2 answers
Sasha
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
Updated
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How to get established
How does one start out in graphic design, a form of art, or game development in a successful way? It would be hard to start a career like that without any prior connections.
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2 answers
Ellen Rosenthal
Retired Art Teacher
239
Answers
Woodbridge, Virginia
Updated
Ellen’s Answer
Hi Sasha
Good questions! How do you turn a passion for art or gaming into a successful career? How do you get established in a field that you might not know anyone?
I'll give you an answer for the graphic designer piece, which might also apply to your other fields of interest. For graphic design, you will need to demonstrate your ability to use graphic design skills, including computer graphics, and create original and skilled artwork for your art portfolio. That is what you will eventually show art programs, potential employers or clients, and that is what will get you noticed. In addition to your portfolio, you'll also need some references that vouch for your character, you work effort, your talent and your commitment. That is also what will get you noticed.
The first step is graphic design skills. If you are a high school student, take art, even if they don't offer graphic design as a separate class, and take computer graphics classes. Do the best you can in all your art classes, and listen to your art teachers' feedback on your work. Volunteer to help design and make posters or newsletters or flyers, or websites or whatever for any school clubs or for other school events , such as dances, concerts, and so on. This will give you some experience in graphic design. Talk to your art teachers for ideas as to how you could use your graphic design skills for your school or community. Keep a physical and a digital portfolio of your work. If you are not already, you might think about posting your graphic design artwork on Instagram or Facebook.
If you are in college/university or art school, take graphic design classes, including computer graphics, and do as you did in high school, volunteer to make posters or flyers, or newsletters or websites or postings or whatever. You might see if you could get paid for some of this. Do your best in all your classes and get good grades. Again, talk to your art instructors for ideas as to how you could use your graphic design skills at school or in the community.
Hopefully, from your volunteer experience and from your art classes, you should have some examples of your graphic design that show your skills and abilities for your art portfolio. In addition, while you are in college or art school, look for an internship with a graphic designer in a studio or with a company. Most college/university art programs or art schools have internship programs, and some even require it.
The second step is forging your connections. You'll need recommendations from your art teachers (and other teachers) to apply to art school or to a college/university. Once you start looking for employment, you'll need references that vouch for your character, your work ethic, your integrity and so on. When you do an internship, you will gain some professional graphic design references, and these will be invaluable. Please understand it is really important to get good references from your teachers and employers (even it the job was not art related). Finding employment in graphic design is very competitive, and there are enough talented people out there with excellent people skills, employers do not have to bother with difficult people. So show respect to your teachers and your employers, work hard, be open to new ideas and learning new skills, and be nice.
I hope this helps. Best wishes!
Good questions! How do you turn a passion for art or gaming into a successful career? How do you get established in a field that you might not know anyone?
I'll give you an answer for the graphic designer piece, which might also apply to your other fields of interest. For graphic design, you will need to demonstrate your ability to use graphic design skills, including computer graphics, and create original and skilled artwork for your art portfolio. That is what you will eventually show art programs, potential employers or clients, and that is what will get you noticed. In addition to your portfolio, you'll also need some references that vouch for your character, you work effort, your talent and your commitment. That is also what will get you noticed.
The first step is graphic design skills. If you are a high school student, take art, even if they don't offer graphic design as a separate class, and take computer graphics classes. Do the best you can in all your art classes, and listen to your art teachers' feedback on your work. Volunteer to help design and make posters or newsletters or flyers, or websites or whatever for any school clubs or for other school events , such as dances, concerts, and so on. This will give you some experience in graphic design. Talk to your art teachers for ideas as to how you could use your graphic design skills for your school or community. Keep a physical and a digital portfolio of your work. If you are not already, you might think about posting your graphic design artwork on Instagram or Facebook.
If you are in college/university or art school, take graphic design classes, including computer graphics, and do as you did in high school, volunteer to make posters or flyers, or newsletters or websites or postings or whatever. You might see if you could get paid for some of this. Do your best in all your classes and get good grades. Again, talk to your art instructors for ideas as to how you could use your graphic design skills at school or in the community.
