WORK BASED LEARNING - PCAD100

Personal Statement research

What to include?

• Keep it specific so the person reading it doesn't have to work
• White A4 paper
• Spell check
• Say when your available to work
• Action words

My covering letter

Write a personal statement about your immediate goals and how you intend to achieve these?

My current goal is to complete the first year of the games design course I also wish to create a portfolio of my 3D modelling work. I want to feel confident with my work flow so I can work efficiently. This will include time management which is a large part of 3D modelling. 

Write a personal statement about your goals for the next 18 months?

To achieve my goals it will take more than 18 months the 3D modelling software will just require a lot of practice. I will work on my Time management with my tutor and set myself goals and increase them when I have been successful. 

Write a personal statement about your goals for the next 3 years?

To achieve my degree and have a portfolio I can be proud of

• Current CV 
  

• Future CV?

Identify your skills/experience gap

These are the skills I feel I lack and need to get to my desired future CV

Writing skills 

time management 
problem solving
confidence 
experience

3D modelling artist research

Many industries use 3D modelling software I feel it has a big part for the future whether it be within the games industry or elsewhere.

Entertainment

Gaming 

Architecture

Publishing 

Advertising & marketing

Geology & science 

Source

http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/how-tos/video-software/6-industries-that-use-3d-modeling-software.html#b

S.W.O.T Analysis

• Strengths
• Strong technical knowledge (programs/technology)
• Imagination
• Great leadership qualities
• People skills/Communication skills

Weaknesses

• Drawing ability
• Time management
• Lack of work experience
• Expanding 3D abilities

Opportunities

• Expanding knowledge of the industry i.e. conference
• Continuing to expand my education 
• 
  

Threats

•    Competition within the Game-industry
•    Confidence in my abilities
•    The evolution of the industry/technology

Applying S.M.A.R.T goals to your S.W.O.T threats

Specific

Getting into the games industry

Measurable

My time management skills are in need of work I set my targets to high

Attainable

Increase the skills in my 3D modelling I feel I have good grasp of the software.

Realistic

Creating a portfolio of my work 

Timely

Keeping up to date with the industry and technology....

Monster interview

Score 2872

Interview questions

What is a leading question? 

A question that prompts or encourages the desired answer 

positive and negative body language

Good

Eye contact

Posture

Hand shake

Smile

Bad

Slouching

Uninterested

Arms crossed

not making eye contact 

What makes a 

good cv?

Creating the perfect CV has very specific guild lines but can still be varied in the design process.

• 2 pages max!
• use Action words
• Use bullet points to keep information simple/focus 
• headings and subheadings 
• Only Include school education with good grades
• Use a suitable font...not comic sans 

When I made my cv I avoided templates from the internet I feel this way my cv can stand out from most others I feel this is very important,

Below is list of CV errors that employers said would make them automatically reject a candidate:

CVs with spelling mistakes or typos 61% 

CVs that copied large amounts of wording from the job posting 41% 

CVs with an inappropriate email address 35% 

CVs that don’t include a list of skills 30% 

CVs that are more than two pages long 22% 

CVs printed on decorative paper 20% 

CVs that detail more tasks than results for previous positions 16% 

CVs that include a photo 13% 

CVs that have large blocks of text with little white space 13%

Social media

Using social media sites to sell yourself and your work has never been so important then it has in this digital age.

Below is a list of media utilities traditional and digital that can propel a persons cv/blog/portfolio  

Facebook - share button/business pages 
twitter-tweet button
blogger - adverts/buttons
wordpress - Automatic tweeting app
tumblr - videos/buttons
linkedin - Reach businesses/companies directly
youtube - adverts
e-mail/signature
Paper and media advertising

Using the above sites can allow you to reach millions of people the best thing about these sites is that they can all work together although they all have there specific roles it is possible to make them work the way you want them to.

Dream job research 

My aim for this research is to find my dream job and as many details about the company as possible.

Portfolio

5-7 years Experience (Triple A title company)

Relocation?

