Becoming a Level Designer and Env. Artist Part 1

by World of Level Design

How do you become an environment artist and level designer? Where do you start? What do you learn first? Should you purchase a 3d package? What about Photoshop? Drawing? Painting?

There are a lot of decisions to make and too many choices. As a matter of fact, there are so many choices that we don't make any decision at all.

It is paralysis by analysis.

Before I begin, there is a difference between an environment artist and level designer.

Environment artist is someone who builds the assets that go into the environment. They model, often texture and sometimes light their environments.

Level designers are responsible for taking the assets that environment artist have created and assemble them into an environment that we can all play in. They design gameplay elements, create scripted events and test gameplay.

Depending which studio you work for or what mod team you are apart of, you may do one or both of the title descriptions. Read more ...