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Be a game artist and turn your gaming love into a career: Know about skills, salary and job prospects



The gaming industry wasn't growing as fast in India as in many other developed countries for quite some time because we didn't have high computer availability in every region.
But now, with the arrival of smartphones, people in remote corners of the country are also downloading games to play. Nasscom predicts the gaming industry to soon reach 1 billion.
"The fact is that the gaming industry, with an Industry size of $100 billion globally, is the largest segment within the entertainment industry -- far exceeding movies, music and animation," says Manavendra Shukul, CEO of Lakshya Digital, a leading name in the Game Art outsourcing business.
Since its inception in 2004, Lakshya Digital has created game art for over a hundred game titles including hugely successful ones such as Bloodborne, Just Cause 3, WWE 2K16, Uncharted 2, Farmville and Cityville.which has created game art for over a hundred game titles including hugely successful ones such as Bloodborne, Just Cause 3, WWE 2K16, Uncharted 2, Farmville and Cityville.

He explains that the gaming industry is growing so fast globally that there is ample scope for game artists to earn a great living, especially in India which has seen an explosion in the number of active gamers.
In India, skilled game artists are in constant demand, says Shukul, because the supply is consistently less. This is different from mature gaming markets such as the US where such a gap in demand and supply doesn't exist.
"It is a big misconception that people don't recognize being a game artist as a viable and lucrative career or profession," says Shukul.

Why this is the right time to make a career in the gaming industry

There are quite a few gaming companies in India but the massive gap in the supply of game designers and game artists here makes it a career choice absolutely ripe for the picking!
Moreover, India is moving closer to the time when the majority of its population is formed of youth who are in school or working. This is the target audience of the gaming industry.

Various job roles in the gaming industry

The gaming industry has various types of jobs -- game artist, game developer, game decoder, game tester, audio engineer, 3D modeler, concept artist, game programmer, software developer etc.
The industry has four basic parts:
  • game development (requires logic and art)
  • game design (requires art and visualization skill)
  • game art (requires skills of drawing, colour concepts and visualization)
  • game testing (requires logic and effort)

Concentrating on the Game Art discipline, Shukul explains that the primary positions include:
1. Artist: Starting position which entails hands-on art creation under the Lead Artist's supervision.
2. Senior Artist: Experienced artists (at least 4 to 5 years) typically entrusted with more complex art creation tasks on a project. They are expected to work mostly independently and can take a couple of junior artists under their wings.
3. Lead Artist: Talented artists with team management skills who can lead an artist team in specific areas such as Character creation or Environment creation.
4. Art Director: Senior position holders with strong leadership skills along with visualization and artistic. They are responsible for laying out the artistic vision for a game.
Some of the other common job titles include Animator, Animation Director, Concept Artist, Illustrator, and Game QC Artist.

What salary do game artists get?

The salary of a game designer depends upon the candidate's skills, talents, and the company profile but even the starting salary is decently high. Shukul says that they compare favourably with salaries in similar professions.
"To add to this, there are ESOPs for senior employees in companies like ours. Post employment, the growth potential is immense and like everywhere else a lot depends on individual talent, skills and aptitude," adds the CEO of Lakshya Digital.

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