Professional Practice module has been learning, although I’m not very into formal work as I prefer practical work. But formal work isn’t an issue for me as I’m used to it from updating my blog daily. The beginning of the module, I knew which job role I wanted to specify in. Other than that, I wasn’t completely sure about CV, cover letter, portfolio, five-year plan and what to expect from an interview. There were a lot of research which answered my questions and I learnt more about the job role I’m interested in, environment artist. I enjoyed doing my research, I learnt more about the game industry and role. Looking into various job requirements for environment artist made take out my strengths and weaknesses. My weaknesses will be improved in the other modules such as soft skills, lighting, PBR materials etc. A lot of the applications were looking for experienced artists which I’m concerned about. And finding internships can be very difficult. Therefore, I need continue to improve myself as an artist.
I contacted professionals, online events and listened to podcasts. Out of 26 people I contacted, I got response from 7 people which is good. The information was extremely helpful, given different perspectives and opinions from junior and senior artists. The questionnaires I gathered were about the artist’s journey, career advice, expectations in small and large studio and portfolio advice since that’s extremely important when applying for a job. With these answers and research, I can prepare myself for the industry and this should increase my employability.
Hardest part was making a CV and cover letter but with a good amount of research, templates and looking at other professional’s resume and cover letter I was able to get a decent CV and cover letter. Writing about experience was quite hard as I don’t have any experience in jobs or internship, instead I mentioned about relevant projects I have worked on. Other than that, writing good about myself was challenging but made me evaluate my unique skills.
The career path feels right for me as I have tried various modules and I found my biggest interest for environment. Even though my second career route was lighting artist, which is more specialized. I would still consider this as a second option if things don’t go well as an environment artist since I know a few artists have gone from environment to lighting due to lack of understanding of lighting.
Overall, this module has been very helpful and something I can look back into as a guide to get myself into the industry. With the research I have done, I definitely want to aim for my career path as an environment artist. It has been very inspiring getting the different responses from the artists, this has motivated me more. However, I should have done some reading for further research and potentially contacted more people, at least lighting artists. Other than that, the module has been extremely helpful and successful.
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