r/ilstu • u/Main-Release-8922 • 6d ago
Request Been 6 years after I graduated with a Creative Technologies degree, still looking for a job as a environment artist in the games industry, where do I look?
I've studied Creative Technologies at ISU and graduated back in 2020. Most of my skills and work I had to learn myself like 3D modeling, texturing, sculpting, etc. and I have a solid portfolio of work as well. My academic advisor was reassuring me at the time that there are plenty of jobs out there I can get as a environment artist or 3D artist when I expressed my concerns that I wouldn't be able to find work after I graduate, yet 6 years later, I've been applying to many jobs, tailoring my resume, reaching out to people on LinkedIn, trying to get into a paid indie game studio, but I cannot find any work. I feel played with because I still have student loans I'm trying to pay off but unfortunately I don't even make enough money to make much progress. I work a full time office job to pay the bills now. How can I get a job in the industry? Any advice for me?
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u/_Murxx_ 6d ago
This is very random but I just read a post by the lead dev of Aether Studios and he was saying they are without an environmental artist currently. It was his reasoning on why they aren’t releasing more maps right now. The game is a platform fighter (like smash bros). It’s a long shot but maybe reach out to them with your portfolio..
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u/Main-Release-8922 6d ago
interesting, I looked them up, looks very stylized. I focus on realistic environment art but could still be versatile. I guess I'll give them a shot
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u/jmurphy42 6d ago
A big part of your problem is that the total number of jobs in the industry has shrunk significantly over the last few years as lots of studios have shut down. I have family & close friends who’ve been in the industry for decades and are struggling to find work. You’re competing for a small number of jobs against people who have a whole lot more experience.
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u/MindlessFile3499 6d ago
My advice is similar to others. The career services department can help but there's no guarantee. I would look generally at what you want to do instead of being so specific, Do you want to be a creative in your job? You don't need to be just a 3d artist to be able to apply your base-level skills(drawing, designing, geometry, etc) you learned to do all sorts of creative jobs.
The creative industry is very competitive no matter where you go. I'm curious as to where you have looked for jobs in terms of location?
My main advice for your particular industry is to go where the jobs are. You're not going to find much of anything in B/N even in just the general creative field. Chicago or Saint Louis is an option but really you're going to want to look on the West coast like LA or Seattle where there's an established niche for your industry if you want that particular role.
Unfortunately I've had the same experience with the same program as a graduate. They are far too small to really be able to do much given that the program is so cross-disciplinary and poorly funded. They need to teach a more broad set of skills instead of particular industry degrees with no local job industry.
I don't want to get into particulars but that program needs more dedicated administrative job roles instead of the professors wearing 6 different hats, there were far too many times I felt like a lot of the advisement was left up to the rest of the university.
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u/Crabslife 6d ago
I definitely know you lol. Class of 2019. You better ask Jody soon, I think she’s retiring after this semester or the next.
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u/Agile-Aardvark4684 5d ago
Where are you located? Move to cali or oregon, if you are good enough I think Blizzard is hiring, if not there are a lot of options for small companies in that area. Super competitive field. Surprisingly a lot of companies want you in person or at least hybrid in these roles. Good luck.
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u/45s 6d ago
IDK anything about the industry, but the career services they offer on campus are still open to alumni. Maybe they have some connections?