What does it take to get a job in the industry?

What does it take to get a job as an environment artist in a AAA studio with no degree just self taught? Does anyone have any experience or knowledge. I’m wondering how good is good enough.

I know and have worked with people who who not have a “relevant” degree for their chosen discipline, so it does happen. Not having a degree does not mean you’re instantly not good enough and won’t be good enough, but it might make getting to the interview stage a little bit tougher until you’ve got some actual industry experience.

The first thing you need to do is really learn your craft and get together a great portfolio. Make sure you visit places like polycount and share your work, listen to what people have to say (a lot of people will be in the industry and one day might be interviewing you). Also critique other peoples work.

There is no real “good enough” bar. Your work will have to be good quality but it’ll depend on so many factors including what you’ll be working on (what platform, what genre, what position you’ll be in). It’s not just about your portfolio either. You’ll need to have a good knowledge of the technology you’ll be working with and what limitations there are, how to work within a team etc.

Basically, the best advice I can give you is to go for it. Get to a place where you see your work as comparable with others, make sure you can speak about the topics with a good level of knowledge and don’t limit yourself to working in what you see as a “AAA” studio. That’s just going to limit your options and possibly miss out on some really great opportunities. It won’t happen quickly, it might take a few years but if you want it, go for it!

Could you give me an example of a showreel deserving of a AAA game studio job for environment artistry?