As a passionate edupreneur with 25 eventful years of frontline experience in the digital media education and production space, I am delighted to share my views on the skills/traits vital to building a successful career in this challenging yet rewarding field.
1. ‘Eye for Detail’
Developing “an Eye for Detail” is very important in shaping one’s success as a digital artist, irrespective of the creative platform, be it 2D/3D Animation, Visual Effects (VFX), Graphic Design or Web Design. To excel and produce outstanding work, one must aim for perfection. This can only be achieved by paying meticulous attention to detail, taking a close look (zoom) to inspect minute details of alignment, image quality, colour and other design elements while keenly spotting design flaws.
It is the zeal to achieve perfection that differentiates the wheat from the chaff. The passionate artist is obsessive about detail and will never compromise on the integrity and professionalism of his work. For instance, keen observation of the sketch here will reveal that the artist has gone to great lengths to ensure detail and has succeeded in infusing life into the portrait by using a basic tool as simple as a pencil.
2. Understanding and developing “Creativity”
Google the word ‘Creativity’ and you’ll end up with a multitude of definitions. Here below is a relevant and inspiring one:
‘Seeing’ what everyone else has seen,
‘Thinking’ what no one else has thought and
‘Doing’ what no one else has dared.
While creativity is generally associated with art, the fact is that it applies to every facet of life. For instance, while millions of people may have seen an ‘Apple’ fall to the ground, it was ‘Newton’ who first questioned the fall and wondered why it didn’t go up or in some other direction. This inquisitiveness and unconventional view resulted in the revolutionary theory of gravity which transformed our world: just the kind of ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking every CG Artist must employ when approaching a creative challenge. The curiosity to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of things is indispensable to creativity.
3. Technical Brilliance
To excel as a digital media artist, it is imperative to have a strong command over all the relevant design software. The ability to exploit the full potential of the software while making innovative use of the tools to stretch the limits of creation are the hallmarks of a specialist. As the saying goes ‘Practice makes perfect’ . Technical proficiency can be achieved only through hard-work, consistent efforts and the passion to master the medium. The versatility to switch from one software to another depending on the task makes for a powerful advantage. Mastering the shortcut keys to complete tasks faster adds to an artist’s competence.
Importantly, use of the design software must be artistically-driven rather than by mechanical deployment of the tools. Design software including Adobe, Autodesk and Corel must be learnt with the mind of an artist, focusing more on the creative potential of the application and not just the tools.
For instance, while learning ‘Photoshop’, artistic creation must precede image manipulation. Similarly, with ‘Adobe Premiere’, the emphasis should be on the ‘art of editing’ so as to engage the viewer with slick and creative editing. This is an invaluable skill that characterizes artistic talent. At the end of the day, results depend on skill.
Here is an interesting take on the word ‘Skill’:
“An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carry out complex activities or job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills).”
4. Communication skills
This is perhaps the most misunderstood term. As commonly perceived, it neither has anything to do with English as a language nor with any other specific language.
Communication skill means ‘the ability to communicate the intended message clearly’ to the target. If your mother tongue is Telugu and if you are able to convey your message clearly in Telugu, then you should understand that you enjoy good communication skills. Nevertheless, since English is the most popular medium of communication across geographies and disciplines, acquiring fluency in English is an absolute must in order to attract the best career opportunities.
Often, most students from non-English backgrounds hesitate to speak English, wrongly assuming that it’s difficult or impossible to learn the language either because of age constraints or due to the misconception that English is a highly skilled language. Contrary to popular belief, it’s pretty easy to learn English. By realizing that English language is a definitive career skill, many youngsters from small towns and even remote villages have trained in the language, dramatically improving their English communication skills in as little time as 3 to 6 months. After skilling up, it becomes easier to face job interviews with a marked improvement in one’s confidence levels. Winning a job at global companies like Deloitte, Amazon & Google is no more a dream. It thus goes without saying that the ability to communicate in ‘English’ is pivotal to carving a successful career in the Digital Media Industry.
In a nut shell, one must diligently develop the winning combination of attentiveness, creativity, proficiency and fluency in order to shine as consummate talent worthy of prolific career growth and success in the rewarding digital media industry. Good luck to you! Chase your dreams with passion and success is all yours!
