Week 7 Task

What does an Art Director do?

An art director coordinates the efforts of all the game artists and cooperates with the animation director and chief programmer to produce a game to the specifications of the project director.

Who are they responsible to?

The project director, the owner of the company and anyone else with higher authority than the art director.

Do you think it’s a creative role?

Yes although the project guidelines will determine how creative. If there is a very strict specification to stick to the creativity will be significantly reduced as all the major creative decisions would have already been made by the project director and anyone else who had a hand in writing the specification. On the other hand if the specification is quite vague the art director has an opportunity to basically design his/her own game.

How is art direction in Games similar to or different from Film, for example?

When I first read this question I thought I’d be able to list a number of differences but no that I’v actually got round to answering it I realise that the two different types of media direction are pretty damn similar. Every time I think of a way they are different I think of a reason why that difference is invalid.

What qualities do you think you’d need to develop if you want to become an Art Director in the future?

Leadership skills, art skills (story boarding and concept art in particular to help describe the art directors ideas), multitasking, communication skills, computer skills (3D modelling, understanding of programming and programming limitations) and time management. There are probably other things aswell but I cant think what they are at the moment.