Hello, everyone! Recently, with help from the community, I'd worked together some questions that you guys would like to see answered by a professional game artist. Without further ado, our first victim, certainly professional and certainly a great game artist, ~jeh241!





1. Before we get into specifics, enlighten us a bit on who you are and what exactly you do in the field of game art. (:

My name is Josh Harvey, I’m a 3d artist and art manager working for Liquid Development. Liquid Development is an outsourcing company, so when a developer needs extra artwork done or whatever, but they don’t have the manpower to do it themselves they’ll outsource to a company like ours. I mainly do environmental props, but I also manage projects from time to time and have done some character work and level building. I’ve been working at Liquid Development for about 3 years.



2. What was your greatest influence in deciding to become a game artist?

I kind of stumbled into game art so it’s difficult to say. I went to school and studied to be a visual effects artist. I’ve always enjoyed modding games and getting my own models into a game, but I never really considered doing it as a job. I applied for a temp job though and ended up getting hired on as a full time artist and I found I really loved the challenge of making great looking art in a real-time environment. It’s that challenge to push the limits of what real-time graphics can do that influences me and inspires me the most.



3. What's your common toolset when creating game art? Do you use sculpting programs like Zbrush or Mudbox often, or do you stick with more conventional modeling techniques for your high-poly models?

What tools I use depend on the client. Mainly we’ll use either 3D Studio Max, or Maya, and Photoshop. A few of the other tools we use as needed are Crazy Bump, Headus UV, Zbrush, and Polyboost. I do a lot of environmental props so usually Zbrush isn’t as big a part of the workflow as it is for say, a character artist.



4. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced while working in the industry?

Every project presents a new challenge, but sometimes I think the biggest challenges I’ve faced is dealing with the client.



5. Would you say having a strong grasp of drawing, painting, or traditional clay sculpting is a requirement for becoming a good 3D artist?

Drawing, painting, and clay sculpting certainly go hand in hand with being a good 3d artist, but I wouldn’t say they are required. It seems like it’d be a good precursor to learning 3d, but really it is just another medium in which we do art. While most people were learning to draw or sculpt I was learning 3d. Perhaps my abilities and skills in 3d would give me an advantage if I learned to sculpt.





6. Working in outsourcing, how far do you need to usually need to develop art assets in comparison to what will be used directly in the client's engine (i.e. are rigging, animation, compressing textures and compiling models to engine formats typically handled on your studio's end)?

It depends on the client. For most environmental props we usually just model and texture the asset and deliver the source files to the client for integration. With characters it’s also common that we rig the model in addition to modeling and texturing. Source material and concepts are usually supplied by the client, but with some projects we’ll actually create the concept sketches ourselves. There have been projects where we have been responsible for integration, but it’s not as common.



7. It's sometimes said that working in fields relating to art or games aren't "real" jobs - seeing as you work with both art AND games, what's your take on this?

It certainly is a job. We have contracts and obligations to abide by. It can be really difficult and tiring work sometimes and very long hours. Most game artist know what it is to have to work for 2-3 days straight to get something in by the deadline.



8. In your experience, what is considered to be a solid demo reel for someone wishing to do what you do? Are there any big "no-nos" or misconceptions about what will push a reel farther?

For environmental stuff we usually don’t deal with reels, just portfolios. It’s always important to show a breakdown of your work; for a typical nextgen prop that would include your high poly, low poly, uv map, and textures. Mostly when looking at a portfolio we want to see that you have solid skills in your area of expertise, that you can clearly demonstrate your abilities.



9. Would it be more advantageous for someone to focus on becoming skilled at one aspect of modeling (characters, environments/props, vehicles) over being a generalist (good at many, master of none)?

Yes and no. When you’re first starting out in the industry it’s good to have a broad range of skills. As you work in the industry though it’s fine to specialize in certain areas, as you build your Portfolio and experience companies will be more willing to hire you as a specialist. Although there’s something to be said about being a jack of all trades even as you become a veteran of the industry. Usually in a pinch I can take on most rolls as needed and companies certainly like a person who can confidently approach any problem.



10. On a related note, how important is being able to change between a number of styles when working professionally with game art?

It depends. Where I work it’s good to be able to hit a lot of different styles. We work on so many games and so many different kinds of games and on each one you need to match the client’s style. If you can’t do a certainly style of work it limits the work you can do. During slower periods this can be a problem because during those times you really need to take what you can get, but if you can’t match the style you won’t be getting the work. If you’re working for a developer this isn’t as big of a problem since throughout the production of the game you’ll be following a consistent style.





11. What resources would you recommend to help someone new to 3D game art get their bearings on what to learn? Do you find that graduates of art/game art programs are on average more capable than those self-taught?

A school won’t make you a good artist, that is something that you do on your own. That doesn’t mean school is useless, it will do a lot to help someone blossom and learn the basics, but really to become a good artist you need to go out there and study and learn things on your own, you need to take the knowledge you’ve gained from school and apply it, use it every day.

I’ve met a lot of students who, for example, will take a Photoshop class, but then they don’t apply those skills after the class is finished and by graduation they become rusty. You need to constantly push yourself and challenge yourself. If you don’t use the skills you learned and improve upon them you will fall behind. This industry is constantly changing too as newer hardware and technologies come out, it’s a lot to keep up on.

As a game artist it’s important to know what is going on in the industry, what emerging technologies are going on. A lot of times schools will fall short of the latest technologies. I’ve seen a lot of students that didn’t even know how to normal map, or what a normal map was, but these have become a standard in the industry now, it’s part of the processes.

I will say though that an education in the fundamentals of art, things like design and color theory, will go a long way in helping you to produce better artwork. I had been doing computer graphics around 6-7 years before I went to art school. I didn’t get much out of the specific classes, like the 3d modeling class, but I gained a lot of valuable knowledge from my fundamental design and color theory classes. Those classes improved my art more than anything else I learned during my time at college.



12. And last but not least; is it possible to have a life outside of work when working in the game industry?

Of course; it is like any other job, you don’t have to be a slave to your work. I work really hard sometimes, but I still find time to go to the park and fly a kite.




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I (and I'm sure those who've read this) really appreciate your time and willingness (or foolishness?) to be poked with so many questions. You certainly know a wealth of information, and it's great that you're willing to share. (: Thanks to all of you who'd helped me brainstorm those questions, as well!

We all look forward to seeing more of your fantastic work, Josh; and best wishes with the inevitable challenges that lay ahead. Thanks again!

~jeh241
JoshEH.com