Well, my Marketing for Artists post seems to have gone over really well. I’ve gotten universally positive comments on it. But one particular question came to me that required a specific response.

Q: “Jon, you say ‘be social’ but what if that’s just not who I am? Are you suggesting I pretend to be something that I’m not and lie to other people to get ahead?”

A: When I started, I was a seemingly incurable introvert with no social skills.

I was homeschooled from preschool to high school graduation. Never went to a real school a day in my life. Didn’t play sports, wasn’t a part of any social clubs, didn’t live around many other kids. I never really had more than two or three casual friends, ever, all the way through high school. I was rather more than your quintessential loner, because at least he got out of the house once in a while.

I didn’t have any of the usual social outlets that — well, we call you people “normies” — did. Occasionally I’d go to church in a desperate attempt to socialize with someone, ANYONE, but it always ended with me sitting in the corner, drawing, not talking to anyone because I didn’t know how to talk to people.

Outside of communicating with immediate family, I had no social skills. I didn’t even have a way to develop them, really. I was a blank slate. There’s the typical loner, below him there’s me, and then there’s feral children.

Point made? ;)

Along the way, around age 13 or 14, I’d set my one goal in life: Become an artist in the game industry. I started working at that and obliviously continued my antisocial ways, thinking that my raw talent (ha!) would make the world beat a path to my door, magically, without me having to change or to do anything but simply be good at what I do. After all, the world was a fair place to live in, and the good guy always wins.

And THEEEEEEENNNN I woke the hell up and realized that I live on the planet earth, life isn’t a fairy tale, and I needed to make some serious changes if I wanted to get anywhere at all.

I don’t want to skim over that part — believe me, it took a long time to realize that being antisocial simply wasn’t working out for me. I was at the end of the rope and I couldn’t deny it any longer.

So I changed.

Through a lot of hard work, determination, deliberately putting myself “out there” (as the kids say) and diving headfirst out of my comfort zone for the sake of achieving something better, I changed.

Once that was underway and I started learning how it all works, everything got easier. I discovered that I liked people. I understood them. I could relate to them and learned how to carry a conversation and learn interesting things about people.

For fun, I would (and still do) talk to anyone, anywhere, seeing what I can say to cut through their shell and draw out the person inside and make them “wake up.” I like making people smile, relating to them, even if I have only 30 seconds of time to do it with. People are amazing, amazing creatures, and I can’t believe it took me so long to really appreciate them.

I’m sharing the world with them, aren’t I? Why not get comfortable with my neighbors?

So in that manner, I turned myself into a people person. I ignored all my natural instincts telling me that was a bad idea. At that point, I’d proven thoroughly that these so-called “natural instincts” had done nothing but hold me back and make me miserable by putting a blindfold over my eyes.

I had lacked the ability to see that the way I thought the world worked did not line up with simple, observable reality.

I could not see what any idiot with at least 1/3rd of an intact brain could tell at a glance, in his sleep, on hallucinogens.

The best thing I ever did with my life was realize that it came down to me and Reality, mano a mano (mano a universal-state-of-being-o?). The conclusion was clear: ONE of us needed to change… and, well, I probably couldn’t get Reality to budge, so I guess it’d better be me.

So I ran into unfamiliar territory with my guns blazing because I knew I’d learn something even if I failed.

KEY POINT: I did it without faking, without lying, without being superficial. It was honest, sincere change through hard work and determination. Sincerity reads loud and clear.

So when I said “be social” I didn’t mean it lightly.

The most important part of becoming a social creature, developing new contacts and networking successfully is to be genuine. Don’t lie. Be yourself. You know who you are, so put it out there, and be THAT. Build off what’s there. Put the best of you forward, and let the worst wither and die from malnourishment. You don’t need it.

I look at it like this: Being fake and dishonest takes a lot more effort than simply being genuine. When you’re honest, keeping a consistent persona is automatic because you’re just being yourself. It takes less time and less energy, and it’s easier to make it natural. So why bother lying?