Hopefully, from your volunteer experience and from your art classes, you should have some examples of your graphic design that show your skills and abilities for your art portfolio. In addition, while you are in college or art school, look for an internship with a graphic designer in a studio or with a company. Most college/university art programs or art schools have internship programs, and some even require it.
The second step is forging your connections. You'll need recommendations from your art teachers (and other teachers) to apply to art school or to a college/university. Once you start looking for employment, you'll need references that vouch for your character, your work ethic, your integrity and so on. When you do an internship, you will gain some professional graphic design references, and these will be invaluable. Please understand it is really important to get good references from your teachers and employers (even it the job was not art related). Finding employment in graphic design is very competitive, and there are enough talented people out there with excellent people skills, employers do not have to bother with difficult people. So show respect to your teachers and your employers, work hard, be open to new ideas and learning new skills, and be nice.
I hope this helps. Best wishes!
Thank you, this does help me a lot. I needed direction and that's what I got. I didn't think about an art portfolio or anything like that. Thank you for your advice, I'll definitely be using it in the future when I can. I do already take computer classes. I'm thinking of going for graphic design or game design, or maybe even both.
Sasha
Jamie Clark
Visual Effects Artist
30
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Jamie’s Answer
It's a fairly broad question since there are so many elements of graphic design and art. As far as game development, again there are a lot of different things you can do in game development... art and other things.
The internet is an amazing resource.
Want to learn how to do graphic design in a specific way? Check out youtube and you'll probably find 100 or more videos dedicated to that.
Want to learn some type of art? Again check out youtube and find tutorials that you want to try.
Want to learn an aspect of game development? Youtube... I would suggest looking at unreal tutorial videos since that's a free download for students and an industry standard.
Most people (myself included) got into their field without connections. You have to find them. But you also have to know what you want, where you want to go.
For me I knew I wanted to do CG for movies. So that's the direction I went. At the time there wasn't "YouTube" or schools for such things so I read A LOT of books.
I learned and developed my skills and then started showing my stuff to people online asking for advice. Asking how I could improve. Then I found other artists I admired and began corresponding with them.
I got to know people because I was already moving toward what I wanted to do.
So try some things out and figure out what it is you want and then just move forward.
And I'll tell you this much... when you DO find out what you WANT to do as opposed to what kind of "job" you can get it will separate you from the majority of people who hate their jobs but do whatever it is they do because they want to make money.
My job can be very stressful... annoying... infuriating (mostly when I can't figure something out) but I haven't worked at a "job" for decades because I actually enjoy what I do.
As I type this I'm sitting here rendering a fluid sim in 3d Studio Max... for work yes, but mostly because I want to figure it out and make something look amazing!
Good luck to you and find that thing you want!
The internet is an amazing resource.
Want to learn how to do graphic design in a specific way? Check out youtube and you'll probably find 100 or more videos dedicated to that.
Want to learn some type of art? Again check out youtube and find tutorials that you want to try.
Want to learn an aspect of game development? Youtube... I would suggest looking at unreal tutorial videos since that's a free download for students and an industry standard.
Most people (myself included) got into their field without connections. You have to find them. But you also have to know what you want, where you want to go.
For me I knew I wanted to do CG for movies. So that's the direction I went. At the time there wasn't "YouTube" or schools for such things so I read A LOT of books.
I learned and developed my skills and then started showing my stuff to people online asking for advice. Asking how I could improve. Then I found other artists I admired and began corresponding with them.
I got to know people because I was already moving toward what I wanted to do.
So try some things out and figure out what it is you want and then just move forward.
And I'll tell you this much... when you DO find out what you WANT to do as opposed to what kind of "job" you can get it will separate you from the majority of people who hate their jobs but do whatever it is they do because they want to make money.
My job can be very stressful... annoying... infuriating (mostly when I can't figure something out) but I haven't worked at a "job" for decades because I actually enjoy what I do.
As I type this I'm sitting here rendering a fluid sim in 3d Studio Max... for work yes, but mostly because I want to figure it out and make something look amazing!
Good luck to you and find that thing you want!