Early Bird

Most people strive to be promoted in their line of work. Rightfully so, as promotions usually mean more money and a heavier input on projects etc.
There are times however when a promotion will stop you doing what you love, what you went into this line of work to do.
Jobs like the Art Director fall into this category.
Art Directors don’t create artwork but rather oversee the creation process of their team. Typically, they act as liaisons between the team and the rest of the company; this means that they are responsible for objects, characters, levels etc. These people can set the quality and style of a game.
Art Directors also with the Lead Artist review the other Artists’ progress on their team. Since an Art Director is only head of one department they must still answer to someone and call them ‘boss’. I would believe this to ultimately be the Games Designer if it were to be put into simple terms.
Phillip Bossant said that ‘…it’s rare that I get to spend much time painting on the project these days’. Which enforces the point I made earlier, Art Directors don’t get to do what most of them joined this industry to do; create things. On the other hand, because they are responsible for the games assets they need to be creative in order to guide and mentor other artists in their team. Otherwise Art Directors wouldn’t be promoted from Artist positions. Simply walk over a successful manager etc. Because they can do the job in terms of organizational skills and management but would be utterly useless if a junior artist came to them asking what would be the best way for them to improve their work. I think that Art Directors are creative but no in the most obvious ways.
Art Directors in other industries have the same responsibilities as their counter-parts in the games industry; they are largely involved with the administrative aspects of their department, much like the Game Art Director and they also liaison between other departments on the production team.
However, since the film ‘Gone with the Wind’ the title of Production Designer is more commonly used and so this means more responsibilities because they control every aspect of the film visually speaking, including costumes.
I personally wouldn’t mind becoming an Art Director in the future. But they seem to require extensive organizational skills. I think that I could manage but could always improve but most importantly they need to be highly experienced in modeling, digital painting, texturing etc. This is what I would need to improve upon the most but that is why I’m taking this University course. I feel I have the beginnings of the necessary leadership qualities but I’m aware that I need to be more confident when talking to large groups.
I imagine that becoming a morning person who requires little sleep would also help.