Breaking into the Gaming Industry with an Illustration degree?

Hello everyone.

I'm planning to do an Art and Design foundation and then get into an Illustration BA course. I've been doing quite a bit of research on universities, their courses and their industry connections and from what I've seen, some of them have good connections to various design firms or book publishers but nothing in terms of connections to game studios or anything like that.

Does anyone have any idea about whether it is possible to break into the industry after university with an illustration degree? Also, any good universities with connections to the gaming industry for illustrators?

Any and all advice and help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Reply 1

jay10101

5

Original post by AVGA17

Hello everyone.

I'm planning to do an Art and Design foundation and then get into an Illustration BA course. I've been doing quite a bit of research on universities, their courses and their industry connections and from what I've seen, some of them have good connections to various design firms or book publishers but nothing in terms of connections to game studios or anything like that.

Does anyone have any idea about whether it is possible to break into the industry after university with an illustration degree? Also, any good universities with connections to the gaming industry for illustrators?

Any and all advice and help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

http://www.abertay.ac.uk/courses/ug/comparts/

Another Abertay plug from me, the Computer Arts course above is probably less specialized than what you're looking for but sometimes it's good to take knowledge from all disciplines - it doesn't stop you from still focusing on illustration either (especially when working on games with other students which i'll get to later)
The course is also Skillset Accredited meaning its recognized by the industry itself for being a quality place for learning.

Course may not be what you fully want but the university itself makes up for it:

Abertay is a well known university in regards to the game industry (also being the first in the world to offer a 'computer games' degree) and it has a lot of industry links, especially with the likes of Rockstar North and other studios nearby like YoYo Games who made Game Maker.

Since it offers courses for games art, design and programming, you'll be meeting and networking with people from all disciplines - allowing you to get working on games while you're still at university
(some universities can to do this at a small-scale but since Abertay is such a hub for games-related courses it'll be much bigger)

With all these nerdy courses it's super easy to find other nerds

Finance-wise it's cheaper than your usual university (including Accommodation)

Reply 2

AVGA17

OP

4

Original post by jay10101

http://www.abertay.ac.uk/courses/ug/comparts/

Another Abertay plug from me, the Computer Arts course above is probably less specialized than what you're looking for but sometimes it's good to take knowledge from all disciplines - it doesn't stop you from still focusing on illustration either (especially when working on games with other students which i'll get to later)
The course is also Skillset Accredited meaning its recognized by the industry itself for being a quality place for learning.

Course may not be what you fully want but the university itself makes up for it:

Abertay is a well known university in regards to the game industry (also being the first in the world to offer a 'computer games' degree) and it has a lot of industry links, especially with the likes of Rockstar North and other studios nearby like YoYo Games who made Game Maker.

Since it offers courses for games art, design and programming, you'll be meeting and networking with people from all disciplines - allowing you to get working on games while you're still at university
(some universities can to do this at a small-scale but since Abertay is such a hub for games-related courses it'll be much bigger)

With all these nerdy courses it's super easy to find other nerds

Finance-wise it's cheaper than your usual university (including Accommodation)

See, I was thinking about going for a game art-related course directly but then again I thought that I might be limiting myself a bit too much, you know... I thought that an Illustration BA is close enough to the field but at the same time it is broad enough so it wont 'pidgeon hole' you into the gaming industry directly, thus leaving you a few other options in case you dont quite make it. As far as Abertay is concerned, the only thing that concerns me is the University's relative 'remoteness' from the large british urban centres as well as the fact that it doesn't seem to be a very 'well known or respected institude in the arts in general. I'm putting a question mark on that statement though since it might be totally untrue and just based out of my own ignorance and prejudice :P

Reply 3

jay10101

5

Original post by AVGA17

See, I was thinking about going for a game art-related course directly but then again I thought that I might be limiting myself a bit too much, you know... I thought that an Illustration BA is close enough to the field but at the same time it is broad enough so it wont 'pidgeon hole' you into the gaming industry directly, thus leaving you a few other options in case you dont quite make it. As far as Abertay is concerned, the only thing that concerns me is the University's relative 'remoteness' from the large british urban centres as well as the fact that it doesn't seem to be a very 'well known or respected institude in the arts in general. I'm putting a question mark on that statement though since it might be totally untrue and just based out of my own ignorance and prejudice :P

Computer Arts isn't as 'pigeon hole-ing' as you'd think, it's called Computer Arts and not Game Art after all.

