We used to do this in school – meet with professional artists over a video conference to review and critique our student artwork. I was too retarded and boy-crazy to take advantage of it then, thus I seriously lost out.
So when P had the brilliant idea to set up a small group Skype to talk about our current work, I felt like I'd been given a bit of a second chance. Our first meeting was today, and I asked them to give my portfolio a look. I told them I wanted to get a job in game art, and asked what they thought would help me bridge the gap (more like a great yawning maw) between my current work and said game job. I guessed it would be quite a bit, as I didn't think my work looked like any current game I knew.
P said I was closer than I thought, as my food zine illustrations reminded him of games like Mama's Cook Off, Cafe World, and Restaurant City. N suggested I do another one of my food diagrams, but in Illustrator. That's what I'll be doing this coming week!
I asked if either of them had ever played Pet Society. They hadn't, but started laughing (I like to think, in delight, but it could just as well have been derision;) at the images that popped up in Google. I'd specifically mentioned PS because, harhar, that was the game that made me first think about working in games. Point of Appeal #1: It's not strategy, war, or gambling. Point of Appeal #2: The look of the game is simple, Flash-based, cartoony, brightly-colored, and fun. Kind of right up my alley, right? Right?
The secret(?) teenage girl inside me would love it if her job was to come up with new animals characters, costumes, food, plants, environment and household props all day long. P and N felt there were still plenty of games that would need artists for this, for casual games. I was heartened by that. HEARTENED
Again, thank you, P & N. Looking forward to the next session ...
