Trip and Tips of a Lifetime
(Updated November 6, 2023)
So, I’m freshly back from BlizzCon 2023 and wonderfully jet-lagged, but I would love to say a heart-felt “Thank you” to the fine folks at Blizzard Activision for taking the time to answer questions that I had about art, portfolios, and how to transition from a non-related background into art design.
I have reflected long and hard about all of those incredible pieces of advice and encouragement and wanted to share some of the wisdom imparted unto me for others who also have aspirations of working for gaming companies.
- Self-motivated people are what many companies are looking for. If you’re willing to learn and refine your skills, then you can earn yourself a job.
- If there is a job you are interested in, go ahead and submit an application. Most jobs will have on-the-job training, but remember the previous point — sometimes you have to be self-motivated and learn things on your own to give yourself that little something extra.
- Make art that would fit into the company/game you want to be employed at or involved in. That doesn’t mean it can’t be an original idea, but making a cohesive object shows that you can work with a pre-existing franchise without seeming disjoint.
- It is highly recommended to have a nice, cohesive digital portfolio/website. I was specifically asked for an ArtStation account, which I do have and will be updating much more now that it has been requested. These professionals are probably asked to look at hundreds if not thousands of portfolios a day, so a digital format is probably faster to absorb (and discard).
If I think of any other tips, I’ll be sure to share when my poor brain readjusts to the time changes. In light of this new information, I’ll be opening commissions piecewise the week of November 20th — I want to take some time to experiment and practice new things before I fully open commissions. Thank you for your understanding.