When someone "outside" of the industry asks about what you do, how do you reply?

Sorry if this seems a silly and irrelevant thread to start. I ask because at the moment I don't have an industry job. So whenever anyone at work or otherwise asks what I'm looking to do, or what my portfolio is about, I have a hard time explaining.

The most appropriate title I guess would be "video game artist". But depending on who asks that response is usually met with a glazed expression, as if its a fake hobby that I just made it up. Like a fancy way of saying "I like to play video games".

I usually just explain it as computer animation. Most people seem to have a good handle on what that is.

Does anyone else ever have this problem?

I also ask because I'm rewriting mv CV so its suited to a job not related to video games. So i'm not sure how to word "video game artist" as a hobby, rather than something that I might be leaving to persue 3 months down the line.

Ps I'm aware this makes me sound a little arrogant.

"We", always we, not I "make video games"

People generally know what a game is, so that's easy

Then its "what, do you design them or something?"

To which I usually reply "bits of them", which is generally true.

Right now I work for IDV (Speedtree) and I make trees for the library all day. Explaining THAT is always a headache. Luckily now I can talk about Avatar, so that helps.

Heh this is a fave topic. 2 answers, depending on the nature of the enquirer.

1) If the enquirer is a dick or not likely to really get the concept without tons of protracted explaining, i just say I work in IT.

2) If the person has a hope of understanding, I just tell them honestly what I do!

The only problem is if someone is a 2 and then turns into a 1 as the conversation goes on, that can be tricky. I usually switch the conversation to them and then escape.

I used to make jokes about various things to do with my job but I stopped after a few went pear shaped on me.

'I'm a CG artist!' if they don't get what that means, they usually ask, and once a simple definition of a CG artist is established, the jump to 'Working on videogames' is a very small one.

It's a lot easier to answer now that I animate, like you said they have some kind of frame of reference even if it's way off the mark they don't stare at me blankly.

Outside of the industry:
What do you do?
I'm a lead character animator.
So what does a lead character animator do?
I lead the character animation team, make schedules, assign, oversee and check everyone's work. Work out technical problems and do a mountain of dialog and cinematics myself.
I bet that's fun?
It's pretty technical and repetitive at times [grit teeth] thanks to our engine[/grid teeth], I'm not sure I'd call it fun but it has high job satisfaction for me.
But you play games all day right?
I help test sometimes... Oh hold that thought I've got to go get another one of these...
(if not holding a drink pick up some random item and wonder off looking for another one).

Inside:
What do you do?
Lead character animator.
Oh yea where?
Her Interactive, we do Nancy Drew Mystery adventure games.
<Snickers> or oh...
5th year of full time stable work. Where do you work?
I'm taking some time off to work on personal projects, freelancing you know living the ronin lifestyle.
Cool. Hey have you checked out bla bla bla I hear its pretty fun?
Yea its sweet!
Tell me about it I haven't looked into it much, just heard good things.

~ True Story


Girl: "So what is your job exactly?"

Me: "I'm a 3d character artist for videogames"

Girl: "Oh so you draw up people and then they go into a game?"

Me: "No. That's a concept artist. A 3d character artist uses polygons
and other--"

Girl: "WHAT THE HELL IS A POLYGON?"

Me: "... I use digital 'cards' to make a person. Imagine someone making
a house of cards.
Now imagine a person making a sculpture of a person out of cards he
can stretch, but is allowed to use glue to stick em together. Then
after person is made I would have to paint it to look like a person"

Girl: "HO-LY SHIT. That sounds so impossible. You're amazing"

Me: "Yes. Yes I am"

CG artist is not a bad term to use. I might use that in the future. I've used the words "3D modelling" before, but that just raises more questions than it answers.

Originally Posted by Dreamer

"Yes. Yes I am"

Totally humble haha

I really just come up with something simple that doesn't require explanation, like 3D artist, digital artist or 3D animator (but I don't do animation :P).
People get the general idea if the word 3D is in it, and automatically think pixar or something like that.

