The game industry continues to grow and evolve as the years pass. Despite this growth, the competition in obtaining a career in video games remains as arduous as ever. Becoming a Video Game Artist: From Portfolio Design to Landing the Job from Focal Press helps guide readers from their first steps of making a portfolio, to acing the job interview and beyond. John Pearl explores the different art related jobs and their responsibilities.

Questions are posed to industry professionals throughout each chapter to help with the reader's growth and understanding. Becoming a Video Game Artist is the ultimate roadmap in navigating a career in video games by teaching how to make your portfolio shine, what expect once hired, and how to make the best decisions to help flourish your talents to cultivate an exciting career.

Author: John Pearl    Softcover, 247 Pages    92 Color Illustrations    Publisher: Routledge Taylor & Francis

• About this Book
• About the Author
• Chapter 1- Introduction
• Chapter 2 – General Portfolio theory and application
• Chapter 3 – Animator
• Chapter 4 – Character Artist
• Chapter 5 – Concept Artist
• Chapter 6 – Environment Artist
• Chapter 7 – Technical Artist
• Chapter 8– User Interface Artist
• Chapter 9 – Visual Effects Artist
• Chapter 10 – Application and Interviewing
• Chapter 11 – The Job and Career Growth

John Pearl is the Design Director and a co-founder of Gunfire Games. He has worked in AAA game development for the last 17 years. He has recently worked on titles such as Chronos, Herobound: Spirit Champion, and Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition. He is a lifelong gamer and still finds time in his busy schedule to stay up with the latest games as well as playing classic ones.

Previously he worked at Crytek USA as the Character Art Director. Prior to that he worked at Vigil Games in many different art roles from Environment Art Director to Studio Technical Art Director; performing in crucial art roles on Darksiders, Darksiders 2, and Dark Millennium Online. He has spent the bulk of his time leading Environmental, Character, and Technical Art teams but has also worked closely with many Animators, UI Artists, and Visual Effects Artists. While leading large internal teams he also worked with multiple outsourcing firms providing them with technical documentation on process and methodology, in addition to artistic feedback and direction.

In his time in the game industry he has reviewed many hundreds of portfolios and interviewed countless art candidates. He created an Internship program at Vigil Games in addition to mentoring and training numerous young artists; many of whom have gone on to have successful careers in games.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Does Black Magic Design make a 5" monitor without recording capabilities? I have no need for that feature at all.

A: No. The only monitors Blackmagic Design makes without the recording capabilities are rack mount monitors, and they are not portable.

Q: 2. Can this record H.264 Files?

A: The Blackmagic Design Video Assist 3G-SDI/HDMI 5" Recorder/Monitor can not record in the H.264 format.

Q: 3. Does it have Sound input?

A: Not independent separate analogue inputs, like an XLR, usually if you have an HDMI or SDI output, the audio is embedded in the video signal.

Q: 4. Is the Kingston 64GB UHS-1 SDXC Memory Card (B&H # KISD64GBU3, MFR # SDA3/64GB) 100% compatible ?

A: The Kingston has matching specifications to the other cards we suggest for the Video Assist so you are good to go.

Q: 5. Can you get a Sony NP Battery adapter?

A: Unfortunately the product only comes with Canon LP-E6 battery plates for use in powering without a wall adapter

Q: 6. Will this recorder let me bypass the 29.59 minute limit on my Canon 5D mkiii? Also, will my 5D output audio to this recorder?

A: You are correct that the 5D Mark III will not send audio over HDMI in the clean HDMI mode. Dennis L was mistakenly speaking about conventional mode where HDMI does carry audio. Regarding the Blackmagic Video Assist: since the output of the camera is the same, you would still need to use a cable for the audio when using the BM Video Assist.

Q: 7. Can this monitor be powered off a v-mount battery? If so, what cable/accessory would I need?

A: Yes, you can use a dummy NPF battery to D-Tap cable and use a V-Mount battery to power the Blackmagic Design Video Assist 3G-SDI/HDMI 5" Recorder/Monitor.

Q: 8. How does this pair with the 1dc? Would this be a good choice for HD acquisition being that it records 1080p at 60fps? Would the result be 10bit 422?

A: It will work with your Canon DSLR as long as it has an active video HDMI output. The video format recorded to the SD card is 10bit 422 ProRes in your choice of codec (Proxy, LT, 422, HQ). DnxHD is an option as well.Here is a link to the tech specs for the producthttps://a href= http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicvideoassist/techspecs target= _blank www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicvideoassist/techspecs/a

Q: 9. Will the 12v power out of the URSA Mini power this monitor? And if so will the cables supplied with either product do the job or will an additional cable be required?

A: Since the Video Assist has just been announced, power options are still being worked out. The 4 pin XLR on the right side is one possibility. However, a power splitter would have to be made since that outlets primarily purpose to power the Viewfinder. Another solution could be powering the Video Assist via the V-mount or Gold mount battery plate D-tap outlet. It may at first have to be a custom D-tap to Video Assist cable to make this happen. Watch for further announcements regarding this product.

Q: 10. The expected availability recently went from August to October. Is there a specific reason for this delay or is it a random guess?

A: We were told by Blackmagic the roll out would be delayed. If there was a reason given, it is not known by us sales agents.