Programming/Art Balance

Professional
1

Hi everyone, you can’t imagine how happy I am to have discovered these forums. I was always wondering if there was a position of something between an artist and a programmer till I heard the technical artist term.

I know that some people have asked already of how to get into technical artist jobs and I read some of them, but my question is slightly different. I am new into this technical artist concept and the forums as this is my first post so please bear with me!

All I want to find out is how much of an artist/programmer you need to be. I know that it depends on the actual job openings so this is where I need your help. Where should my time go provided with what I am doing now?

I will give you a brief description of my background so you can see where I am coming from(I will keep it short).

I always wanted to work in the games industry in a field in which I will be useful to my team. I started my studies doing Computer games design that involved games design, 3D modelling, rigging and animation as well as some texturing work. I was also exposed to motion capture and various game engines - hammer and unreal in which I am quite proficient in.

I was thoroughly enjoying the course and was doing great in terms of grades but then I decided to switch disciplines and jumped into programming. The main reason for this change was my inability to draw. I tried really hard to get into it but it wasn’t for me. You may be wondering If that was a good reason to stop doing it. I felt that my inability was holding me back during my 3D modelling and I said before I want to be an asset and not a burden to anyone who hires me.

So now I am a games programming student which is an area I feel much more comfortable in as I have a strong technical background (love maths). This is where my question comes in. I am currently doing C#/C/C++ XML Windows GUI Programming as well as various animation and simulation programming and 3D graphics HLSL DirectX. I love everything I do but still deeply in me I love using 3D packages and the idea that I could have a job of of helping 3D artists becoming more productive thorugh tools sounds very good to me. I used to be in their position and know what it entails so it is not an unknown area so that gives me some inside knowledge I guess.

I am currently teaching myself MEL and Python and was wondering what else I should be doing. I was thoroughly enjoying rigging as I consider it the more technical thing an artist can do and reading here that tech artists normally have rigging responsibilities makes it even better for me! I consider myself a better rigger than modeller.

Sorry to tire you with my story but I don’t know where else to go to get some information. Am I even in the right path for something like that? Should I not waste time and focus 100% in programming since I cant draw and model exceptionally well and scrap the idea of being a TA? Please enlighten me and hopefully this thread will help people with similar questions!

Thanks very much for your time!

2

Well, first off, you have a very strong start into becoming a tech artist. One of the things you should realize (I think you may) is that the term can refer to any number of disciplines. Rigging, shader creation, toolchain and pipeline support, and artist tools are all examples of “tech art”. Different companies, indeed, different teams within a single company will have very different needs from a tech artist. I don’t think there is a single “perfect mix” that makes a good tech artist. Having strong art skills in the abstract is usually more important than drawing skills. For instance, knowledge of color theory, how to light (gaff) a set, and what good contrast levels look like are more important to success in tech art than your ability to accurately draw a pony. A good tech artist is a renaissance man*; you should have a reasonable balance of practical art skills, as well as decent technical chops and programming skills. It is really a “Jack of all trades” profession (hopefully a master of some).

*actual gender may vary

You wanted some suggestions for other areas to look into, but you already have a pretty good list going. You might try to get better in one area that interests you specifically such as shaders or rigging. Many teams use Max and XSI, so it would be good to have some hands on with various 3D packages. All teams use some form of version control, so look into Perforce, Subversion, CVS and other systems. You should know all the tools in the Office suite fairly well. At some point, you are going to have to deal with databases and/or web servers of some sort. You should learn a little about SQL and some web technologies. Having experience with wiki syntax and SharePoint is always helpful regardless of what profession you end up in. Learn about development theories that are used by the industry such as Agile and Lean.

Basically, learn a little bit about a lot of different systems so that in an interview, when the ask you, “Do you know much about {obscure system}?”, you can say that you’re vaguely familiar with it, but you haven’t really used it in production. Then you can provide some brief insight into what you know about it, and they’ll know you aren’t just feigning false knowledge.

Unless you enter the field with rock star like skills, one of the things that is true for most entering the field is that you go through some sort of progression that runs along these lines: (please excuse the sentence fragments)

Grunt Apprentice: Tasked with cleaning up the art of people who aren’t very technical, but who (hopefully) are good artists. Cleaning up outsourced content, or explaining to others how to do so. Performing mundane tasks that are technical but boring (think character mesh weighting). Writing a few simple tools for the team. Beginning to support the artists who have technical questions/issues.