My overall point is that people can and do change.

Ultimately, all I’m saying in the article is that if you want to be successful, these pointers can make it a lot easier. You could probably make it by ignoring them all and doing it your own way. But it’s so much more effective to follow them that deliberately choosing not to is counter-productive.

I find myself in a lot of conversations with budding young artists seeking to get ahead in the world asking me advice on just how to go about that. I’ve examined a lot of individual cases and I’ve noticed a few common mistakes artists make that destroy their chances of getting ahead, and most of them stem from a lack of understanding of marketing themselves. I’ve noticed a few techniques that artist hopefuls can use to get ahead in the art field.

First, DIFFERENTIATE.

99% of artists I’ve seen make the same four models: Space marine, naked man, naked woman, and character from a recently released movie. If everyone’s making the same model, how is anyone going to stand out? Being an artist that creates high quality assets is important, but quality should not be the only differentiator between you and another artist.

Consider this: If a potential employer is looking for a new artist, in a “market” where there are hundreds of space marines, how likely is it that your space marine is going to be the very best out of all of them? Not very. :)

The most obvious (and most overlooked) solution for this is to choose subject matter that no one else is doing. If you create a “market” for a certain type of art by choosing something unique, who is there to compare and contrast against? Who’s the competition? It also makes it that much easier to be remembered as “the guy that paints amazing metal” or “the guy that makes incredible fantasy creatures.”

Let’s face it; managers hiring artists are going to look through dozens of portfolios to find a worthy artist. If you’re making exactly the same art as anyone else, what reason does this guy have to remember you?

Look at what other people aren’t making, and make it well. Find a niche, an untapped potential market for a new or different type of art, and become the undisputed master of that art. If you do it right, you’ll be seen as the originator, and everyone else will be a copycat. That’s the benefit of being first. If you can’t be the leader of something, find something you can be the leader of.

Let your portfolio reflect your personality, your uniqueness, your inner fire. You’re the only one that cares about you, so try to communicate why other people should care and remember you, too, through your artwork. That’s all they’ll care about.

Second, BE OMNIPRESENT.

Were you the kid in high school who sat alone in a corner, ignored everyone and filled his sketchbook with his drawings? Keep the art focus, but lose the antisocial behavior. Keeping to yourself is the fastest possible way to failure and ruin. Period.

Woody Allen once said, eighty percent of success is showing up. That’s one of the single most profound statements I’ve ever taken to heart.

Find a message board or website that focuses on art and start posting. Comment on other peoples’ work, give helpful advice, be friendly, and make friends. Build a network of friends and acquaintances and surround yourself with them all the time. Be social. Network. Thrive.

To put this in perspective, every contract and every job I’ve ever gotten was the result of having known a guy that knows a guy. No cold calls, no internships, no open assault of job applications. My career was created entirely through networking. This can work for anyone, because the more people you talk to, the more likely it is that opportunities will literally come to you.

So get out there, make friends, and create a presence. Always be there. Always have a voice. Always have a personality. Be yourself.

Never make enemies, because the guy you just said stank mightily of elderberries could be the art director of a company you desperately want to work for in the future. I’ve actually heard of this happening many times, so don’t shoot off at the mouth and hit yourself in the foot.

I’ll say it again: If you think you can succeed by being antisocial, get comfortable mopping floors. :)

Third, VALUATE.

Learn to qualify peoples’ opinions. Not every opinion is equal. Anyone that tells you otherwise is absolutely, one-hundred-percent wrong. They may be nice and cool and seem sincere, but if you keep listening to them, they will destroy your ability to tell good advice from bad. You’ll never know who’s trying to help you grow and who’s trying not to hurt your feelings. You’ll consider the opinion of the tried and true professional to be equal to the worthless fanboy that thinks Leonardo da Vinci was the Ninja Turtle with the orange mask. (That was Michelangelo. Duh.)

