Video Game Art: It’s On Another Level
The complexity and depth of video games have progressed at an astonishing rate. Games that were considered state of the art a mere 15 years ago are now a visual marker that demonstrates just how far video game technology and graphics have come.

The depictions of virtual worlds in video games are so photo realistic that a casual glance at the graphics can be easily mistaken for the real world. If you have talent in illustration or art, there are opportunities for you to enter this exciting field.

Select Your Field of Specialization
While artist is a generic term, there are specific jobs within the art department of a video game company. Some of these are:

• Concept Artist - The job of a concept artist is to come up with visual design ideas that meet a set of parameters as set forth by the producers of a video game. A great degree of imagination, creativity, and good communication skills are necessary for this position.

• 2D/3D Animator - 3D artists provide the motion, action, and realism to characters and objects within a video game. They accomplish this by using cutting edge animation and modeling software.

• Illustrator - The job of a game illustrator is to draw character models, backgrounds, objects, 2D art, and any other art necessary for the production of a video game.

• 2D Texture Artist - The surfaces of objects and characters need textures or realistic “skins” for their shapes. Fur, shinny surfaces, lighting effects and stressed concrete are examples of what 2D artists do to fill out the final look of 3D images.

Career Training for a Job in Video Game Art
There are various universities and online colleges that offer programs specifically geared towards game art degrees.

Typical course curriculum covers subjects such as the history of video game art, game platforms, concept art theory, level design, use of 3D modeling and animation software, texture and lighting for games, motion studies, and character rigging.

Since coursework differs from college to college, make inquiries to see if the curriculum fits your needs.

The Job Outlook for Video Game Artists
The demand for multimedia artists and animators is expected to increase due to the market for cutting edge video games. However, competition for job positions will be very high. In spite of this, the industry is always on the lookout for bright new talent.

Typically, production jobs in the video game industry have tight deadlines to meet. Overtime and weekend work is usually required during “crunch time.”

How To Get Your Break In the Industry
Try to get a position with an independent or smaller video game company. Usually, these companies are on smaller budgets and as a result, are more willing to take on new talent in exchange for a reduced salary.

Larger game companies sometimes offer internships for artists. Check game publisher websites for information on these opportunities.

Another method is to get a job as a game tester. Although seemingly unrelated to the goal of becoming a game artist, testers have a foot in the door and have access to game producers and those associated with the production of games. Contacts can sometimes be made during the testing cycle and may open opportunities or inside track information for art department jobs.

What Is the Salary of a Video Game Artist?
Entry level positions as a video game artist average approximately $41,500 a year.

Individuals who have six or more years experience in the industry average $66,700 a year. Lead video game artists or lead animators can expect a salary of about $64,000 a year.

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The 10^th International Computer Graphics Conference is seeking entries for its View World Wide Short Competition. All 3D animations and VFX (visual effects) produced between 2006 and 2009 are eligible. The maximum time limit for these shorts is 30 minutes.

In order to widen the scope of talent for this competition, students are now eligible to enter their work in this contest.

The 2009 VIEW Award Categories are:

Best 3D short
This award is given to the best short movie created with 2D / 3D  digital animation or live footage integrated with digital visual effects. Motion capture data is acceptable for sourcing animation. Entries will be judged on the following: technical excellence, originality, creativity, design and aesthetics. The time limit for entries is no more than 30 minutes.

Best 3D Design
This award is for the best entry that depicts an original 3D model for non-character subjects such as automotive, industrial design, architectural, or other common non-living objects. Any 3D modeling software may be used to generate models but must include all textures and shading information. Judging is based upon aesthetics, creativity, originality, and technical excellence.

Best Environment Design / Digital Matte Painting
This award category honors the best digital created digital virtual environment. The entries can consist exclusively of 3D graphics or a mix of digital 3D graphics and digital matte painting techniques. The digital environment can be of an interior or exterior setting and must be compete with surface appearance whether it is painted or textured. Entries are judged upon aesthetics, architectural value, originality, creativity, and technical excellence.

Best 3D Digital Character
This award goes to the best 3D digital character modeled for a video game or animated short film. Any 3D software maybe used for the 3D creation of the virtual character. Entries will be judged upon technical excellence, originality, aesthetics, and character personality.

Best Digital Visual Effects (VFX)
This award goes to the best digital visual effects sequence used in a computer generated animation or live-action digital effects short film. VFX may be created using any 3D graphics or compositing software.

