Visual development artists, or vis dev, build immersive and cinematic atmospheres for various forms of creative entertainment like feature films, video games, and more. Their work translates the director’s vision into a tangible view and ensures the visual elements abide by the storyline and genre. Getting started in this field takes time, but pursuing your passion’s worth the effort. Invest in a bachelor’s degree and focus on building a solid professional art portfolio.
Enhanced Creativity
Table of Contents
If you love drawing and creating art, a visual development degree may be your perfect choice. Professionals like Academy of Art University may help you with programs that focus on developing your concept design and storyboarding skills for various media, including video games, animated movies, and television shows. If you’re wondering how Spider-Verse characters look so lifelike or why Spongebob wears square pants, it’s likely because of a visual development artist! These professionals create the worlds and backgrounds in movies, TV shows, and video games. They are also in charge of creating the characters and designing the environment for them to live in, ensuring that the characters are placed in the right setting to create the desired emotions. To become a visual development artist, you will need a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in art. You will need to complete coursework and gain work experience through personal projects and internships to develop your portfolio of artwork that showcases your talents and prepares you for a career in the industry. Visual development artists often work with other production team members, such as concept artists and storyboard artists. These artists can be involved in pre-production before a script is written, during the “blue sky” design phase, or after the hand has been completed and approved. They also overlap with other departments, such as modeling and art design.
Increased Job Opportunities
Visual development artists work in various fields, including 2D and 3D animated production for television and film, video game design, and digital advertising. They perform multiple tasks, such as designing the look and feel of an environment, drawing the characters that inhabit it, and setting the overall aesthetic tone for a project. This career requires a wide range of skills, from the ‘soft’ — such as creativity and effective communication — to the ‘hard’ — such as time management, critical thinking, and problem-solving. While these skills are often developed over a lifetime, some may have a more excellent natural aptitude for visual development than others. To thrive in this field, visual development professionals must find a niche. This can be done through education, research, and experimentation with different areas of specialization. Once visual development artists have found their passion, they can focus on mastering it and creating a competitive portfolio. As the world moves into the digital age, a career in visual development is more sought after than ever before. This is especially true for those who have a strong passion for creating immersive and cinematic atmospheres. Pursuing a degree in this field can take your career to the next level. The best way to start is to find a program that offers a flexible schedule, so you can work on your studies while continuing to earn a living.
Increased Flexibility
Visual development artists can work in a variety of industries and positions. Depending on the specific role, duties can vary from a world design artist who creates and sets the landscape of TV shows, video games, and movies to a character designer who builds the look and feel of a character for a project. Regardless of the position, visual development (also known as vis-dev) is an excellent option for anyone with artistic skills who want to pursue their passion. Students can pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a visual arts field like graphic design, fine art, or communication to lay the foundation for a successful career in vis dev. Aspiring visual development artists can then focus their studies and research on the particular element of vis dev they are most interested in, whether it be environment design or creative direction. Then, as they gain industry experience in internships or other support roles, students can build a portfolio of their best work and apply it to the field of vis dev they are most interested. This allows them to change their careers anytime with minimal educational debt. In addition to supporting student career transitions, the minor provides a unique opportunity for students to explore new styles and techniques through collaboration with other illustration projects. This allows them to expand their creative horizons and build a competitive portfolio of their work.
Greater Job Satisfaction
Getting satisfaction from your work is essential to your overall well-being. Job satisfaction varies from person to person, but studies show that people who find their careers fulfilling tend to be more productive and happier in life. The art of visual development allows artists to build vivid worlds for a variety of media, including gaming, comics, film (live-action and animated), theme parks, toy design, publishing, advertising, and more. With this variety of potential career paths, finding a field you love is easy. A visual development artist can create buildings and trees in your favorite movies and video games. This is because the concept art they produce enables the story to come to life on screen and in our hands. Enrolling in a visual development program that allows you to collaborate with experienced professionals is the best way to ensure you’ll find your niche. This will enable you to learn from the best and start building a portfolio that you can use to get the job of your dreams. It’s also important to remember that your career path may change as you grow. Millennials, for example, have been known to change careers multiple times.