23.10.2025 – Guest Speaker Olivia Gregory
Olivia’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-gregory-654b111b1/
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On Thursday of week 4 we had the opportunity to meet Olivia Gregory, an artist for games. She has worked at Chapel Arts Studios, Games Jobs Live, but also as a barista. Moreover, Olivia has acquired a master’s degree in animation and contributed to creation of the board game Simply Safer.
We were introduced to all possible artist roles in the industry: concept art, matte painting, rigger / rigging artists, animator, UI / UX artist, lighting artist, technical artist, VFX artist in 2D and character / creature / environment artist in 3D. Moreover, we were made aware of the importance of knowing what lies in the scope of tasks in each role as in the industry one would usually take on one of these roles and not become a game artist in general.
Olivia also gave us tips on how to prepare a portfolio for every role. When applying for a character artist, it is essential to present the knowledge of human anatomy, draw turnarounds of the characters, their poses, expressions, and show how they interact with their belongings or environment. Texture callouts are also important, especially in the later parts of the creation process.
When drawing environments, having the ability to accurately represent perspective is one of the most important elements. Other key components for the portfolio include iterations and outlining the process, as well as clean linework, illustrating designs at different seasons/times of a day, and presenting how characters would interact with the environment.
General rules that would apply to any kind of portfolio are focusing on one thing you are good at, always making your design process clear, and cutting out parts that would not bring any additional value to the whole. We were also advised to separate the art that was made as a hobby from a professional portfolio. The former can be published on social media, whereas the latter should be carefully selected and well-organized.
A hint regarding writing CVs that I found quite useful was to never describe yourself as an “aspiring” artist. Confidence is essential; therefore, one should simply describe themselves as an artist. Employers want to be sure that people they hire can handle tasks that are expected of them.
Similarly to our guest from the week before, Olivia also emphasized the importance of social events and networking. Following favourite studios, volunteering in events and connecting with like-minded creators in general are all significant elements of building up a career in game design.
A serious issue which was brought up in the lecture was AI taking over creative jobs. Olivia explained that although it is currently a recurring problem, it is also a part of a “natural cycle” – big company layoffs result in uprising in indie studios. That in turn increases the competitiveness in the market.
As someone who is considering working in game design in the art sector, I have learned a lot from Olivia’s lecture. In terms of preparing my portfolio, I have a better idea now of what exactly I should include in it, and which works might be the most interesting to potential employers. Another thing I will remember is to always be confident about the work I am presenting as it might be a factor that ultimately determines my success.
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