3D Tips & Tricks

Whether you’re a digital artist professional wanting to advance your career, a digital arts student getting ready to graduate, or a hobbyist hoping to turn your passion into a new career, you need to take specific and deliberate actions to get noticed and hired.

These five tips for getting a job as a digital artist are being used successfully right now by other digital artists to get noticed by recruiters and potential employers.

1. Showcase your digital art online.

There is a very active digital arts community online of portfolio platform websites like CG Society, ArtStation and forums like Polycount where artists discuss issues, ask for advice, and get to know other artists. If you’re serious about getting a job in the industry, you need to be visible as an active online artist. You never know who may be reviewing your portfolio. You never know when a forum participant might contact you about an job opening months after having a spirited conversation with you about line art techniques.

2. Present a high-quality portfolio.

You need put together a well-constructed, clear portfolio which focuses on quality rather than quantity and is accompanied with a well-written, concise CV (Curriculum Vitae). The CV should contain details about your strengths, accomplishments, and job history (if applicable). Make it as easy as possible for a recruiter or potential employer who has already looked at hundreds of job applications to notice you. If you are called for an interview and the interviewer recognizes your work, you can leave a positive, lasting impression.

3. Network and form relationships with industry professionals.

Breaking into the industry isn’t necessarily about being the most talented artist, it’s about being in the right place at the right time. The way to find the most opportunities is to be first in the mind of those already working in the industry.

4. Go to the digital firms where you hope to work.

Ask to be hired for a digital arts position in their firm. Ask for feedback on your portfolio. If they are not currently hiring, ask them for the names of other companies that are hiring. Show how sincere and motivated you are to work on their team. Employers appreciate assertiveness and passion in a potential employee.

5. Stay optimistic and never give up!

Being rejected is a fundamental part of job hunting in the digital arts industry. Even if your top choice of companies rejects you, don’t let it discourage you. Instead, keep looking. Get your foot in the door with any digital arts positions and opportunities that come your way. Keep pushing yourself every day because if you never give up, you’ll never lose.

CG Master Academy is a leading provider of online digital art education for professionals and art students. Through our CG Master Classes in 2D digital art and 3D character art, we provide comprehensive instruction by the industry’s top digital art professionals in Concept Art, Illustration, Entertainment Design, and 3D Character Design. CGMA’s digital experience facilitates artistic growth and achievement through a very simple and intuitive program distributed across weekly master classes.

How to Stay Inspired as a Digital Artist

Just like you, digital artists—professionals and students—sometimes feel like they are on an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes you’re bursting with confidence and great ideas. Other times, you’re stuck and can’t break through a creative block. Experienced artists have been through it all, and along the way, they have discovered effective ways to stay inspired and blast through those inevitable “frozen in time“ moments. These are five key ways they continue to gain inspiration from the world around them.

1. Build Up Your Visual Library

Stimulate your creativity by traveling to new places. Enjoy endless vistas as a passenger on a train or a bus. Experience the tranquility of a long walk in a park or the visual stimulation of the bustling nightlife in a trendy neighborhood. Learn from the best by watching movies and TV shows with top-notch art direction, special effects, and animation.

2. Showcase Your Digital Art Online

Build up digital collages of your best pieces on websites like Pinterest and Instagram. Share your art with fellow digital arts and students on portfolio platforms like ArtStation and CG Society. Stimulate your creative juices browsing through other artists’ portfolios, noticing their unique styles and approaches. Gain inspiration from artists who are also working in your field of interest such as digital character design, environment design, anatomical drawing, or creature design.

3. Take a Digital Art Class

The top digital artists never stop learning—that’s how they become the best in their field. Whether digital art is a hobby or a career for you, signing up for an online class or an offline class near you can help you climb out of your slump and move from frustration to artistic creation. Remember, inspiration is always out there as long as you keep looking for it.

4. Study Existing Artwork and Games

Visit galleries and museums and come away with new ideas of expression. Inspiration can come from anywhere—an ancient Egyptian mural, a medieval battle scene, or a theatrical costume exhibit. Experience the top games like Call of Duty, Uncharted 4 and Titan Fall and notice the details that impress you most about them.

5. Tell a Story With Everything You Create

Take your time, and think about the mood and story that will involve your audience, no matter how mundane the particular project may be. When you design as many details as possible, it can help you to create a convincing project that results in enthusiastic responses from decision makers.

CG Master Academy is a leading provider of online digital art education for professionals and art students. Through our CG Master Classes in 2D, 3D and VFX, we provide comprehensive instruction by the industry’s top digital art professionals. CCGMA’s digital experience facilitates artistic growth and achievement through a very simple and intuitive program distributed across weekly master classes. To view our full programs and course list visit us here.

How to Stand Out as a Digital Artist

How do you stand out in the crowd as a talented digital artist and get the attention you deserve and the challenging jobs you desire? We asked a pool of our amazing instructors and talented artists for their professional advice:

1. Choose One Skill and Master It

Ben Keeling (Environment Artist at Creative Assembly) shares that his most important tip for aspiring artists is to “pick one area of expertise and just become the best you can be at that one area,” whether it’s procedural texturing, high-poly modeling, or character design. “Be an expert in your field,” Keeling emphasized, “and you will be recognized for that skill.”

2. Send a Clear Message to CG Studios

When you market a particular skill, you are directly communicating to studios that need your skill. “If a studio is looking into a particular pipeline or wants skills using certain programs such as Unreal, this can be a really good selling point for securing a job,” said Keeling. “All the most popular artists on websites like ArtStation and CG Society showcase their key CG skill.”

3. Showcase Your “WOW” Piece

“Have a polished “wow” piece that boggles the mind and tickles the soul!” said Michael Pavlovich (Principal Artist at Certain Affinity). Your “wow” piece will get more attention and more reactions from teachers, peers, and other pros than a dozen adequate examples.

4. Create Good Work

Consistent examples of your talents and creativity are the foundation of “a clear online presence and message” to industry professionals about you and your abilities, said Brett Bean (Freelance Digital Artist). It all adds up to the way you create your professional “brand” and get attention from fellow digital artists, job recruiters, and potential employers.

5. Network With Other CG Artists

Networking online is the most important element of getting noticed by the CG community, said Patrick Raines (Concept Artist for FireForge Games). “Posting both professional and personal work on sites like ArtStation and CG Society, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest can quickly grow your reputation worldwide.” Take advantage of the global reach of the Internet to build your reputation and your career.

Many thanks to our CG Master Academy Instructors: Michael Pavlovich (Introduction to ZBrush), Ben Keeling (Introduction to Substance for Environment Art), Brett Bean (Fundamentals of Character Design), and Patrick Raines (Environment Sketching for Production).