I just got a signoff from my former employer to post this.
Technical Artist Guidelines
It lists what we expected from our Technical Artists, what TAs did for the studio at large, etc. There’s also a bunch of links at the end for more info on the subject.
Many thanks to the posters in this thread, some valuable insights in here!
Excellent Post Eric!
man, my 9 years in the industry didn’t prepare me for most of that. Guess I better start learning. 
Heheh, yeah I think it’s a bit of an ideal. But the duties were split by different TAs and programmers, so we actually had most of those things covered.
I was the only TA in my company for most of my career. Downside to the whole thing was that our programmers all worked remotely, so it was difficult to really interact with them in a productive way. I find it much easier solving problems in person, than on the phone, especially when they weren’t willing to admit problems in the source code as opposed to “artist error”.
At any rate, thanks for the post. I’m out of work currently, so it’s definitely giving me some food for thought as to how to make myself more marketable than 9 years experience.
Saw this recently on EA’s job site, thought it was worded rather succinctly:
Role Overview
The Technical Artist (TA) acts as a bridge between the artists and programmers working on a game. They ensure art assets can be easily integrated into a game without sacrificing the overall artistic vision or exceeding the technical limits of the chosen platform. The role is a relatively new one for the games industry, but it is becoming increasingly important as game systems become more complex. The Technical Artist works part of the art team, and coordinates closely with the lead artists and the art director, as well as with the lead programmers.
The main areas of responsibility for Technical Artists include setting up and maintaining the art production workflow and making decisions about which art packages and tools a studio should use. Technical Artists are also charged with investigating new techniques and implementing them within the team. The job often includes an instructional element, with the Technical Artist sharing their knowledge with other artists via training and mentoring sessions.
The Technical Artist typically works one step removed from the direct creation of game art assets. Instead, they act in more of an advisory position, setting up the systems of production as well as solving problems as they arise. It’s crucial for the Technical Artist to keep up-to-date in changes in technology, both in terms of console hardware, art packages, and new techniques. The Technical Artist is expected to be able to create custom tools to improve the efficiency of their team. This is usually carried out using the scripting languages included in the main modeling and animation packages.
Technical Artists will play a key role in providing feedback or debugging complex assets such as character skeleton rigs and skinning systems. They will also research and oversee the implementation of rendering techniques such as normal and specular maps, particle systems, and pixel shaders as well.Specific Technical Artist Roles
TA – Shader Writer
They are responsible for the creation of efficient real-time (HLSL) and multi-level shaders. They must have strong technical skills, including experience in software design and implementation and knowledge of math and physics theories. They must also have strong artistic skills with a proven ability to create cinematic color and lighting in digital media.TA – Animation
They are responsible for character setup and technical support for character animation throughout production. They work with the game team to determine animation setup and support solutions.TA – Effects
They are responsible for the design and implementation of the technical aspects in-game effects. They create and maintain tools, systems, and setups used to create particle effects, cloth, hair, procedural effects, lighting, and compositing.TA – Pipeline
They are responsible for development of software tools in all areas of the production pipeline. They coordinate with the game team on tool and process integration and optimization.What skills does EA look for??
Technical Artists are generally required to have between two to five years experience. Involving both art and programming experience, a Technical Artist can come from either background, though most tend to have been artists who have specialized in a particular area of art production.
They should have a detailed knowledge of at least one industry-standard art package. The use of scripting languages is required, as is an understanding of the limitations of console hardware. Some Technical Artists come to games after holding a similar position in the film or special effects industries, where experience of high-end rendering techniques or complex animation are useful skills.
The role of Technical Artist is a specialized one. Candidates must be able to show technical proficiency in areas such as lighting and rendering, texturing, and graphics-related programming languages such as shaders. They should also have extensive knowledge of art packages ranging from modeling to texturing and special effects, and be able to customize them to be as streamlined as possible for specific projects.
Most Technical Artists will have a degree in a relevant visual art or technical subject; however, the most important prerequisite for the role is experience working with art tools and game hardware on wide range of projects.
Great catch-all list there, Eric.
We’re seeking juniors ourselves and it just doesn’t cut it to have Film/FX students coming out of univesity thinking they can jump into a game-dev orientated support role. Certainly some of the skills can be taught though at the end of the day you want to feel you’re not teaching them everything before they’re ready to advise and troubleshoot game X on team Y.
