Breaking into the games industry isn’t about suddenly becoming “good enough” overnight.
The biggest shift isn’t skill — it’s how you think, work, and present yourself.

Here’s how to make that transition smoother and far less painful.

1. Stop Thinking Like a Student

As a student, your goal is to learn everything.
As a professional, your goal is to solve specific problems well.

Studios don’t hire potential.
They hire predictability.

That means:

• Delivering consistent quality
• Hitting deadlines
• Taking feedback without defensiveness
• Making choices that serve the project, not your ego

The sooner you adopt this mindset, the faster studios start taking you seriously.

2. Treat Your Portfolio Like a Job Application, Not a Gallery

Your portfolio isn’t a collection of everything you’ve ever made.
It’s a focused pitch for one role.

Ask yourself:

• What job am I applying for right now?
• Would a lead trust me with production work tomorrow?

One strong, targeted portfolio beats ten unfocused ones every time.

3. Learn Production Reality Early

School projects are about expression.
Studio work is about constraints.

You should already be comfortable with:

• Working within style guides
• Optimizing assets
• Iterating fast based on feedback
• Letting go of “perfect” in favor of “approved”

This is where many juniors struggle — and where professionals stand out.

4. Feedback Is Not a Personal Attack

In school, feedback often feels optional.
In studios, feedback is the job.

Your ability to:

• Listen
• Clarify
• Apply notes quickly

…matters just as much as your raw skill.

Leads remember artists who are easy to work with.

5. Act Like a Professional Before You Are One

You don’t need a job title to behave like a professional.

That means:

• Clear communication
• Ownership of your work
• Respect for other disciplines
• Reliability

If people already experience you as a professional, the title usually follows.

Final Thought

The transition from student to professional isn’t a leap — it’s a series of small mindset shifts.

Make those shifts early, and the industry feels a lot less intimidating.

If you’re in that in-between phase right now, you’re closer than you think.

If this is something you've been struggling with, feel free to book a 1:1 so we can go over your specific situation.

One of the biggest myths about getting into the game industry is that you need to be exceptionally talented.

You don’t.

You need to be consistent.

After years in the industry — from junior roles to lead positions at large studios — I can confidently say this:
- The artists who make it aren’t always the most talented ones in the room.
- They’re the ones who show up consistently and keep improving.

You'll see what I mean.

Talent Gets You Attention. Consistency Gets You Hired.

Talent can give you a great first impression.
A strong first portfolio piece.
A cool ArtStation post that gets some likes.

But studios don’t hire moments.
They hire patterns.

Consistency shows up as:

• Multiple solid projects, not just one great one
• Steady improvement over time
• Reliable quality across different assets
• The ability to finish work (this is the most important one)

Hiring managers look for people they can trust month after month, not flashes of brilliance that disappear.

Most “Talented” Artists Quit Too Early

Here’s something I see all the time with mentees.

Very talented artists:

• Compare themselves too much
• Get discouraged when progress slows
• Restart portfolios constantly
• Burn out or disappear after a few setbacks

Meanwhile, the consistent artist:

• Works on fundamentals every week
• Finishes small projects
• Takes feedback (even when it stings)
• Keeps going when motivation dips

Guess who gets hired first?

Consistency Compounds (Quietly)

You don’t notice consistency day to day.
But after:

• 6 months - your eye gets better
• 12 months - your workflow speeds up
• 18 months - your portfolio starts looking “hireable”

From the outside it looks like “overnight success”.
From the inside it’s just boring, repetitive work done well.

Studios Hire Reliability, Not Potential

This is the uncomfortable truth.

Studios don’t hire based on:

• “They could be amazing one day”
• “They have a lot of raw talent”

They hire based on:

• “They can deliver”
• “They understand production”
• “They won’t fall apart under feedback”

Consistency proves all of that without you saying a word.

Final Thought

If you’re feeling behind, stuck, or “not talented enough” — that’s normal.
You don’t need more talent.
You need a system you can stick to.

Small projects.
Regular practice.
Honest feedback.
Repeat.

That’s how careers are built.

If you want help building a consistent plan instead of guessing your way forward, feel free to reach out or book a 1:1.

You've got this!

Breaking into the game industry is already hard enough… but do you know what makes it even harder?

Treating your portfolio like an art gallery, instead of what it really is:

A product you’re trying to sell.

I know “selling yourself” feels weird for artists, but hear me out — this mindset shift changes everything.

1. Your Portfolio Isn’t a Museum — It’s a Storefront

A lot of juniors treat their portfolio like an online scrapbook:

• Random studies
• Old school projects
• Experiments
• WIPs
• Inconsistent styles

The problem?

Hiring managers don’t browse it like they’re strolling through a museum.They’re scanning it like a customer with 10 seconds before leaving your store.

They want to immediately understand:

• What do you do?
• How good are you?
• And can you solve their problem?

Make that obvious. Fast.

2. Products Solve Problems — So Should Your Portfolio

Studios hire artists to solve problems:

• “We need environment artists who can build stylized props.”
• “We need someone who understands modularity.”
• “We need someone who knows AAA-level trim sheets.”

