{"id":928,"date":"2025-10-16T20:41:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T19:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/?p=928"},"modified":"2025-12-02T20:43:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T20:43:57","slug":"jamie-blacknell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/2025\/10\/16\/jamie-blacknell\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Blacknell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jamieblacknell.co.uk\">jamieblacknell.co.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developer at Play360.ai, developing games for TV and Steaming devices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>develop and test yourself outside of employment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the industry is embracing AI<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>generalist vs specialised<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>middleweight &#8211; more responsibility and trust<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>career can give the opportunity to expand existing skills and learn new ones<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how to communicate directly across disciplines, having more skills make you more employable<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>allows you to discover what you want to specialise in<br><strong>Communication<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to a direct senior, someone who doesn&#8217;t share your discipline, project manager, etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>team lead\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>same discipline therefore easier<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a mentor, but won&#8217;t hold your hand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>different disciplines\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>might not know terminology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how to explain constrictions to others<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>branch out and research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>management\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>might not have the same technical knowledge<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>when to be direct or not<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>how to translate, need-to-know<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>mostly wants to know reasonable time scales etc<br><strong>Portfolios<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>up to date LinkedIn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>online presence you can easily link (portfolio website, ArtStation\/GitHub etc)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>networking (LinkedIn is flooded with AI, so ensure you meet real people)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Game Jams, communities servers etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Connect with people big in your industry, learn who the artists are in media you like<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ask seniors for portfolio advice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you&#8217;ve made portfolios before<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>developer portfolio\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>GitHub<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>good, clear documentation, readme<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>make sure it&#8217;s accessible, make sure you can explain it, it&#8217;s interview ready<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>can include university work, present it as just another game you&#8217;ve worked on<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3D artist portfolio\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ArtStation, amongst other artists, a lot of competition, hard to stand out, ideally you want a pro account (unlimited quality uploads)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>showcase you can draw to a competent level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>get the idea across through sketches, moodboards, photobashing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>follow-through<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>present in a way that leans into your style, but also make sure everything is clear<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you can work from reference<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>wireframes and 3D layouts, polycounts, texture sizes, Texel density, understand optimisations, LODs and Mipmap textures, showcase different maps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>baking<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>angles<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>different softwares<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>in engine screenshots and footage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>different lighting configurations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>unreal, unity etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>overuse of detail, don&#8217;t add it just for the sake of it. How does it fit with the whole fit, use research and think b=about the context of your model<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>don&#8217;t add try to &#8216;fill up&#8217; your portfolio, use a handful of strong pieces. Show inspiration, don&#8217;t plagiarise. Show it professionally and in the theme of art<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>learn the software (3DS Max, Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Photoshop)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>courses (Udemy, Gumroad, ArtStation) more tailored and higher quality than YouTube<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Soft Skills\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>more important at junior level<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>excellent communication<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>willingness to try<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>push yourself out of comfort zone<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>show dedication and hard work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>know how to collaborate with people<br>don&#8217;t be reactive, defensive, needless pushback<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>interviews\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>come with examples of work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>eye-contact<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>engage with interviewer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>think of it as a conversation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>interviewing well can surpass the need for skills<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>interview process can be six rounds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>do you fit the culture, how do you get along with existing team, etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>be aware of more general terminology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>technical tasks in interviews\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>make an asset store environment multiplayer, couple of days<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>limited, not part of the interview, can ask for clarification, if you can&#8217;t succeed, explain, reflect, give solutions, etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adam Mould (ArtStation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>manage a bosses expectations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>communicate with a project manager, ask for help, don&#8217;t waste time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>don&#8217;t compare yourself to co-workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>everyone has imposter syndrome<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>communicate when out of your depth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>you&#8217;re always learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>be honest<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>might be official stand-ups (explaining where you are with you work)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>boss might monitor Jira etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>most companies have small team sizes and scale with having more teams<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>can pivot roles maybe (junior level is more flexible)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,19,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-contexts","category-semester-1-year-3","category-year-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":929,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions\/929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/ob6g23\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}