Early Production

3. Early Production

We did it! We know what we're making, we know how to build it, we have the right people and we believe in a strong, unified vision. Now it's time to put those countless hours of preparation, discovery and planning to work.

Sample Team: Lead Designer, Designer(s), Product Owner, Producer, Art Director/Lead, Concept Artist(s), 3D Artist(s), Animator(s), Tech Art, Engineers, QA, BPU, Marketing

Prerequisite: Design, Engineer and Art Documentation complete from preproduction, roadmap for at least 6 months, Asset list, Team staffing plan, Risks evaluated, strong prototype and visual slice approved

Goal: To prove out asset pipelines and work on efficiency, adjust and add to documentation, develop outsourcing plan, build out source control hierarchy, support initial features, continue building a collaborative environment, strengthen roadmap, adjust asset lists, asset tracking

Each sub phase of production has it's own unique challenges. Here are some things to focus on at the beginning:

Efficiency: Early on, as your team works through asset pipelines,
- look for ways to increase efficiency. Make it a point to use the words "Don't suffer in silence" frequently. Focus on repetitive steps that can be automated through tool creation or training.
- This is your test drive stage so listen for the engine knock and squeaky brakes. Adressing them quickly can save a lot of time; time better invested in iteration and polish.
- Have artists record their workflow and share it out for feedback and tool improvement opportunities.

Quality: It is critical that your initial assets are:
- strong and cohesive. Don't get sloppy and off track early. Everything you build from here on out is an extension of those initial assets.
- Plan on the early work to take much longer and for the experience and streamlining to speed things up throughout production.
- Avoid churning endlessly as you will almost certainly polish the early work later.

Growth: Organize and cherish one on ones with each artist and:
- Do them frequently, weekly is ideal.
- Take notes and send out an agenda beforehand so everyone knows what to expect.
- Cover their performance plan, project updates, current work and whatever else comes up.
- This is your big chance to get to know the artist, their aspirations, strengths, weaknesses and frustrations. It is an important time investment in that artist's growth and success and your ability to lead them.

Art Reviews: Do full art team reviews twice a week early in production.
- Build a culture of sharing WIP, providing artwork and problem solving as a team.
- Make it a safe environment and not a contest.
- Celebrate success and tackle problems as a team.
- Allow everyone an opportunity to contribute to the discussion.
- This is how you build trust and respect within a high functioning, engaged team.

Estimates: Evaluate and rework estimates as needed.
- Early estimates going in to production are just that, early and estimates.
- The priorities and features will also change slightly as you go so be prepared.
- Any failure to produce art on time and of high quality falls on the shoulders of the lead artist and art director.

Outsourcing & External Development

Outsourcing art content is a great way to add flexibility and burst during development while keeping a steady pace for the internal team. Full, external teams are creating a product while sharing similar challenges as outsourcing for the Art Director. The success and comfort level of handling either relationship can be heightened via the following strategies:

It's A Partnership: Choose the right partner:
- All external studios and artists are not equal. Look for a partner that has demonstrated the ability to create great artwork in similar styles, limitations and platforms.
- If possible, try to lock in a consistent group of artists, including a lead. Better yet, work with your partner to select specific artists.
- This group will improve and acclimate over time much like the internal team so invest accordingly!

Communication: The geographical, lack of face time and time difference add to the complexity of working with external studios.
- These factors absolutely affect the quality of communication if it doesn't remain a priority.
- Remember that these are artists working on your project and they require the same thoughtful feedback and support as internal artists.
- Schedule time daily to review artwork, provide feedback and communicate with the external lead.

Documentation: Time to get some more value out of your Style and Technical Art Guides.
- If created successfully, these guides will help external artists get up and running quickly and consistentently.
- Additional documentation should be created including reference sheets, model sheets and asset lists.
- A schedule will also be created based on the team's needs, deadlines and external artist availability.

Feedback: Remember that:
- All artists take some time to acclimate to style, so avoid being discouraged if early assets aren't perfect.
- The results will improve as the relationship goes on and, as in every relationship, both sides are responsible for success and failure.
- Take another look at the guides; did you forget to clearly document the style or naming conventions? Are you providing effective, timely and actionable feedback?
- Again, schedule time each and every day in order to provide the attention and respect needed for a fruitful partnership.

Content: For outsourcing specifically, I suggest:
- Developing key assets in house and outsourcing repetitive content if possible. Have 300 sets of armor? Need to make 300 portraits for that armor? These are good candidates.
- Key assets are likely to be highly iterative and an essential part of the brand and experience. These are not only rewarding to create but heavily reliant on communication.
- Repetitive assets are more focused, less iterative and thus easier to manage and direct remotely.

Play!: As an Art Director, you should be:
- playing each game consistently.
- You should be the absolute authority on the artwork and intimately familiar with the product vision.
- As mentioned many times in this document, content is best critiqued within context of the experience.
- Play often and write up feedback, capture video, do paintovers, share other products and inspirational art.
- Art Direction isn't all about finding the flaws. Letting people know that they are creating outstanding work is important too!

Leading & Leaders

There are many ways to lead and, as an Art Director, it is important to notice those leaders within the team and embrace them. The team should be empowered to make decisions based on the strong unified vision established. A highly functional team will exhibit leadership from each artist, handling the small and big decisions naturally through development. I frequently tell myself that "Leaders make leaders", always on the lookout to strengthen each person's ability and confidence to contribute. Here are some tools for doing so:

Listen: If the goal is to make the best decisions then realize that those ideas can come from anyone. If you are calling all the shots, it's likely that the team lacks ownership and may not feel comfortable speaking up. This is a failure on the Art Director and team leadership. From the very beginning, build a safe environment built on trust and respect. Provide accessible forums for written and verbal feedback and action on that feedback!

Grow: Through steady interaction, get to know how each individual ticks. What are their professional aspirations? What are they most passionate about? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Develop a personal plan with each artist focused on growth and success. Provide workshops, a job description, hands-on experience, mentorship and any other support needed to build a clear path to their dream job.

Delegate: Delegation should not be the act of having others do things you don't want to. Look to delegate tasks that align with an artist's interests, expertise and career goals. Providing ownership demonstrates trust and a sincere interest in their growth. Here are some examples:

Present: Standing in front of a group and talking is a skill developed through experience. It feels good to be chosen to represent your teammates, particularly if the subject is something your are personally passionate about. It also allows people you don't otherwise know to attach a name and personality to a face. Build leaders by providing these types of opportunities.

Outsourcing: Gathering reference Images, creating concept art and providing feedback are all forms of art direction. Ask interested artists to participate to get direction experience and also so they can fill in during vacation or sick days.

Workshops: As you are familiar with the varied expertise across the art team, ask them to run a workshop. This is a great opportunity to knowledge share, create a lesson plan and lead a great team building event. ZBrush, painting, sculpture, life-drawing, Mel scripting, modeling, Substance, miniature painting and so on. The possibilities are nearly endless. This is a great way to prove to an employee that their lifetime of passion and hard work matters.

Next Up: Mid Production!