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Recent graduate Omar Aweidah has just started his career at Cloud Imperium Games

and offers his insights into going pro… What advice would you give to readers embarking on an internship? I interned with Blur Studios in Culver City. The most important thing for me was learning a professional pipeline and workflow. Since I was responsible for all aspects of my student work, working with a team was extremely valuable. I would suggest for anyone going into an internship to keep your mind open and learn as much as you can from all departments. It is a great opportunity to see how a studio works and how it functions. Was it a big learning curve going from school to a studio like Cloud Imperium Games? The biggest learning curve was probably understanding the synergy of the studio. Everything is related to another part of production. If I changed something I believe to be simple, if may affect someone in another department significantly, and that could start a domino effect. Learning who to involve in the decision-making process is a great way to get things done quickly and efficiently. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and why? The biggest challenge has been to stay motivated and inspired. Work can become rhythmic. It has been difficult for me to push myself to constantly get better. The best thing about working in a studio or a school is that you have people around you who you are inspired by, to help push you beyond what you assume you are capable of. Would you have done anything differently for your portfolio? Yes, I would have attached more wireframes to my work. I wouldn’t necessary have attached them in my demo reel but I would’ve had them handy if anyone in an interview ever asked. I have had that happen before when I was asked for wireframes and did not have them handy. For production art it is really important to convey technical capabilities as well as artistic competence. What advice would you give anyone who wants to get into games art? I would simply suggest to make art. The more you study art and practise it, the more valuable you are to making art for entertainment – especially games. The entire idea is to convey emotion and tell a story; if you can do this well with imagery, static or otherwise, you are an invaluable asset. What have you learned since working in the industry? I have learned that ‘impossible’ is the worst thing anyone can say. We are constantly working on new techniques to do things. Sometimes they are not the smartest ideas, other times they work out well. Very rarely have I seen a team set out on an objective to create something and not find some way to creatively devise a solution. Just saying “we can’t do that, it’s impossible,” is not an option.