Tips and Tricks: Landing a Gamedev Job

Xavier Coelho-Kostolny has recently launched a quick thread on Twiiter about applying for gamedev art jobs.

Xavier Coelho-Kostolny has recently launched a quick thread on Twiiter about applying for gamedev art jobs. This guide will help you figure our some essential steps.

Here are the tricks:

1. Make sure you know what job you’re applying for. For a 3D character art position, we’ve gotten tons of applications from concept artists, animators, illustrators, and even environment artists. Have the right type of art in your portfolio. 

2. Read the reqs for the job posting, and make sure your cover letter is tailored to the company and position. We look at your portfolio 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, but we also look at cover letters. Make sure you don’t have misspellings or the WRONG COMPANY NAME in the application.

3. Make sure this is a job you’re interested in. We can tell by looking at your portfolio what kind of work you want to do. If it looks like your portfolio is tailored to something we’re not doing, we’re less likely to take a second look, even if the work is very good. 

4. Display diverse content. This doesn’t mean have a wide variety of styles, but more that you should show modeling/texturing/rendering for 3D, and applicable similar skills for concept and illustration. Game artists wear many hats, including modeler, material guy, etc.

5. Make your work easy to find, and try to be at a skill level similar to people working at the place you’re applying for. If you’re showing sketches on lined notebook paper and you’re applying for a concept art job at Riot, your chances are pretty slim.

7. Use Artstation to display your work. Your web design skills are garbage. Don’t argue with this. Just use Artstation so you’re easy to find and you automatically have a good layout.

Xavier Coelho-Kostolny 

You can find the original thread here

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Comments 1

  • Nisa Bettencourt

    You're contradicting yourself a little bit in point 3 and 4.
    You say that you can tell by looking at my portfolio what kind of work I want to do. However, you also say that I should display diverse content.
    So basically, to find a job, I need to have a wide range of skills but my portfolio needs to be made towards a specific studio? I don't get it.

    0

    Nisa Bettencourt

    ·6 years ago·

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