AuthorTopic: pixel art job?  (Read 23711 times)

Offline Carnivac

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pixel art job?

on: May 02, 2013, 09:11:43 am
Is it still possible in this age to do pixel art for a fulltime job, the kind where you get to go to an office and have work colleagues and such?  I'm just really wanting to relocate and find a new job but I'm not particularly skilled at much and due to the health issues I had for many years the work section of my CV is very unappealing to most potential employers. 
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Offline rikfuzz

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #1 on: May 02, 2013, 09:43:02 am
I'm gonna guess no.  Most studios seem to be looking for generalists at the moment (anecdotal, but seems that way). Pixel skills can't hurt, but I think it'll be such a small part of your roll for 99% of projects you'd work on at a studio... If pixel skills were necessary for a project I imagine it'd be easier to outsource to freelancers or short term contractor. 

Offline tim

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #2 on: May 02, 2013, 01:21:54 pm
You have to join an indie dev company. Minecraft hired a pixel guy recently for their next games for instance. But pixel art for big companies, I guess you can forget it. Now it's indie or mobile dev...
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Offline Carnivac

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #3 on: May 02, 2013, 03:25:31 pm
Yeah, figured it was mostly just freelance now and that pixellers need to be proficient in other art techniques too. Which I am really not.  Never mind.  Just trying to find a way out of this shitty little dead end town...
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Offline Conzeit

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #4 on: May 02, 2013, 05:55:27 pm
just bite the bullet man, learn some  photoshop, illustrator, AE...et al. You know plenty and really, learning other software might be tedious but it's not really hard. you can set up palletes to make things feel more familiar in PS and AI if you want to.

Offline Carnivac

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #5 on: May 02, 2013, 06:02:36 pm
It's not that.  I already know how to use photoshop and all that.  I'm just not remotely interested in 2D game art that isn't low resolution pixel art.  Never have been.  Bit of a retro purist that way I suppose.  I was just curious if there were still fulltime jobs in that field but if not then I'll look elsewhere.  Thanks though. 
NES, Amiga & Amstrad CPC inspired
I know nothing about pixel art
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Offline rikfuzz

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #6 on: May 02, 2013, 06:40:22 pm
I imagine, with that attitude, you probably wouldn't've been happy working on someone else's project under someone else's art direction, 9 hours a day, 5 days a week anyway; even if it happened to be low res.  I realise that sounds super negative because of the 'with that attitude' phrase, but I don't mean it negatively, more observationally; and some of the best turn this attitude into a huge positive by starting their own studios or projects... Much harder than being a 9-6er tho!  Still, you're certainly talented enough, if that was something that appealed to you. 

Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #7 on: May 02, 2013, 07:16:47 pm
Exactly.
You could make a game on your own or with a friend and try to get funded.
And knowing that it is, we seek what it is... ~ Aristotle, Posterior Analytics, Chapter 1

Offline Carnivac

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #8 on: May 02, 2013, 09:05:36 pm
Thanks.  Don't really want to risk making things worse for myself by trying to start up a studio or something.  I doubt my gaming tastes would do well in this age of casual gaming and annoying touchscreens...  I'm looking for a job that would definitely and regularly pay the rent on a new home in a nice town that has SOMETHING in it.  I'm finding myself feeling very trapped and alone in this town I'm in at moment especially now that, for the first time since mid-2011, I'm not in any theatre productions so I'm finding myself with a lot of free time and it's driving me crazy.  Just want to have a good job, make some money, learn to drive, do other the bajillion things on my list I need the first few things I mentioned to be able to do.   Ah well.  I keep checking the housing lists and hoping something cheap but suitable will pop up soon.  Cheers all.  :)
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Offline Indigo

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Re: pixel art job?

Reply #9 on: May 02, 2013, 09:12:33 pm
It happens from time to time, but more rare these days.  I've been lucky enough to sustain myself on purely full-time on-site pixel art gigs up until recently (first gameloft, then Glu Mobile, then A Bit Lucky).  Everything changed as soon as the iPhone hit the market.  The mobile gaming industry was one of the last places that truly NEEDED pixel art expertise.  Phone technology chugged along quite slowly until the iPhone, then BOOM, high-res 2D and 3D everywhere.  The very last pixel project I was involved in was Lucky Train - a facebook social game.  The only reason that happened was because the CCO had nostalgia for it - and that's really the only reason it's done at all anymore.  The Nintendo DS is such old technology that games still use it sometimes.  Most notably Wayforward has been a champion of *good* pixel art, but even their artistic needs are changing lately.  There's also the occasional oddball like Sifteo, which has invented their own platform that requires pixel art.  Just keep your eyes open and get lucky.