An Art Director could be a highly skilled artist or even someone immensely loved by their art team. However, if the Art Director is not in sync as a business partner with their Studio Lead, then the alignment fails, eventually leading to repercussions in the entire game development process. In this episode, Mishka Katkoff emphasizes the importance of this alignment and shares various insights from the viewpoint of studio executives, highlighting what they expect from art leaders.
Some of the topics covered include:
- Should an art director's methods align with the studio culture, or can they have the freedom to follow their own working model?
- How flexible are studio leaders when supporting decisions about game visuals made by their art directors?
- What actions do studio leads take when artists in their company express concerns about their art directors?
- In the eyes of a studio lead, should an art director evolve and adopt new methods of work, such as using AI?
- Studio executives might not be browsing ArtStation; so, how should Art Directors make themselves visible on their radar?
Connect with Mishka Katkoff at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Chapters:
00:00 Episode Intro
01:01 Introduction: Mishka Katkoff
02:52 Expectations from An Art Director
06:40 Art Director Skill Set Prioritization
12:19 Alignment with Organizational Culture
17:46 Decison-Making for Game Visuals
22:19 Navigating Creative Disagreements
29:14 Addressing Artists Concerns
33:32 Handling Organizational Changes
38:03 Adaptability and Adoption of New Methods
44:34 Discovery
48:08 Wrap Up
Watch this podcast as video on: https://youtu.be/aEG_ZC4DM1A