Abertay University itself is within the city of Dundee, it's a mid-sized city so it's bigger than Norwich but obviously smaller than Manchester or London. If your looking to keep the city vibe it's definitely still there. If you're looking for big city ethnic diversity it won't be super diverse like London, it's bloody Scotland after all - however the student body itself is pretty diverse (probably since its also one of the cheaper universities to go to)

As for the whole prestigious university aspect, it's probably true that Abertay ain't the best in the charts, probably on the bottom half of the league table in general. But you gotta remember that these league tables are often traditional, and doing a course relating to video games is as untraditional as you can get.
The university isn't probably well known in the mainstream, but it's well known in the games industry, it doesn't host Dare to be Digital or have the largest Playstation teaching lab in Europe for nothing.

Going to a more 'well known and respected' institute may provide a less pigeon holey education and even allow you to just focus on Illustration - the big thing to keep in mind is that in Abertay you'll be talking to people from all sides of the industry, it'll be less of a hassle and much easier to get started in the industry/your games portfolio, you're pretty much contained in a game development bubble here where you can get a balanced team gathered quickly rather than having to look around for ages.

^tldr you can get into/simulate industry stuff and get experience and connections rather than starting after you finish

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4

moid

9

Original post by AVGA17

Hello everyone.

I'm planning to do an Art and Design foundation and then get into an Illustration BA course. I've been doing quite a bit of research on universities, their courses and their industry connections and from what I've seen, some of them have good connections to various design firms or book publishers but nothing in terms of connections to game studios or anything like that.

Does anyone have any idea about whether it is possible to break into the industry after university with an illustration degree? Also, any good universities with connections to the gaming industry for illustrators?

Any and all advice and help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

It's certainly possible... I have a degree in Fine Art and that didn't prevent me from working in the games industry (it didn't help at all either, but that's fine art for you) and I've worked with others in the games industry who had degrees in law and theatre studies and those degrees didn't stop them either. The reason for this is that the games industry looks at your portfolio of work first; a degree is just a nice extra that they may or may not care about. The downside to this is to stand much chance of getting in to the games industry you do need to be attending a course that trains you for that, and an illustration degree is highly unlikely to do this - with the exception of concept art positions of course, and that sort of work doesn't usually come under the heading of traditional illustration or the teaching associated with it. Were you planning on getting a 3D position, or a 2D position in concept art?

Reply 5

AVGA17

OP

4

Original post by moid

It's certainly possible... I have a degree in Fine Art and that didn't prevent me from working in the games industry (it didn't help at all either, but that's fine art for you) and I've worked with others in the games industry who had degrees in law and theatre studies and those degrees didn't stop them either. The reason for this is that the games industry looks at your portfolio of work first; a degree is just a nice extra that they may or may not care about. The downside to this is to stand much chance of getting in to the games industry you do need to be attending a course that trains you for that, and an illustration degree is highly unlikely to do this - with the exception of concept art positions of course, and that sort of work doesn't usually come under the heading of traditional illustration or the teaching associated with it. Were you planning on getting a 3D position, or a 2D position in concept art?

What I am aiming or ideally is a career in 2D a , traditional art-oriented concept art position. You know, the people that make the inital sketches or character designs. I was told that this part of the development process is just applied illustration so a degree in illustration would give me some solid foundation. From what I've seen, most employers want any potential concept artists to have at the very least, a very good ability with using the Adobe creative suit. I am not sure if ACS orientation is offered in traditional illustration BAs... By the way, having looked at the computer arts course in dundee, if I have understood it seems to be rather more oriented towards the more technical and digital aspect of the development process, such as 3d modelling, level design and even lightweight programming, which isnt really as close to what I want as illustration. Or so I would think, at least. Please correct me if I am wrong!

Reply 6

moid

9

Yes in some respects the role is applied illustration, but it seriously helps if you have some knowledge of 3D so that you don't design things that are impossible in 3D later. You do need to know how to draw really well - correct anatomy, perspective and also stylised forms. The ability to show you can pick up a style and work within it helps; most concept artists work in small teams whose styles need to match. You don't need to be an expert in every function of Photoshop; you just need to be able to paint with it really well and be incredibly fast, prolific and imaginative.

Breaking into the Gaming Industry with an Illustration degree?

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