“Making games is hard, but it’s worth it!”
We sat down for a chat with #FemDevsMeetup team member and Lighting Artist Carmen to talk about her love of gaming and art, and her unique #PortfolioReview project!
The #FemDevsMeetup community is all about like-minded people sharing ideas, knowledge, and passion for games. With that goal in mind, today, we're proud to introduce our team member Carmen and her Portfolio Review.
Tell us about yourself. What got you into videogames and into the videogames industry?
Hi everyone! I am a lighting artist for video games, currently living in London. I have been working in games for over 4 years now with a focus on AAA projects.
For the last two years I have been working with Microsoft on the new Fable.
Many things influenced me to enter the games industry – my love for crpgs like Baldur’s Gate, joining a computer club where a bunch of creative people were programming and designing their own games, my sister founding an indie studio, discovering the demoscene, where computer generated art is created... I was influenced by a lot of different situations, and I am very happy that I found this path!
Outside of work I love exploring photography, at the moment I am creating a series inspired by fairytales and old paintings.
What's your connection to the games industry and what do you do here at #FemDevsMeetup?
My main project is organizing the online Portfolio Review Sessions, where aspiring artists get feedback from games industry mentors. These sessions are free and focus on giving personal advice and career support. Especially in Germany game schools are often not providing all the support that aspiring game devs need to enter the industry, and our sessions try filling that gap.
While most people who join the sessions are artists, we also had portfolio reviews for game designers and sound designers in the past. We will try finding a mentor for everyone.
Tell us more about your motivation for joining the #FemDevsMeetup!
When Linda announced the first meetup many years ago with the goal to empower diversity and equality in the German games industry, I thought this is something that I would like to support.
The Portfolio Review sessions on Discord are a great way for artists in the games industry to share their work and seek help & advice from peers. It's something you regularly organize! How did this project come about? What have you already learned from it? Any surprises?
Back as a student, I learned the most from feedback that was given to me by artists who were working in games. Unfortunately, opportunities for this kind of feedback were rare and often centered around conferences that are not affordable and accessible to everyone. A couple of years after I started my career in games, I decided to host my own sessions as part of the #FemDevsMeetup with the goal to make them accessible for everybody with a pc and internet connection. You just have to sign up and that’s it.
We have another portfolio review coming up on March 12, 5pm CET on our Discord channel. The review slots are already full, but the sessions are open for everybody and you can listen in and learn from the reviews that others receive.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? And what did you share with artists who submit their work for your Portfolio Review sessions?
A good advice is to put into your portfolio the type of art that you would like to be hired for. A lot of beginners fill their portfolio with everything that they have done and it can easily get chaotic – it’s important to curate a portfolio so that it reflects who you are as an artist and what you love doing, even if you only have a few pieces in there.
What’s the most asked question / the most common problem artists share with you?
Most of the problems or questions are very individual. But they share the common ground that people try to find their place in the industry and their identity as an artist. Germany’s video game industry is small compared to places like Canada or the US. Artists are worried if there is a place for them where they can do the work that they love – especially if they do cartoon and anime art styles.
Let’s talk about your work. What job tasks do you enjoy doing most? And what less so?
Lighting a game world or quest is always great fun. And I enjoy everything that has to do with defining the final look and mood of the game – for example color grading, tonemapping, cinematic lens effects. In the lighting department we are establishing the final image and that’s overall very enjoyable for me. I dislike when a task is very repetitive over a long period of time.
What are the main challenges of being an artist in the games industry?
I can’t really speak for all artists in games. As a lighting artist I work very closely with game engines and rendering tech. The tech and new methods of lighting are evolving very fast – this is cool as heck, but also a challenge to always stay on top of these developments.
Looking into the future, how do you imagine the #FemDevsMeetup to evolve? What do you wish to happen or change?
The #FemDevsMeetup team is growing and I imagine that we will offer more community projects and events in the future. In addition to the game jam, art hangouts and meetups that we already have. There is some cool stuff in the planning and we are always collecting new ideas, but I think it is a bit too early to announce any of them. Personally, I hope to get to know more people from the community this year.
Professionally, what’s your goal? Do you have any dream projects?
I would love to continue doing what I am doing and maybe work 1-2 short freelance lighting gigs with indie studios in addition (if your studio needs some lighting support, feel free to reach out 😊).
Regarding a dream project – I don’t have one and I can get excited about many different ideas. Game projects do catch my interest when they are very cinematic or painterly. Think of Wong Kar Wai or the Blade Runner movies on the one hand and Studio Ghibli and stylized watercolors on the other hand. It would be exciting to work on a game in the style of a Ghibli movie someday!
Anything you want to share with aspiring artists in the games industry?
Making games is hard, but it’s worth it!
Are you an artist in the games industry? Do you want good, honest feedback on your work from industry experts? Our mentors Carmen, Sylvia, Casi, Christiane & Janrike are here to help. Simply join our Discord and sign up for future Portfolio Review sessions.
The next Portfolio Review is on March 12, 5pm CET. 🎨