Are you celebrating ARTIST’S DAY and want to work in a gamedev?

Advice for artists who want to work in game development from Zoryana Radomiak (Art Team Lead у Zagrava).

Welcome to the creative journey, traveller!
If you are just starting out as an artist, here are some tips that can help you navigate this difficult world.

First of all, artistic academic foundations will become the soil, the foundation, the base.
“But I want to paint stylised characters, why do I need to learn how to build Socrates’ head?” some of you might say, but it’s really important.
Absolutely any style is based on classical academic foundations, even abstraction, so yes, before you draw chibikis from your favourite anime, you should learn plastic anatomy. Of course, it’s best to study with a teacher, but if you’re not too old to go to an art school or university, you can find evening drawing courses for adults or work with an artist as a tutor.

If you already have artists in your environment, don’t hesitate to ask them for advice.
for their advice. And, of course, don’t forget about self-education. I offer you
a small selection of resources that have helped me personally:

BOOKS:

“The Complete Guide to Anatomy for Artists & Illustrators: Drawing the Human Form”

“Colour and Light”

“The Science of Design and Form” + “The Art of Colour”

YouTube:

Proko. A great channel about academic fundamentals, founded by
Stan Prokopenko, a Ukrainian by birth.

The Art of Aaron Blaise. A Disney artist – nothing more to add!

James Gurney. He is the author of one of the books above,
and illustrator of the Dinotopia series.

Other resources:

schoolism.com

is a great website with a lot of courses. You can start with the free ones to avoid paying for a subscription.

wingfox.com

is also an interesting resource, but you can pay for each course separately. For example, the course “Stylised Illustration – Blender to Photoshop Process” provides the 3D base in Blender and touches on the topic of stylised illustrations, and “Level Up Your Digital Painting Skills: Beginner to Advanced” provides a detailed pickup line for working on a character in the famous style of Chinese artists.

varto.school

New Ukrainian School, you can also find something useful for yourself.

If you’re not a complete beginner and you’re on your way to your first job in a game development company, here’s what you should keep in mind:

Carefully study the work and style of the companies or studios you want to join
Determine for yourself what type of work you prefer: creating character concepts, illustrations, objects in isometry, or perhaps icons or match-3)
Accordingly, create several works in the chosen directions and styles for your portfolio
It’s important that your portfolio has one style or type of work, as too much variety can confuse recruiters
Be prepared to do a test assignment, and even insist on it if you are rejected because your portfolio doesn’t match the required project style.

PLUS: A course option for you:
“CONCEPT ARTIST. START IN GAMEDEV“ on skvot.io

Even if you think that the life of an artist is a pain (and you don't), this is not a reason to give up, because the creative call is worth all the effort. You have chosen to create beauty, so be sure to follow this path! Draw a lot, try different styles, different techniques, copy the works you like (the main thing is not to pass them off as your own ;). Unfortunately or fortunately, there is no "Make it beautiful" button in any graphic editor, and everything comes with practice. Believe in yourself, practice and you will succeed! Fighting!