Does “Hey, that looks great, don’t change a thing!” sound familiar? No piece of art is without flaw, and rarely does an artist not have an opinion. If you want to feel good about your art, by all means, listen to these people and don’t bother improving. But if you want your art to get better and be fit for a professional development environment, listen to the people whose comments hurt the most.

The people that rip your work apart the hardest are the people that genuinely want to help you. Think about it. They took the time to look at your work, think it over and write out a response. Your mom may think you’re just the best guy ever and think you deserve all the attention in the world, but you don’t. Time and attention is respect.

Show them the same respect and never turn them away. Be grateful. Learn to face the pain head-on. The comments hurt because they are true, and deep down, you know it. Get used to being broken down, and never fail to build yourself back up, stronger than before. Getting your feelings hurt is a part of life, and successful people learn to pick themselves up and try harder next time.

As you meet these people, acquire a mentor. Find someone better than you that knows what they’re doing, is honest, and likes you. Become friends. The only reason I rose from a mewling mediocrity to a professional artist is because of mentors that invested time and attention in me. Drop your ego and open yourself to learning, and never, ever backtalk if you truly trust their opinion.

Finally, FREELANCE.

Your best bet toward getting a job making art is to simulate the job experience in every way you can. Join a mod. Design levels. Make player models. Most importantly, finish them.

Find as many ways as possible to gain experience making real, usable, ingame assets. There’s a world of difference between making a model in a 3D application and making it work in the game, and that difference is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.

When you select a mod or contract to take on, decide in advance what you intend to learn from it and how you plan to grow. Every step I’ve ever taken in my career was considered in regards to what specific experience I’ll gain from it. In my eagerness for experience, I have willingly eaten a considerable amount of dirt to get the experience I needed to move forward. Identify the gaps in your education and seek to fill them through hands-on experience. Always, always, always finish what you start.

And there you have it.

That’s all I have to say on the subject. Depending on how well this is received, I may write a guide soon on how to dramatically increase your chances of getting a job based on my experiences as a salesman and as a hapless artist trying desperately to become employed. It’s truly remarkable how simple it can be, and how so many people miss out on it.

Been quiet lately. Finally bought my copy of Relic’s wildly entertaining RTS, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

At my core I’m a long-time RTS nut, and this game tickles all my favorite spots. I’m a big fan of extremely graphic violence, sci-fi and great art, and this game has all three. Additionally, the focus of the game is on meaty, visceral, brutal combat unlike most RTSes, which emphasize base building and careful strategy. Dawn of War is just fun as hell to sit down and watch.

You control entire squads of marines as a single unit, and they’re all animated individually to interact with enemies on a very personal level. My favorite interaction is a giant mech called a Dreadnought picking up an ork, hefting it in the air, and squeezing buckets of blood out of it while roasting it at point blank range with a flamethrower, then tossing it aside while it looks for another victim. The first time I saw it ingame I just started laughing and couldn’t stop.

It got me thinking about how much fun it would be to work on a game like this. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized this:

Games I like to play and games I like to work on are two different categories..

I’d imagine most people thinking of entering the game industry want to make the type of games that they enjoy playing the most, and that most other people do, too. I’ve proven to myself rather thoroughly that this isn’t always true.

For example, as much as I love playing RTSes, the insane polygon constraints and sheer amount of intricate busywork involved in developing art assets for them is an enormous turnoff. Seeing Age of Empires 3 at E3 made this excruciatingly clear to me as I saw all the work the artists had to go through to make every constructed object smash apart realistically and I imagined how I’d go about it, wincing and thanking heaven that I didn’t have to do it.

Another example: Rise of Nations, the terrifically fun RTS from Big Huge Games seems at first thought that it would be fun to develop for. Then I realized how each individual race has their unique units (peasants, knights, archers, etc), their unique architecture, and a series of chronologically advancing updates for each unit type, through the stone age to the Renaissance to World War 2 to present day, and I realized what a truly daunting workload that’d have to be.