Tech artist job is kinda hard to do, its just like preparing the ground before planting the seed or sapling to grow.
Hi guys,
The company i work for still havent really nailed down the role of Tech Artist (me) as yet. I was wondering, do you guys report to the Lead Artist, work along-side them, or do they report to you? At the moment, all my tasks are given to me directly by the Lead artist and i report directly to them and all decisions pass through them. I feel this isnt quite right as it restricts by ability to do my job. I feel i should be working on a level playingfield with the Lead Artist and Lead Programmer. What’s your thoughts?
Cheers
[QUOTE=anim8r_uk;6912]Hi guys,
The company i work for still havent really nailed down the role of Tech Artist (me) as yet. I was wondering, do you guys report to the Lead Artist, work along-side them, or do they report to you? At the moment, all my tasks are given to me directly by the Lead artist and i report directly to them and all decisions pass through them. I feel this isnt quite right as it restricts by ability to do my job. I feel i should be working on a level playingfield with the Lead Artist and Lead Programmer. What’s your thoughts?
Cheers[/QUOTE]
I reported to the Lead TA, until I was the Lead TA… then I reported to the producer most of the time and talked to CD or AD for creative input (worked alongside Lead Artist, Lead GP, Lead LD, Lead Animation and so on).
When I’ve worked in smaller companies without a Lead TA, I’ve been at the same level as the Lead Artist, reporting to the AD or CD depending on the task.
Cheers for the reply. May be worth noting that i’m also the only Tech Artist at the company. So i guess i should be Lead TA? At the moment i’m kinda just another Artist who does Techy stuff and is given tasks from Lead Artist. Doesnt seem right to me.
The prefix “Lead” carries with it other connotations like experience level, a management role, a higher salary level, etc.
If you’re the only TA at a company, and you don’t have years of experience nor management experience, it generally doesn’t make sense to call you a lead.
However it sounds like you’re having issues with your lead. Have you discussed these concerns directly with him/her? That’s the first step. If you feel like you’re getting nowhere, then bring it up with your lead’s lead (usually the AD).
At the root of the role issue though, it’s my feeling that a TA ultimately works for the Lead Artist or Art Director, just like any other artist in the company. You should state your case for specific solutions to problems, but ultimately it should the Lead’s decision whether a new tool or workflow is going to be instituted.
They generally have more information beyond your scope that may affect tool/workflow decisions. They may also suck at their jobs! But at the least you should give them the benefit of the doubt.
As said, there doesn’t need to be a Lead TA. Lead is just a management role. But having a TA team usually breaks you out from under the Lead Artist and more in direct control of the CD and TD (the AD usually doesn’t have that much to do with any TA related stuff).
But even as a lone TA working in the art team under the Lead Artist, you usually act more as an advisor to your lead then just another artist in the team, due to your special skills. If you think that is being overlooked, then as said, start a discussion with your lead, CD or AD.
Sweet. Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated. I actually get on with my Lead fairly well and i’m alomst equal in term for experience (time in industry). I’ve probably had more involvement with all aspects of art however (animation, VFX, environment, character, vehicle and technical). I dont really have an issue about job titles such as Lead, was just wondering where on the ‘ladder’ the Tech Artist usually sits. You seem to have answered these questions quite well, so thank you. The issue came from my AD and CD. One thought i should report to the Lead Artist, the other thought i should be seperate and report directly to him.
I’ll pass on the info and see what can be arranged. Thanks again
CD = Character Director?
Creative Director
Saw this job posting today, last bullet made me chuckle…
• A high tolerance for stress and ambiguity.
Totally true when you’re on point!
[QUOTE=Eric Chadwick;7246]Saw today, last bullet made me chuckle…
Totally true when you’re on point![/QUOTE]
Hi,
Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.
We also find them more same at: Project job descriptions
Tks again and pls keep posting.
:):The manager of the tech artists here is the lead animator for the technical animators and the art director for the straight tech artists. We also work together within the tech art group to share functions, etc:):
Hi
Thank you for sharing such good thread with us, i came to know a lot of information by your thread.
Thank you.