Originally Posted by Dreamer

~ True Story


Girl: "So what is your job exactly?"

Me: "I'm a 3d character artist for videogames"

Girl: "Oh so you draw up people and then they go into a game?"

Me: "No. That's a concept artist. A 3d character artist uses polygons
and other--"


Me: "Yes. Yes I am"

but ur website domain is .........
www.drawingyourdreams.com

If you wanna avoid awkward silence, try giving people more than just your job title.

So what do you do?
I'm a video game character artist. More specifically I sculpt, model and colour members of the cast in games, and make them ready for animation bla bla.

That way the person has more subjects to latch onto to keep the conversation flowing and also does not feel dumb for not knowing what the hell you just said..

hahah Dreamer, that's brilliant

i hate the "wtf, what a nerd face". lol. So i avoid it all, by simply saying. I just got a cool, office job.

It's all about using references that everyone will know. If you use any technical terms you're going to lose the average person. The second you talk about polys you might as well be talking about string theory. I once took it upon myself to explain what a normal map was to someone who was willing to listen I even showed them examples of how it worked, and it didn't go well at all. Because it really all sounds and looks like madness.

"See this brightly colored blue picture? Well this tricks the lights into thinking this object has a surface it doesn't have"

So when I was still doing freelance CG for a living I simply said I make characters on the computer like Woody in Toy Story. That clicked with people and they knew what I did. If they knew about video games, I asked them what their favorite game was, and if it was a 3d one, I said I make characters like *insert character name*.

Oh, and there's something about the concept of UVs that even people who have a basic understanding of 3d modeling have a hard time grasping. I think it's that the object exists on two different coordinate planes in different forms at the same time that blows people's minds.

Originally Posted by Neo_God

Oh, and there's something about the concept of UVs that even people who have a basic understanding of 3d modeling have a hard time grasping. I think it's that the object exists on two different coordinate planes in different forms at the same time that blows people's minds.

I tell people think of it as a bear skin rug, you have to cut up the geometry like you have to add cuts to the bears skin to make it lay flat and even.

Originally Posted by ZacD

I tell people think of it as a bear skin rug, you have to cut up the geometry like you have to add cuts to the bears skin to make it lay flat and even.

Haha, that usually ended up being the example I used, and just said once It's painted on, than it just appears on the model.

At least I'm not, nor never was a programmer. I feel like there are no easy ways to explain that one, other than "I make it so when you push a button, the character jumps".

Girl: So what do you do?

Jacque: I make video games.

Girl: SO you just go in and play video games all day?

Jacque: Yup that's what I do. I go in for 8 hours, play video games, and 18 months later the game is done. It's similar to how movies are made, where the directors actors, sound guys, and everyone at the movie studio, just goes to the set, watches movies all day, and 6 months later their movie is just done.

Girl: Shut up.

I usually just say I'm an artist. Once they process that someone can make art for a living, they ask what the art is created for. Then I say videogames, and it registers pretty quickly. In the past I've said stuff like "I work for a video game studio" and people think I work at gamestop or something like that selling games.

Hahahaha some brilliant replies in this thread. It's so true. Everybody just presumes that because we're into video games, we aren't proper artists and there is no technical stuff involved. Whereas in fact, it's probably the most technical form of art you can actually do..

"whatever I want"

Q. Occupation ?

A. Artist.

This thread will help with the incredible awkwardness that occurs when people ask me this question.

I whore myself out to the lowest bidder

I am a dirty filthy whore, fuck yeah!

hey mistah, you wan animation? I make animation fo you, best animation 5 dollah.

If I want to sound impressive, "I'm the senior environmental artist at a company that designs military simulation software and home theater games." And then it usually ends up like "you know Call of Duty? Well, we make stuff like that, only specifically for the military to train with."

Computer graphics artist, or digital artist works well for family members outside of my immediate family. I will say, thank god for Toy Story, because if it wasn't for that movie I think 95% of cg artists would have no idea how to get people to understand what they do.

Originally Posted by MM

Q. Occupation ?

A. Artist.

^^ This