Working on Daxter PSP is a blast because of the dramatically reduced number of art assets compared to your typical RTS and the increased amount of time allotted to work on each asset that the reduced scale makes possible.

Put simply, I can put as much time into one character as an RTS artist may have to put on a set of 10 tanks.

The kicker is that I’m not even that big a fan of platformer games. Unless you count The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the first platformer I’d ever played was Jak and Daxter, which I quite enjoyed, particularly from an artistic standpoint. But it’s not necessarily one of my favorite games. And does it really need to be?

What I like most about working on Daxter PSP is the increased amount of love I’m able to show toward each art asset I create. My primary job is creating the characters (which, for the fanboys’ sake, I’ll say includes several familiar cameos as well as quite a few new faces, including the new female in the series, who is effing hot :) but the real delight comes in creating the enormous animated set pieces that Daxter interacts with in the game.

Because of the increased freedom of the camera movement in a platformer like Daxter, we’re able to do a lot of crazy things with the camera in certain minigames and dexterity challenges that you can’t pull off in an RTS. In our E3 demo at the end of the Wine Cellar level, there’s an enormous animated set piece I created that regulates the pressure of a giant boiler. It’s eight animated valves, a progress meter and approximately 1.4 miles of wiggling, jangling pipes on the verge of bursting from steam pressure. You have to mash the buttons perfectly in time with the valves lighting up to release the pressure and exit the level.

I was able to have a lot of fun experimenting with camera placement and focusing the detail toward where the player was able to see most, and get to push crazy detail doing it. This isn’t the type of fun I’d be likely to have in another game, because I actually have input on how it’s presented to the player and don’t have to worry about much else aside from that and it looking good. :)

Ultimately I just get more opportunities to make the type of art assets that interest me most, without regard for what type of game it actually is. I just thought that entire subject was a fairly interesting distinction people might not think about, and figured it was worth bringing up.

I wonder if it’s the same for programmers, level designers and game designers? Anyone?

I got a free iPod last year from the company I work for, and for the most part I love it except for the hideous usability and design problems.

I love the way it looks, feels, sounds and the ease of playing music with it. However…

1) You can’t turn it off. Holding down Play turns off the screen, but the iPod itself will still die and require a recharge after that. How horrifyingly mediocre.

2) You can’t replace the battery. You have to send the iPod into Apple and pay $99 for them to [I’ve heard] throw yours away and send you a new model. Some third party services offer to replace the battery for only $30, but if you want to do it yourself, it’s entirely at your own risk.

3) You can’t use iTunes to copy files to your hard drive. It doesn’t care whether or not the files have DRM or are even MP4. You can copy them through Windows Explorer, but the iTunes software destroys all filename and directory structure conventions so it’s impossible to tell songs apart.

4) The iTunes software itself is hideously buggy. It plays and shares music well over a network, but when I was trying to set up my iPod on my new laptop, the second I plugged it in, it asked me [essentially] if I wanted to reformat my iPod and copy all the music from my hard drive to my iPod.

Of course I didn’t, so I clicked ‘No’ and it then proceeded to happily reformat my iPod and copy all the music from my hard drive to my iPod, without telling me. No “Reformatting” dialog, no confirmation, no progress bar… I just saw my iPod’s music library disappear instantly. Poof. $50-odd of music I’d bought specifically for my iPod was now gone forever, as the hard drive I’d backed it all up on had died the week before, hence the new laptop.

It’s actually funny how much people love the iPod despite how horrifyingly crippled it is. I’ve tried explaining these problems to pro-Apple folk that come up with endless excuses as to why things have to be this way, and have even claimed that all these problems are my fault and that I’m stupid. :)

How dare I expect an expensive music-playing portable electronic hard drive to have a replaceable battery, the ability to turn it off, the ability to copy files to and from it and expect it not to randomly delete my entire music library even when I expressly told it not to? I must be out of my damn mind!

