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什么秘密。!
So, a little over 3 years ago, I was at a meetup for IDGA, Los Angeles. IDGA stands for Independent Game Developers Association. I was sitting in on a talk being given by some folks from local studios. It was super informative, and it ended up being sort of this now extremely important event of my life.
It was the only IDGA event I ever attended. It had to do with local art studios that worked with game companies. I was very much freelancing at the time and always on the hunt for new connections or work opportunities. I had been there with a couple other friends, brought my work, business cards, etc. After the talk was done, I went to chat with some of the devs there to see if there were any opportunities. I left my two friends to watch over my stuff while I went and mingled.
Everyone was extremely nice, but there weren't a lot of opportunities with this particular crowd. I went back to my seat. I had left my ipad there and it was currently in the hands of one of my friend as she was showing it off to two gents I had not met. One of them was a recruiter from Riot.
Now, at the time, I had NO IDEA what Riot was. I was really busy with a lot of work, and had only had time for some Starcraft 2 here and there. However, the recruiter was really nice. He said I had a lot of great work and that he wanted to get in touch with me for freelancing opportunities.
What luck!
Some time passed while I started and finished other gigs, and myself and the recruiter finally got in touch. The first email from Riot actually came directly from RiotJeffJew. He was a producer on the Champion Team at the time and was curious if I could start on some concept art. Thing was.. that was THE DAY BEFORE MY WEDDING! I literally had to write him back, apologetically, at the meet&greet we had for the two families and ask if I could start doing work.. ya know.. after my wedding. He said of course, and a few weeks later, the assignments started to come in.
I first directly dealt with Pabro, who was Champion Team's main dude. He was taking on a lot of the outsourcing work at the time as a lot of the other artists were tied up with Dominion then. Me and The Bravo Ray were actually two of only a few artists which the internal teams were relying on, for champions and skins respectively.
I worked on reaaaallly early iterations of Brand, Nocturne, and a number of other champions. Most of which never saw the light of day. After a while of steady freelance work, I started to receive some variety of the types of work. This included doing concepts in 3/4s view, from game angle, which was one of the ways that we make sure concepts can work in the game. We draw them in the proper perspective. After I had done one of those, I was handed a concept to do some turnarounds, or orthos, of. Front, back, side views, for 3D artists to use. I got the distinct feeling that I was being tested. Not long after I finished one of the turnaround assignments, I got an email from Pabro asking me if I wanted to get lunch. A couple of weeks later, I met up with him, RiotJeffJew, and a few of the artists from Riot.
I guess they thought I was an ok guy, because after that, they asked me to come in for a face-to-face interview where I met with the rest of the team, showed off my work, and was shown around the old office. Extremely exciting times!
Not long after that, the art director at the time called me up to offer me a position! (I of course took the job)
So, if I count the day I technically was contacted to start my journey with Riot, by Jeff, it'll be 3 years this July 16th. Right before my wedding anniversary
There's a lesson in there somewhere I'm sure.. mainly one that probably speaks to the importance of making friends, talking to strangers, getting out and being proactive about establishing yourself in the industry.
Never be afraid to approach people who might have opportunities for you, could lend you some advice, or just to become friends with. That’s the hardest part, but one that helps forge lasting relationships. A lot of us are at Riot thanks to relationships we’ve created, and friends we’ve made. Personal connections go such a far distance in helping talented people enter and stay in the industry. It can certainly take a while, it did for me, but it was well worth the wait!
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