Im not a great artist, but nor am I the worst.
Here is a showcase of my work. sense this site does'nt support images.

http://eddieble.deviantart.com/



Considering the game industry today, as a game artist, what should I/we realy focus my/our efforts into, to maximize my compatability to the american markets.


style
For example; I dont see much major Japanese style based games in america(even though the market for that style would surely increase with the impact its making on american culture) so in theory I would be wasting my time and effort trying to improve in that area. To my eyes, it seems a more realistic/comic book style would be the best aspiration, thus why i am slowly trying to achieve more realistic, comic book style in my art.

Medium;

2d games seem to be dying and being replaced with 3d. So it would make sense to start venturing into 3d art, which is why ive made the dicision to invest in expensive programs like zbrush and maya.

these are my 2 cents, but id like your opinion as well, any would be apreciated on where I/we should focus on. I also embrace any critiques if you wish to do so. Thanks in advance!

This site does support images and links, you just have to use html code in your post to display them.

Regarding style:
I wouldn't concern myself with a particular style so much as learning a strong, comprehensive foundation in art in general. Learn how to paint, how to draw, how to use color, how to build a composition, how to render light, how to draw anatomy, how to draw motion, how to rig a 3d model, how to create seamless terrain textures, etc.

Every beginner artist focuses closely on one favored style and a limited range of subject matter; it's only natural to draw what one loves to draw. But to be a good artist, you have to break out of your comfort zone and instead of learning to draw manga people, learn how to draw; I mean the skill of drawing anything. And it's like they say: You first need to learn the rules /then/ you are allowed to break them (because then you'll know what you're doing!).

Regarding 2d vs 3d:
2d is not dead at all - did sculpture or architecture kill drawing or painting?
Every 3d game is built on a mountain of 2d artwork, from concept art to storyboarding to textures to skins to UI art to effects art. Besides, there are tons of 2d games released all the time which are perhaps just a little less visible than the major blockbuster 3d games - take for example mobile games, the indie game stores on major consoles eg. XBLA, browser games, and hey - Facebook games. What is Farmville but a 2d game? How much money do you think they make?

You should, however, figure out if you want your focus to be on 2d or 3d art. It never hurts to know a little of everything, but if you work for a larger company you will find that your must play a specific role in a team.

You could consider doing concept art. I don't know much about it but here are some links:

http://gim.acanaday.com/
http://www.conceptart.org

There's a great game art competition on at the moment that includes concept art as a category (as well as 3d characters and animation). Concept art is useful no matter how you choose to specialize. You could join Dom War on the concept side of things:

http://www.dominancewar.com/2010/en/index.php

Jap style goes through waxing and waning phases like any other. It's not used much in western AAA studios but there's no reason you couldn't focus on it for the indie market.

[Edited by - abstractionline on November 18, 2010 10:55:59 PM]