Blitz Mock Interview

Finally I get to post, no thanks to blogger being down.

A few days ago there was a Mock interview, upon which John (A 3rd year) was being interviewed for a environment artist job. This wasn't the real deal, but to give us insight on how to go about the interview stage, when we leave university.
This was Blitz's first shot at Mock interviews and hopefully, not their last (I'm hoping for one every two or so years, that would be cool).

What began to appear to me during their interview is what can go easily wrong in the stages of interview and how to avoid them if they arise. Its not just about quality of work (although it is the bulk of the deal.), its also about personality, knowledge of subject and passion of subject.

I some how managed to ask stupid questions and got gun downed for it. How should I have known master bating is the worse thing you could do in an interview? Well now I know. But to be honest, I didn't get a proper response to my questions and a few other didn't either, I guess I need to be clearer in my approach to questioning. That's one of the things that I think I will need to work on, my approach to things and I should defiantly know my shit before asking stupid question.

Would I have been able to pass the interview stage at this point?

The other big deal popping up in my mind is specialization. Ive been hearing this left right and center. Allot of people seem content with what they want to do or become. Where as I have only just started to realize what I want to become, and its probably not much different from what I wanted to be when I started the course. I've tried to get a strong interest into environments, trying hard to get the feel for them, however every time I try, I tend to lean towards characters and props, creatures and what not. Its becoming more and more clear to me that I'm interested in characters and small things, as apposed to environments, maybe because its currently my strongest point. Which means I have to study on my environments anyway.
Its all too confusing.

Well I still have allot to think about and a good amount of time to think about it. So I guess I'll leave it there.

Guest Lecture 2

Its pretty good to get a guest lecture from someone in the games industry.
Its a little better to get one you can relate to, there for todays guest lecture was pretty damn good indeed!
We basically got a run through of how we should accept our mistakes and not look to others as compition. Not being the best artist and so on, because " you may be level 2, and hes level four, but youre both going towards level 99 and you can both get there. ", its a metaphore, but its probably better said so instead of something catchy and short.
Ive been through a few of the hoops and it was pretty humbling to see that a few of the things I do can work well. Sometimes people ask me how I go about drawing and I say " I stop caring ", its not that I dont care. If I didnt care I wouldnt be drawing, but so far its been the only way I know to describe how I feel when Im drawing. I stop saying " That HAS to go there and this MUST look like this " and simply say " That goes there and that can follow into that. ". I was talking to a friend about how I go about making my drawings, I wanted to say " Well I just draw what I think Im thinking and see where I can go from there, if something looks cool I will take it and move it along with the rest of the picture ", however what I really said was a jumble of stupid words that made no sence. I dont think it helped.
The lecture reminded me that its all in your head, looking at everyone else and trying to be the best will only demoralise me or anyone else who trys. Not only that, but being the best is more of a curse than a blessing. Which is why a couple years back I stoped the senceless praise, its for attention I know, which is why I stoped and started to crit, saying whats good and whats bad. Often giving others new or different ways of looking or trying things. Most of all, being brutaly honest. I dont get much praise, I never have, but when I do it doesnt give me any drive or feeling, I feel nothing from praise. However getting no commentary, posative or negative,being the worst, or the underdog, I feel so much more. It gives me the drive. " No ones commenting. Why? Maybe I should try something different. They liked this, but didnt like that. I liked this but no one else did. " And so on. When no one comments on anything I do, I question why, no responce is just as good as a ton of responces. The only person I should ever copare myself to is myself. I've said these things before, at times its made me look big headed and a know it all. Which I have never proclaimed to be, but if I was I would have said " I knew you was going to say that! ". But each time I realise it, it gets me closer to this golden enlightenment which I can see my own work for what it is and will be, not what it was or what someone else would have made.

Sometimes I forget these things, Ive gone through them before in the past, but I always have to be reminded. Going off track seems very easy. I had also forgotten it is the journey that matters, what I do along the way doesnt matter, but the big picture does. I guess that could be said about alot of things; games, art; life in general; drugs.
The details do not matter. The skeleton matters.
No matter how I look at it, I'm feeling like no matter what I do, it will work out. I'd say its like a glimmer of hope as I climb the worlds darkest/tallest mountain, but it doesnt seem like a mountain and nothing really seems that dark.

Also, I cheered  myself up about my work the other day. " You can polish a turd. So you can make a crap drawing look fucking good! ". This has its positives and negitives. Positive, it looks good. Negative, its still a piece of shit.
I guess its a middle ground.

Blitz Lecture

I typed this out yesterday but my pc crashed. So Ill have to remember what I wrote, nice.
I thought the lecture was pretty helpful, I was reasured that I was on the right course for what I wanted to to. Also some of my thoughts on how the industry works was resuported. But it was really helpful seeing what they wanted and what they didnt. One of the best parts of the lecture was seeing one of my favorite artists, Hyung Tae-Kim. Although he has a very anime, styleized theme about his work, his colouring and character art is fucking awesome. It doesnt matter that he deforms the his characters to boost sex appeal because he does it so well. But I was really happy to see it up there. And seeing it against a load of shit art work made me smile a bit.
The lecture also made me think about what I should focus upon. I do like character design and concept art work, along with general modeling and landscapes. But I still dont know. Hell! Lead Artist would still be sweet! Other than that, Im a little disapointed that I wasnt able to show them my sketchbook I use when drawing people are coffee shops. I'd have loved some feedback from people ion the industry. But like a convention, people swarmed them and asked 10 questions each that required a 5 minute or more awnser. *sigh*