Environment Artist
This role is about creating environments for the game. The way a game environment is produced varies depending on the engine used so typical tasks for environment artists range from producing props to populate the world to actually modelling the world itself.
For example using the Source engine which is the basis of Half Life 2 the basic world is built using their map editor, which is called Hammer. Often a designer will block out the world and then the environment artist will produce props, scenery, buildings whatever is required in a modelling package such as Maya or 3D Studio Max and these props will be exported into the correct format so they can be added to the map in Hammer.
Environment artists use photographic references or concept art as a starting basis for building models. The object is modelled in a package such as Maya and then a texture map is drawn, usually in Adobe Photoshop and applied to the model. Often additional layers are included on top of the texture map adding detail and lighting effects.
Environment models generally have several levels of detail (known as lods) which dictate the model drawn at different distances within the game. This reduces the processing power required to draw the onscreen action so it is an essential task.
Getting an Environment Artist Job
You will need a portfolio which shows your ability to model environments, this could be terrain, buildings, plants and trees, and props of various kinds. It is a good idea to target your examples to the developer so for example if the developer you are applying to typical produces racing games then provide them with some models of cars.
An important aspect of environment modelling is texturing and if you can learn how to make high quality seamless textures and include additional technical details like bump maps this will improve your chances. It is also worth learning how to produce various levels of detail for your environment models.
You should also remember that environment modelling is not about producing the most visually stunning or detailed model that you can produce, you must keep the poly count in mind and prized environment modellers can produce assets for use in the game which look right and come within the budget provided by the code department.
Typical mistakes people make when applying for environment modeller jobs are to provide ridiculously high poly models or to provide un-textured models.
If you don´t have any industry experience it is worth doing some work for a modification team. If you can show you understand the process from the creation of an asset all the way through to implementation within a game engine you will drastically improve your chances of getting work.
It is important to have a website which you can point potential employers at to show off your work. Never include any half-finished or sub-standard work in your portfolio or website, it is better to have a small range of finished high quality examples than a large range of low quality or unfinished examples. This may seem obvious but many people make this mistake and your better quality examples may be discounted if you include any work that is below par.
Useful Links for Environment Artists
Concept Art - website for artists, learn more about creating great art, post example work, search for jobs and interact with the wider community.
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