention, brought my portfolio with me with all my best polished works and asked directly - are you looking for an artist or intern- and they said no. I asked if there is anyone who can look at my portfolio and give me some directions on what should I work on. Finally someone agreed and they looked at my work. Even though it was complete opposite of what they were working on, and even though I was doing only 2D and they needed 3D artist, they asked me if I was willing to learn 3d and gave me few months to finish my college. During that time I worked hard to finish my exams and learn some basics. They liked my progress and even though I was not ready at all to work as a 3d artist, they believed I would learn quickly when I would start working on a project. And it did happen, working on a project really boosted my learning process and I had more motivation to study and push forward.

Long story short- if you are looking at the indie job, with studio that doesn't have many employees, you have to be ready to learn new skills. Because you will have to work job for 3-4 people. Right now, in some other studio, I am working as a main character artist, I also do prop work, concept art, design and whatever is needed. Over the time I just stopped looking at myself in one direction, and more in direction of person who is going to do "art part" in the project. About job title- I still put myself as 3d artist, because I feel most comfortable in that area. My coleague who does 3d, animation and concept artist uses concept artist as a title- because he enjoys working in that area most.

I hope some of this text helped you and you can get something out of this.
Just don't be afraid, put yourself in the portfolio, don't feel pressured to look like every artstation fake portfolio, and be open to learn new things.
Good luck!

[Zizka]

It just bad cycle of not being able to let go of the desire to have the best outcome possible.

Isn't that the source of the issue you're having though? I don't really see the whole conundrum you're having as being art related but rather firmly tied to your fear of not being good enough. If you can come to terms that this is an ego-driven problem you might then put all those mental gymnastics aside and focus on what really matters: nothing but practice. Thought is overrated :P.

If it's not something you manage to do on your own volition, you could speak to someone, there's no shame in it. If this is making you suffer and you can't seem to rationalize your way out of it (which seems to be the case here), maybe you could talk to someone to help you overcome that mental hurdle you seem to be struggling with here.

I hope you leave those concerns aside and just go back to drawing and painting. There's no worse position to be in than to be paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes. When you worry about not using the optimal route, you're wasting time you could be using experimenting and learning empirically on your own.

Suppose you showed your portfolio and it turned out not to be good enough? So what? They won't jail you for it. You just then go back to practice and try again. If it's still not good enough, then you keep trying until it sticks. You won't fail as long as you don't give up. Eventually you'll figure things out provided you keep trying and follow your instincts. No one can give you advice which is 100% foolproof and will guarantee you anything job-related.

If you feel inclined to reply to this to explain things, you'd just continue going in circles in my opinion. Again, my two cents.