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role models - industry practice

 Role models - Industry practice 

Jen Zee

My role model in the Games industry is Jen Zee - the Art Director at Supergiant Games, the people behind the likes of Bastion (2011) and Hades (2018). I have chosen her because she has an easily recognisable style in her work. Jen was hired by a the founders of Supergiant Games Amir Rao and Gavin Simon, she was one of the original 7 members that developed Bastion (2011) at this point she was already the art director of the company because she was the only artist. At that point Jen had already had roles on previous projects like Gaia Online (2003) producing concept art and illustrations.
If I were to try and take an aspect of Jen's art work and apply it to my own, it would most certainly be her use of shapes. Upon some brief analysis a lot of her work includes sharp angles and somewhat hard edges giving her work a bold silhouette while the inner shapes of the character or environment are relatively soft creating a nice balance between the two creating a recognisable style. 
Khaleesi Blood of the Dragon by Jen Zee

Using the LinkedIn Art Director description template that the general responsibilities of an Art Director or AD include developing the initial visual style of a project and to then create briefs for your subordinates to work on to further develop a visual identity and conceptualise new ideas. An AD would also oversee the development of art and provide relevant feedback for their team while potentially doing any corrections and tweaks for presentation purposes. If it wasn't obvious enough an AD has to be well versed in art creative software for example the Adobe Suite, Clip studio Paint etc. as well as marketing techniques as they will more than likely be at the helm of marketing the product alongside a producer which means they also have to be open to collaboration.

These are all skills I am working towards in my group projects this year a I am a lead environment artist in my other project where in which I have to create and delegate tasks and have them completed by a set deadline.

Jen Zee, 2012. Khaleesi Blood of the Dragon, Digital Painting, [Online image] Conceptartworld.com. Available at https://conceptartworld.com/artists/jen-zee/

LinkedIn corp, 2024. Art Director Job Description [Online] LinkedIn.com. Available at:https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/resources/how-to-hire-guides/art-director/job-description

Supergiant Games A.Rao, 2010. We Hired an Artist [Online] Supergiant Games.com. Available at: https://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/we-hired-an-artist/
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