CV research-
Professional CV
conservative layout
structured to job application keywords
formal
Word is better for professional CVs due to its layout, formatting and pre made templates for CVs
If you do use a template, try to really customize it to be your own.
Design CV
creative and expressive
shows personality and creative ability
InDesign is a great tool to make Design CVs
Try not to over design your CV, some companies use AI to read through CVs and having something too complicated could immediately put your application in the reject pile.
Most job CVs in the games industry sit somewhere between these two types of CVs.
[In the report, talk about why you have chosen a design/formal CV, why does it relate to the chosen direction you want to go in?]
Examples of working professionals and their public CVs-
Companies studios I'm interested in
After university I would like to look for jobs within the TTRPG industry, specifically as an illustrator or concept artist for independent studios. I have chosen this as my main focus as I feel my skills better align with worldbuilding and book illustrations as opposed to videogame pipeline work. I have personally met individuals from both SoulMuppet publishing and Games Omnivorous in the past, and the type of games they produce have a wide range of art styles which is something I would be interested in doing in the future to give a bit of variation to my work. Both of these studios are very small in terms of their team, which I feel I would prefer over a large company, as a lot of these Indie studios can be a lot more experimental with their work and cover more unique themes. I would much prefer this to working on a big IP as I would like to say "Hey I was apart of something super cool and unique".
Even if I did not end up working with these guys, I would like to find a company that produces quite unique and story rich games as creating artwork for worldbuilding is one of my favourite things to do.
Artist public CVs
Doing some research into industry professionals for TTRPGs and freelance artists, I can see most individuals have both a formal CV and a Creative CV. When it comes to formal CV's, LinkedIn seems to be the most popular way individuals are showcasing their CV as it is more direct for employers to find. However, as you can see below, most of these individuals also have a website containing information about their skills, experience, and link to their Portfolio.
Above is Trevor Roberts' (Creator of the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park) Linkedin, which showcases his previous experience, skills and software expertise in a neat and concise manner.
David Blandy (Artist and game developer) Has a similar layout, with his projects and personal achievements showcased at the top of his page, allowing employers to see exactly what he has worked on in the past.
Anastasiia Ivanova (Artist for SoulMuppet Publishing's
Paint the town red) Has her LinkedIn featured on her Artstation and Vice versa, making access to her CV and Portfolio extremely easy for employers. Much like the examples above, she has all her previous experience and skills on her LinkedIn page.
This CV is for an NTU alumni, who has chosen to have a CV that lies somewhere between a formal and creative CV. The information is laid out cleanly and concisely whilst also showcasing some of his artwork. You can also see that the information provided is very minimal, only including the very basics to make his CV more accessible and memorable.
Social media - [ WIP]
Blogs, instagram, bluesky announcing when projects launch and devlogs behind those projects, builds a network
With this in mind, It would likely be worth creating both a Formal and Creative CV. I think having a LinkedIn would be very useful to me, as this also allows my profile to be found by more people. Taking into consideration what these individuals have done, I should make sure to link all my relevant social medias and my portfolio site so that my artwork can be easily found by employers. I will also make sure to keep my actual CV very brief, only including information that is absolutely necessary. However I do think It would be beneficial to include examples of my previous published projects for employers to review.
Job roles, what do they ask for?
Looking for some examples of job listings to inform what skills and information I should be including in my CV, I highlighted two listings from the company Wizards of the coast for their Art Administrator and Art director roles, which is similar to what I would like to do in the future.
What skills is this job asking for?
Software : Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Microsoft office
Skills: Communication, feedback, creative skills, IP implementation skills
Ideally they also want the applicant to have 2+ years in commercial illustration
What skills is this job asking for?
Software: Excel, outlook, Teams, Acrobat, Data Asset Management Systems
Skills: Art handling, art production and asset management as well as organizational, time management and communication skills.
They would also like applicants to be able to work well in teams, have good customer service skills and be familiar with wizards of the coast products.
In terms of experience, they want at least a university degree in graphic art or something related to art.
What kind of CV will I choose as my main CV?-
[Using my research what will I make?]
Structure of a CV-
Always arrange your information from most to least important.
Name / portfolio link / contacts / LinkedIn/ location
Experience and achievements
Transferrable skills
Experience / part time jobs
Game jams
Indie projects
Personal achievements
Skills
software skills
Workflows
Soft skills -
Don't do a skill tree, its hard for employers to understand what you mean if you are rating it out of 5.
Education
University courses
College courses? - probably not necessary
Take small courses, this will help add to this section - You could format this in a timeline of different courses you've done
Try not to be too wordy, make it so people can scan through and understand what skills you have.
You can put your creative CV on your own website, building your own brand.
CV Dos and Don'ts-
Do:
- Keep it short, around 1 page, and keep it clean to read
- Tailor it to the role you want to do, look at others in the field, how did they make their CV, what skills do you need to know
- Have contact details clearly displayed
- Add your achievements and courses, especially personal projects you've published, game jams you've attended, or courses you've completed
Don't:
- Don't use the word aspiring to describe yourself, just say you are an x/y/z kind of artist
- Don't use skill trees
- Be honest with your skills, don't name software you don't know how to use
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