Robert Chang on ‘What Makes a Good Art Director’
Author of this post: Beth A. Dillon | About Blog Authors »GameCareerGuide.com, Gamasutra’s game education sister site, put out a stellar article from Robert Chang of iWin about what’s involved in being an Art Director. Robert started off doing textures and concept art for various companies, and soon became an art director, but later left game industry in 2001 to pursue his own projects. With years of experience and having returned to game industry as a studio art director at a game development and publishing house, Robert has great advice for any game artists aspiring to advance their careers.
We’ve lifted out our highlights from the article.
“A good art director is hard to find. Most candidates applying for the position only have a few of the necessary qualities. Many are not good artists at all, but can manage other people. Others are great artists, but can’t manage or lead. Someone who is a good art director for one project may not be right for a different project. Some are very versatile, switching between styles of games, styles of art, large and small budgets–but they are rare.”
Chang goes on to detail the process of forming a team, choosing roles, and helping to guide the project during its progression.
“To be a good art director, you have to have an eye for potential. More than a few times, I’ve assigned artists to tasks that they’ve never done before because I recognized their potential and I felt certain that with proper direction, they would not only pull it off, but do a beautiful job. However, you need to feel certain that the artist has an interest in trying something new, otherwise it’s just a painful experience.”
And our favorite, a checklist:
What Makes a Great Art Director?
Production veteran: knows the pipeline and can use essential software at expert level
Knows how to draw, paint, design at advanced level
Knowledgeable about a wide range of styles, genres, mediums
Can schedule, budget, and enforce milestones
Is on top of new tools available for improving the pipeline
Understands how art and programming interact; can work with programmers effectively
Understands the big picture and works with producers, CEOs, director of technology, creative director, marketing, publishing, etc., at the highest level to establish the visual look of every single product coming into and out of a studio
Has confidence and conviction when meeting with clients, publishers, investors
Utilizes the right external resources (art houses, freelance contractors), and knows how to manage them
Nurtures and inspires a team of artists
Passes on knowledge and skills to younger, less experienced artists
Uses each artist on the team to his or her strengths
Takes care of artists so they are happy when working on projects
Has the ability to spot potential
Is respected and seen as reliable by senior management and top level personnel
Knows what works visually and what doesn’t, or what style is appropriate or effective and what isn’t for each project
Knows how every aspect of the visuals should look
For the full article, check out An Artist Grown.
Tags: Art
