Any 2D artists out there who work for game developers? I've always wanted to make games. Always love them. Always loved Photoshop. Used to play around with it all the time, but stopped about a year ago. Recently i started thinking about actually going ahead and trying games as a career. Figured i'd learn 3dsmax and start from there. But i just realised that i already know Photoshop - i've been using it for years. So now i'm thinking if i should go for 2D art instead. But before i make any decisions, i need to know the answers to a few questions. First of all, are 2D artists in high demand? It seems to me that there are a lot more 2D artists out there there than 3D artists? Am i correct? Does the world really need another one? Second, and this worries me the most - do 2D artists have to be actual artists - i.e. at the very least able to draw very well? I know this isn't the case with 3D artists, which is one of the reasons i want (ed) to become one in the first place. I can't draw at all. Probably because i've never really tried. If it counts, i used to draw as a kid. A lot. Spent hours on it and even managed to fill entire rooms with drawings for birthdays and such. But that was then. I haven't drawn anything for years and i don't think i would be any good if i tried. Of course, if i had to, i could learn. Both my parents are artists - i'm sure they could teach me, especially since my mom doesn't work.
Questions about 2D Artist profession
- Thread starter d1abolic
- Start date
probably a good idea to get a formal art education. that way they know you have a variety of skills/styles/abilitys.
<< do 2D artists have to be actual artists - i.e. at the very least able to draw very well? >>
Your work should speak for itself.. I can't draw worth sh|t.
If you're good, and you have a unique style, there is always a plcae for you.
<< I don't think art can be considered a profession, heh.... I read somewhere that the average yearly salary of an artist was $900 - pretty impressive. >>
<< I don't think art can be considered a profession, heh.... I read somewhere that the average yearly salary of an artist was $900 - pretty impressive. >>
There are some digital artists that can command up to 400 or 500 per hour. Yes, that is American dollars. Don't say that they don't make money.
To be a 2D artist, yes, you need good drawing skills. It also depends where you want to go in game development. If your looking to do concept designs, such as character, environment, monster, etc. 2D drawing skills are mandatory. A good knowledge of anatomy and how the human body moves helps with that department. You could also get into coloring or texture designing. These areas don't require strong drawing skills, but they do require an excellent sense of color, shading, and atmosphere. It really all depends what you plan to get into.
If your going the 2D drawing route, immediately start life drawing classes and pick-up books on human anatomy. It'll take you a year or two to really get a grasp of the human body, but after that it's a fun ride to the top. Continually practice, continually draw, work on your line quality and tonal shading. Line quality can make or break designs and drawings.
If your going the color route, download other people's line art off of the internet and start practicing in photoshop. Pick up books on color theory and if at all possible, attend courses on painting and color theory, they help immensely.
If you may want to do both, then make your own lineart drawings and color them in photoshop.
The industry could always use more artists as long as you bring your own style, it's always fun to see other's people's styles in drawing and those that have a unique, solid style can nail great jobs.
If your going the 2D drawing route, immediately start life drawing classes and pick-up books on human anatomy. It'll take you a year or two to really get a grasp of the human body, but after that it's a fun ride to the top. Continually practice, continually draw, work on your line quality and tonal shading. Line quality can make or break designs and drawings.
If your going the color route, download other people's line art off of the internet and start practicing in photoshop. Pick up books on color theory and if at all possible, attend courses on painting and color theory, they help immensely.
If you may want to do both, then make your own lineart drawings and color them in photoshop.
The industry could always use more artists as long as you bring your own style, it's always fun to see other's people's styles in drawing and those that have a unique, solid style can nail great jobs.
Excellent post Spagina, thanks! I'm not at all interested in concept sketches. Texturing is what i had in mind all along. Like i already mentioned, i've been using Photoshop on and off for some time now. Never really got into it, but spent a number of hours messing around and creating stuff, just to get accustomed to it. Now i'm looking deeper into it, learning the finer points. Spent a few hours today doing tutorials from DeviantArt, and so far am very impressed by how much i managed to learn in just several hours. Which books would you recommend?
For texturing, I don't know really know 
I'm looking to get into character design myself, but you can probably do a google search for texture artists and see what type of work their putting out. A lot of them should have tutorials of how they do their work and many will have art book recommendations on their websites. But if your going to do texturing or looking into it, I'd recommend getting a digital camera then and start taking reference shots of different textures for yourself to work off of. Go outside, take pictures of cement, wood, grass, bark, dust, whatever strikes your fancy. You can then store all of that stuff and work off of it in photoshop to make textures. Another thing, if your going to do texture art, especially in games, start making skins for Quake3 models and so forth. This is excellent practice and will help you get accustomed to how skinning models works in 3d programs. This is as far as my experience can recommend, but go do a search and see what actual texture artists recommend. You can probably e-mail some of them to see what you need to do to get better.
Edit: One last thing I should mention. If you want to do texture art, the best thing to do is to look at what requirements game companies have for texture designers. That will give you the best feel for what you need to learn and work on. Plus it gives you a general idea of what type of portfolio you'll be putting together.
I'm looking to get into character design myself, but you can probably do a google search for texture artists and see what type of work their putting out. A lot of them should have tutorials of how they do their work and many will have art book recommendations on their websites. But if your going to do texturing or looking into it, I'd recommend getting a digital camera then and start taking reference shots of different textures for yourself to work off of. Go outside, take pictures of cement, wood, grass, bark, dust, whatever strikes your fancy. You can then store all of that stuff and work off of it in photoshop to make textures. Another thing, if your going to do texture art, especially in games, start making skins for Quake3 models and so forth. This is excellent practice and will help you get accustomed to how skinning models works in 3d programs. This is as far as my experience can recommend, but go do a search and see what actual texture artists recommend. You can probably e-mail some of them to see what you need to do to get better. Edit: One last thing I should mention. If you want to do texture art, the best thing to do is to look at what requirements game companies have for texture designers. That will give you the best feel for what you need to learn and work on. Plus it gives you a general idea of what type of portfolio you'll be putting together.
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