Look at your portfolio and ask: What problem does this portfolio solve for a hiring manager?

If the answer is “none,” that’s why you’re not getting callbacks.

3. Good Products Have a Clear Target Audience

If your portfolio tries to appeal to everyone, it appeals to no one.

Pick your lane:

• Stylized props?
• Realistic environments?
• Hard-surface?
• Organic sculpting?

Once you choose your niche, create a portfolio that screams:“THIS is exactly what I do — and I’m great at it.”

4. Great Products Have High-Quality Packaging

That means:

• Clean thumbnails
• Cohesive branding
• Consistent lighting 
• Professional presentation
• Short and clear breakdowns

Think of presentation as your packaging design.A bad product in great packaging still sells.A great product in bad packaging gets ignored.

5. Your Portfolio Needs Updates — Just Like Any Product

Products get patches and improvements, right? Your portfolio is no different.

Audit it every couple of months:

• Remove old pieces
• Update descriptions
• Fix presentation
• Replace weak thumbnails
• Refresh your About Me section

Your portfolio isn't sacred. It’s a living product that needs maintenance.

6. A Product Must Be Easy to Understand

If a hiring manager can’t understand what kind of artist you are within 5 seconds, they leave.

Create clarity:

• One sentence that describes who you are
• A hero piece that represents your specialty
• A simple, navigable layout
• No clutter, no fluff

Your portfolio should feel like walking into a store with one perfectly lit, stunning hero product in the center.

Final Thoughts

The moment you stop seeing your portfolio as “your art” and start seeing it as a product designed to get you hired, everything changes.

You become more intentional.You become more strategic.And you stand out — fast.

Treat your portfolio like a product…And you’ll have a much easier time selling it.

As always, if you need any help with this, feel free to book a One on One :)

I’m going for it! Should I focus entirely on getting into the studio of my dreams, should I freelance and juggle both, or should I work fulltime and play the long game?

That’s a great question. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer though. I will try to give some guidelines of how I was thinking about this when I made the jump.

The first thing to think about is - how far off are you realistically? Do you already have a strong portfolio and connections in the team and just need to sit down and create 2-3 artworks that really hit the style, or are you just starting out and need to build up all of your skills to make the jump. Then comes the question of how financially secure you are. Do you have a steady income, or are you barely getting by? And finally - how many responsibilities do you have? Do you have a wife and 3 kids that you need to support, or are you living with your parents and living like a student?

Full time job + a couple of hours here and there (aka The Long Game)

Working fulltime and chipping away at your goal is totally doable, but it depends on several factors:

• How creatively demanding your full time job is.
• How much high quality time you have to work on your portfolio during the week.
• How long it is going to take you to finish the portfolio realistically.

If you’re already working in the industry and your average 8hr day is leaving you zapped out of creative energies, you should either take a mini sabbatical (such as using your vacation days), or try to find a way to work on your own projects before work. Depending on how far you are from the goal, you might need to do both at some point. You should aim to put at least 10 hours per week into it if you want to make any significant progress.

50/50 - aka part time or freelance + hard focus on getting there 

Working something part time, like being a barista or a waiter can be a great way to make progress on your goals. It should allow you to pay the bills, while leaving you with enough time and creative energy (motivation) to work on your Art and Portfolio.

Ideally you will be putting 20-30 hours per week towards your goals, which should be enough to make significant progress given enough time.

Full Focus

You should go All in if you already have a decent portfolio and quite a bit of industry knowledge and you just need the final push to make the leap.

Only do this if you’ve saved enough money, or you have someone else supporting you financially. Worrying about finances can be really distracting and can make you give up on your dream faster than anything else.

Make sure that you have a solid plan and strict time frame before you leave your job, as well as a back up plan if the time is not enough.

I personally had a plan and had saved up enough money to support myself for a year-long sabbatical. Half-way through I realized that I severely underestimated the amount of money I would need for a year, so I had to take on a couple of freelance projects to support myself.

I know how daunting making this step could be, so if you're struggling with planning all of it, feel free to reach out and learn from my mistakes!

Should I tell my friends and family that I’m working on an art portfolio and I’m thinking about applying to XYZ Studio?

No, you should not. Let me explain why.

When you tell people that you’re applying, or even trying to go after any major life goal for you, there are 3 different ways it can go. They can either be discouraging, they can be apathetic, or they can actually support you. All of these can be bad for your long term goal... in a way.

Oftentimes friends, and especially family can be quite discouraging, but that’s not because they’re bad people or they don’t mean you well. The exact opposite. They want you to succeed, but more often than not they don’t have the knowledge and context you have.

You tell your boomer parents that you want to get into game development and they immediately think you’ll be laying on their couch well into your 40s playing games with your friends. Hearing your parents or friends, who you look up to, tell you to quit your dream can be heartbreaking. If they are apathetic and don’t seem to care at all, it could feel even worse.

Okay, all of that makes sense, but how can supportive friends and family be bad for me?