Entries are judged upon creativity, originality, technical excellence, and the continuity and consistency of the main theme idea of the short. The entry forms and contest rules can be seen by clicking here. The deadline for this contest is October 15, 2009.

As a compassionate designer, you can make a real difference for millions of animals. The Fur Free Alliance is holding their seventh-annual Design Against Fur poster competition. And, for the second successive year - DAF’s International Animation Contest. Students and teachers from around the world are invited to participate in this important contest with a conscience:

“Design a creative, compelling poster or flash animation entry that delivers the compassionate message that the wearing of fur is cruel and unnecessary.”

The contest is open to students of fashion, design, fine arts, advertising, marketing, graphic design multi-media, and all other disciplines in colleges around the world. The poster competition is run across five regions: China, North America (US and Canada), Russia, UK and Ireland (including Eire) and Europe & International (which also includes any countries not already covered by the other regions). Students should enter the competition for the region in which they study.

Additionally, there is a separate International Animation Contest. Please click on International Animation Contest for all the information you’ll need to participate in this contest. Your work will be evaluated by design and marketing experts, and potentially used in national and international campaigns to end the cruel fur trade.

The competition will take place in two phases. Winners of the Regional Competitions will go forward to an International Competition. The Grand Prize Winner wins $2,500 US. In November 2009, the regional winners’ posters will be part of a high-profile world-wide-web vote for The People’s Choice Award. The poster receiving the most votes wins $1,000 US.

Deadline varies by country. The registration deadline for the animation is 1 April 2009. Visit the site to learn more about the guidelines, market, information about fur-free and more.

This is your chance to be part of the Street Fighter heritage. Don’t Panic would like to see your creative envisioning of your favorite character. Show them your fan interpretation of one of the World Warriors. What changes in dress, stance and style reflect the rebirth of Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile and co. in 2009? What elements do you see as epitomizing each fighter’s spirit, and how would you depict these? Be it luxurious anime ink and watercolor, a deconstructed vector reworking, dark brooding mixed media – you could become part of history, so let your skills shine.

Your interpretation of the theme can be rendered using graphic design, illustration, photography, type or any medium you can think of which they can print. They suggest you work in vector format (Illustrator/Freehand) for scalability to these large sizes. For original work, size can be variable, but they’ll need to be able to have the ability of printing this piece on A2 artwork.

The winner will have their poster printed on 100k DP posters, distributed free in the Don’t Panic packs at the end of March - as well as an original piece of SF4 artwork signed by producer Yoshinori Ono, PS3 and a copy of the game, as well as a bundle of classic Capcom titles. The rest of the top ten highest voted entries will win a copy of the game on either Xbox 360 or Playstation 3.

Anyone can enter worldwide until 22 March. Voting period, however, begins on 2 March 2009, so the earlier you get your entry in, the more votes you can garner. Visit the site to learn more.

AIGA’s suite of competitions is widely recognized as the most discerning statement on design excellence today, extending a legacy that began more than 90 years ago. By means of the competitions, AIGA creates an authoritative chronicle of outstanding design solutions, each demonstrating the process of designing, the role of the designer and the value of design.

The selections in AIGA’s annual competition represent the best work across all disciplines of communication design and strategy, as chosen by a distinguished jury of design peers. As such, they become part of the AIGA Design Archives, a searchable visual database of exemplary design, they are exhibited at the AIGA National Design Center in New York and offered as a traveling exhibition for display across the country. The physical artifacts comprise the AIGA Design Archives at the Denver Art Museum.

Enter categories such as branding, entertainment, experimentation, packaging and information. As you can imagine, cross-over in categories is possible, so pick the one that best fits your work. Applications include Web design, animation, games, film, graphic design and much more. Limitations? Only work in all media that has been designed, produced and used in the marketplace between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year is eligible, and no school projects. Actual artwork is accepted, no photographs.

Deadline is 6 March 2009. Visit the site to learn more about the categories, judging, fees (which vary) and final processes.

The Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA) celebrate student achievement reflecting the powerful convergence of technology and the creative arts. The competition - which showcases individual and group projects created with industry-leading Adobe creative software - honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, animators, digital filmmakers, developers, and computer artists from the world’s top institutions of higher education.

Contest is open to all individuals age 18 years or older who are full-time matriculated students in an accredited institution of higher education in the 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Republic of China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Russian Federation, Poland and Turkey, who hold citizenship status or have official work or student visas for the above countries. For group entries, everyone who worked on the entry must be listed on the entry form and must meet these eligibility requirements.

All entries must be received by Adobe no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on 5 June 2009. Visit the site to learn more.