What kind of artist would suit this role?
To excel in this role, you need strong design fundamental skills and be able to communicate your thinking quickly and effectively– ideally through sketches. The most believable hard surface designs have thought and iteration behind them, so just being able to render a good looking, finished image isn’t enough, you need to be able to think, design and solve problems through your designs.
Someone who is passionate about real world design and who is mechanically minded is also a plus. They’d ask themselves questions like: how does a suspension system work? What makes a weapon fire? How does a jet engine work? All these things inform and help create stronger hard surface designs.
What should I include in my portfolio to impress?
We would need to see strong examples of hard surface design, so anything like props, vehicles, weapons, mechs. You also get bonus points if you can show design iteration and your thinking process as well. It’s one thing to show a finished polished piece but showing sketches and ideas so we can see how you came to the finished design is really helpful. These should be presented cleanly, it is still your portfolio and everything needs to look presentable.