The first thing I noticed about all of the jobs I have looked at so far is the amount of experience that is required some companies ask for at least 5 years experience within the industry and some like below ask for more.

Looking through 3D modelling roles it looks like the role is much larger then i anticipated the roles range from 

Junior 3d artist

Texturing artist 

Asset artist 

Character artist 

Below I have found a very simple and great guide of how to get into the games industry as a 3D artist

- http://www.3d-for-games.com/blog/getting-into-the-games-industry...-3d-artist -

This image is taken from the jobs page at Bethesda  it gives a good idea of the requirements  

Senior character 

artist role

The job I found is for a company that I admire greatly they make amazing games and are very consistent in the games they create. Cdprojekt Red make non linear adult role playing games these include The witcher series which has won hundreds of awards they also have many new Ip's in the pipeline including cyberpunk 2077.

I feel this role would be a great target to aspire to it includes the 3D modelling aspect of games design that I enjoy the most looking into this role has given me a better understanding of the types of roles available in the industry.

As a Senior Character Artist I will be responsible for creating photo-realistic characters in high and low poly in a timely and professional manner. assist in the development of the character art pipeline and practices, setting a quality standard for character assets and mentor others.

Responsibilities: 

Creating high quality game assets in collaboration with Concept Artists and the Lead Character Artist 

Helping in defining the quality standard for character assets 

Helping refine and streamline the character art production pipeline 

Working closely with the Animation department 

Prototyping new technologies on the given platforms 

Mentoring others 

Required skills & experience: 

Over 5 years of professional production experience in game development 

Have shipped at least one AAA title as a Senior Character Artist 

Excellent understanding and sculpting of the human form 

Strong skills in Photoshop, ZBrush/Mudbox 

Strong experience in one of the leading modeling packages (3DS Max, Maya, etc) 

Experience in modeling and texturing a diverse visual range of characters and creatures. 

Excellent communication skills and ability to work efficiently within a team 

Ability to easily communicate in English 

Nice to have: 

Strong understanding of real-time shaders will be appreciated 

Lighting and rendering abilities will be a plus 

Animation and rigging skills will be appreciated 

Avid gamer experience and deep knowledge of the industry will be very appreciated

http://cdpred.com/senior-character-artist/

My specialist skill 

The specialist skill which i'm working towards to is the role of a 3d modelling artist this is not restricted to the games industry as i feel it will have a massive role within many different areas of the entertainment industry. 

I don't currently have any experience within the industry apart from some minor game testing where i was required to give feedback.

in order to bridge the skill gaps is to go and try and do some work/intern-ship, contact professional already in the industry for advice and to always practice and improve my skills by self-teaching and to find tutorials to learn new and better skills and to learn skills by making games with the small group I’m in which would help a lot with experience, being to go through the actual process.

what have I learnt about my area?

Whilst researching the 3D modelling sector of the games industry I have learnt a lot of things some I knew and some some I was completely unaware of. 

Like all roles with in the industry it is extremely competitive and you have to stand out from the crowd the main thing I didn't realise was how many different roles surrounding the 3D modelling sector there were this has changed the way I think about how the industry runs and allows me to choose more of a specific direction for my work. I will continue to increase my skills and build my portfolio as I feel right now they are far from the level within the industry this scares but also makes me look forward to what the future may bring. 

Where do I stand in the industry?

At this point in time my place in the industry as it stands is non existent I will continue to create my portfolio and extend my skills within my desired subject.

I currently have a contact that works as a 3d modelling artist which I send my work to she continues to give me great feedback.

How can I gain more skills?

Research

practice

Listen

Bridging the gap between me and the industry? 

Attending industry events 

send my work to companies

linkedin

portfolio 

applying for volunteer work in the industry to build up my cv

Resources -

http://jobs.zenimax.com/requisitions/view/71

http://forums.cgsociety.org/

http://www.gameartisans.org/forums/forum.php

http://www.3d-for-games.com/forum/

http://www.polycount.com/

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/