So You Want To Be A Game Artist?

Thanks to Kratos for sending along this link to me...

In the latest Gamespot series of feature stories relating to the game development side of things, they interview a bunch of talented game artists from various notable game development companies like Capcom, Oddworld Inhabitants, and Namco. The guys discuss how they stumbled into the game art field, how they work, their inspirations, and their opinions on developing art for the next generation. There's also some great advice there too..

"Lorne Lanning, Co-founder / Oddworld Inhabitants: Study the fundamentals. Knowing how to use Photoshop or Maya does not make you an artist.

Levi Hopkins/ArenaNet: My advice for aspiring game artists is to really dedicate yourself to improving your traditional art skills. Draw every day, all day, until you start seeing things differently. I find that my 3D artwork improves with the more 2D artwork I do. Draw nonstop from life so you can come to understand how things work in the real world. Once you begin to understand things from real life, you can create believable fictional environments, characters, and creatures. I seriously can't stress enough how important it is to really focus on traditional art skills. Most anyone can be taught a 3D program, but having an eye and the hand to create amazing art comes from a serious dedication to traditional skills."