Trusted Apprentice: Same tasks as #1, but also writing documentation for tools, processes, and outsourcing. Coding skills have improved, and tools are getting better. Cleanly written UI begins to appear in tools. Starting to learn “real world” good coding practices. Problem solving is beginning to be knowledge based rather than sleuthing work. Knowledge of specific systems begins to replace general know how.

Journeyman Tech Artist: Same tasks as #2 & #1, but grunt work factor is greatly reduced. Actual hands-on art creation has taken a back seat to coding, documentation, planning, and problem solving. “Getting your hands dirty” in an art package is limited to times when you are helping out due to technical issues, or logistics (IE, it is near the end of the project and the team is in “all hands on deck” mode.) This isn’t to say that you may not be in an art package daily, but your tasks will be different.

Master Tech Artist: Same tasks as above, but even less hands on. Meetings, documentation, project planning, strategy, logistics, presentations, large scale support, and other managerial tasks make up a good portion of your time. Your input is critical to the success or failure of a project (at least in your own mind). Your skills have probably become focussed strongly in one area, and have likely atrophied in others. IE, you are a pro at rigging, but you know less about normal maps, or visa versa.

Optional: exit Tech Art career path proper

Grunt Apprentice Manager: You have moved out of true tech art, and are now either managing other people (possibly tech artists), planning projects, managing outsourcing, or whatever other management skills you have proven yourself competent at. Work is less about Maya, or DevStudio, and more about Excel, PowerPoint, and whatever task tracking system you are forced to deal with (they are all horrible, you can’t go wrong).

3

Great feedback Brett,

just a note @can’t draw- I know many really good animators that “can’t draw” but they can communicate through pose and timeing, als0 drawing for modeling does not always = great sculpting.

Just wanted to point out that it is a worthy of your time to keep up with some sort of visual work, keep sketching or keep trying to model or get your geek on with some camera equip. anything that continues to keep your observation skills and the other parts of your brain balanced.

Brad

4

@bclark
Agreed. You should definitely try to improve/keep up your art skills in whatever area interests you, and probably in some areas that don’t interest you. My poorly made point is that lack of drawing ability, or some other specific art skill is a negative, but it isn’t necessarily going to prevent you from getting a job in tech art, it is just going to limit the kinds of work you end up doing. Many people working in film and games continue to take classes in art, programming, etc. or they go to life drawing sessions. Larger companies often host such events, and you will often find internal clubs dedicated to drawing, photography, etc.

5

[QUOTE=Mortal2God;8150]Am I even in the right path for something like that? Should I not waste time and focus 100% in programming since I cant draw and model exceptionally well and scrap the idea of being a TA?[/QUOTE]

When it comes time to apply to jobs, apply for Tools programming and Tech Artist jobs. Once you get into the industry, it becomes easier to move around between similar jobs. You’re on the right track if you are enjoying what you are working on in school.

6

@Brett @Brad @Rob

Thanks for your replies and invaluable advice. It is good to know that I am on the right path for becoming a TA. I will definitely try to look into everything you suggested to improve my existing knowledge.

[QUOTE=btribble;8176]
Larger companies often host such events, and you will often find internal clubs dedicated to drawing, photography, etc.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=bclark;8157]

Just wanted to point out that it is a worthy of your time to keep up with some sort of visual work, keep sketching or keep trying to model or get your geek on with some camera equip. anything that continues to keep your observation skills and the other parts of your brain balanced.

Brad[/QUOTE]

I forgot to mention in my original post that I am an amateur/self -taught photographer. I am planning to do some classes to get some official qualifications. Photography is definitely an area I am interested in and knowing that it improves my observation/artistic skills is something I should definitely be spending more time on!

Once more thanks everyone! I will be asking more questions as I delve deeper into the TA world :):

7

bookmarked thread for future reference
Thanks to the Pros in the thread for sharing some basic wisdom on what is expected of TA’s in the industry. It can be rather vague what knowledge is expected out there. :3