I’m smarter than average and have used PCs since I was a child, and yet this crap still happened to me. I’m not careless. How’s an average consumer supposed to deal with this?

After having such horrible experiences with it, I decided to uninstall iTunes and do everything possible to hack the living hell out of my iPod to try to make it a usable device out of it. That goes along with my basic philosophy of “If it can’t exist on my terms, it can go right to hell.”

Fortunately, I found a Winamp plugin that allows you to copy files to and from your iPod and fixes the filenames. It works great so far, and seems to be an extremely satisfactory way to solve all the iPod’s associated software problems. It’s almost enough to make the iPod operate like it should!

All that said, I still absolutely love using it. I can’t deny that it does do a handful of things very, very well. It’s just horrifyingly bad at everything else, and I find it absolutely remarkable that the market was willing to bear it anyway.

In my last post I was criticizing the media overexposure of Seth Godin, the writer of tremendously popular marketing books such as Purple Cow and All Marketers Are Liars. I was prating on about how I was sick of hearing about him and this and that and so on and so forth, enough so that I avoided reading his books.

Through a bizarre course of events, I found myself with a free copy of All Marketers Are Liars, his latest book. After I posted about that, he actually found my blog and posted a gentlemanly comment on it, despite my dickness. You can see what he said in the comments of my last post. :)

Feeling quite the dingus since I haven’t actually read the books I was criticizing, I dove into reading the book and was pleased and surprised to find that, in fact, it’s one of the best books on marketing I’ve ever read.

To set aside time to read it, I made a trip out to the beach last Monday, busted out my beach chair, plopped it down a few feet from the water, aimed toward the sunset and burned through a huge part of the book in one sitting. It was bliss. I haven’t devoured a book that quickly in quite a while. It even distracted me from Winning by Jack Welch, which I love.

The book is terrific. I’ve mentioned before that always felt like, as good as the other books I read are, they’re almost all vague high-level concepts I have difficulty finding a direct application for.

All Marketers Are Liars is an extremely well-written distillation of marketing theory, human psychology and practical applications woven into a series of bullet points explaining how storytelling is an immensely powerful marketing tool, and his thesis is punctuated generously with relevant real-world examples both well-known and obscure.

What’s interesting is that he weaves a wide array of concepts like Positioning, word-of-mouth marketing, branding, viral marketing and classic storytelling into one solid, cohesive picture, all described effortlessly, engagingly, and with a surprisingly common touch anyone can understand.

I find this remarkable because these concepts are usually presented as different facets of this hulking, unknowable and faceless beast called Marketing. This is intentional because the natural instinct in marketing a book on marketing is to become deadly focused on one single thing and write an entire book or series of books around it to carve out their own niche. It’s been constant divergence ever since, to the point that it’s difficult to see how anything fits together. The really interesting trick here is that Seth broke away from the flock with a strategic convergence of concepts to synthesize another, bringing them together harmoniously.

Usually I want to stomp the life out of people that say things like “This man brought [some vague concept] down to the people!” but it feels like Seth Godin’s accomplished that with a coherent, integrated, differentiated marketing strategy explained clearly and without pomp. The impressive part is that he’s apparently an extremely avid reader on all manner of subjects, such as biology, neuroscience, psychology, and distills their teachings and marketing-related applications into something that’s fun to read.

The whole book feels like it was written straight from his heart, showing his passion, enthusiasm, lust for life and hope for the future as well as his anger with unethical marketers and fraudsters. It’s really no wonder he’s so popular, because even if you’re not interested in marketing, it’s fun to read it simply for insight into why we like the things we like.

I was so, completely wrong about this guy’s work, and I need to watch my damn mouth in the future. :) I’m going to buy the rest of his books, and I’ll comment on them as I read them.

Buy the book!