Glad you asked. I actually think this is probably the worst of the 3 options in a way.

When you tell people something you deeply care about and you open up, it can be a really hard thing to do. If we’re met with unwavering support, your brain actually releases the same chemicals that you would get if you worked really hard at something and you managed to achieve it! Why would you go after the super hard thing and have a chance to fail, when you can just talk about what you’re going to do and feel great?

I know so many people who say “Oh, I want to become a musician”, or “I am going to apply to XYZ studio really soon!”, but they’ve never even started the process. Simply put, it can put you in your comfort zone. If you want to read more on this topic, I highly recommend reading The War of Art book by Steven Pressfield.

Wait what, I can’t tell anyone that I’m going for something that’s super important to me!? Not even Nana? :(

There are two types of people you can and SHOULD tell that you’re trying to achieve something really important to you. Those would be your Peers and your Mentors.

When I say peers, what I really mean is people who are going for a similar or the same goal as you. People who are in the grind, who won’t just blindly support you and pat you on your back, but will actually push you to go for it, because they know how hard what you’re trying to achieve really is. These could be your classmates, friends who are into game development, or even discord groups and communities centered around that.

Ideally, the person you tell your goal and your plan should be your mentor. Someone who not only knows what it takes and how hard it is, but has actually gone through the whole process and can guide you through it. Someone who can push you when you’ve let up the gas pedal, but can also encourage you when you’re feeling low and unmotivated. 

Finding quality mentors in this day and age can be pretty hard. Long gone are the days of the Master and Apprentice. Most people who have achieved something in any field typically have more on their plate than they can handle and aren’t really looking for a mentee. The great thing is that some of these people actually offer their services, and paying for it can motivate you even more to follow their advice!

In my career I’ve taken over 10 different online courses. Each of them comes with a mentor, albeit temporarily. I’ve had a chance to be mentored by the best people in their field - Painting, Sketching, Environment, Character and Concept art - you name it!

If you too are looking for someone that has gone through the path to AAA game development  and can be your guide, feel free to reach out, or better yet - book a One on One session. 

It can save you a lot of pain and effort in the long run! 

Breaking into the game development industry might feel overwhelming, but it’s absolutely possible with the right plan. Here are some of my key tips for aspiring artists:

1. Have a Clear Goal

Most junior artists that I mentor want to get into the industry so bad, that they’re willing to do ANY art role. The problem is that even though each art discipline follows the same artistic principles and fundamentals, they often have different tools, techniques and focus. 

Another big part of the equation is the portfolio. Early on in your career you want to specialize. The fiercest competition you’re going to face is when you’re starting out, and studios will always pick the highly specialized, closest to “plug and play” artist to fill out a role, rather than the jack of all trades, master of none.

So my advice is this - pick 1 specific role, perhaps even on a specific game, and go to town on it!

Create 3-5 stunning artworks that showcase your fundamentals and that you understand how to build art for a game. Remove anything unnecessary or subpar. Less IS more!

2. Develop a Strategy

Check out people that are already working in the studio and are a couple of steps ahead on LinkedIn. See their professional journey and their earlier works on their portfolio. Do focus on junior/associate and mid-level artists though, if you’re just starting out. Looking at the Art Director’s portfolio might give you a skewed point of view, since they’re too far down the road compared to you.

3. Come up with Tactics

Once you know the “bar” of where you need to be at and what experience you need, you need to come up with different tactics on how you’re going to bridge the gap. 

Be honest with yourself, what skills are you lacking to hit the mark? If you can’t tell yet, reach out to a professional and ask them! See what online courses or mentorships you can take to get more experience or get help with the strategy and tactics. Join discord groups and other art communities and seek out feedback from people that are more experienced than you.

4. Stay Consistent

Keep going at it. Start small and over time increase the scope and difficulty. It’s really important to get some easy wins early on to keep yourself motivated, so if you’re looking for projects to do - instead of creating an entire environment - create a small diorama consisting of 3-5 assets. Instead of creating an entire character - maybe create a bust as your first project.

5. Build a Strong Portfolio

I’ve written quite a bit on the topic, so instead of me repeating myself - feel free to check out my blog post on the 7 most common portfolio mistakes and make sure not to make any of them! 

6. Build your Personal Brand

Work on your Artstation and Linkedin profiles a bit, and make sure that the story they are telling, as well as the CV, matches. You want the hiring managers  going through the different platforms to get a consistent image of you - that you’re great and you’ll be the best fit for their team!

7. Network

Start reaching out to people as early as possible! Build your Artstation network. Build your LinkedIn network.

Make sure you’re not harassing people though, as that can easily backfire!

8. Prepare for the Hiring Process

Don’t take the hiring process lightly. It can make or break your application. Work on your Resume. Add a thoughtful Cover Letter and prepare for your Interviews!

You can also check out my tips on what makes candidates memorable when interviewing.

And as always, if you want to save time and money in the long run, feel free to book a One on One with me, so we can go over your goals and come up with a strategy together!