The role of an art director.

An art director on a development team has a number of responsibilities which he must oversee, these include; establishing a strong aesthetic and interactive standard for the entire title, whilst working closely with all departments ensuring they are following the criteria, effectively problem solve and communicate your vision to the entire team, as well as mentoring any learner members of staff. Clearly this balances the worlds of art and business, a highly creative attitude and ability is required to create an aesthetic product, as well as a confident, marketing mind to convey ideas to staff and ensure they are on target. This can be compared to that of a film director, the art director would create storyboards illustrating the key elements of the product, using his artistic skills to convey light, tone and mood within the game, but would spend a lot of his time managing the production and overall core development of the title. To become an art director in the games industry, It would take a considerable amount of talent and skill to develop your creative knowledge, a very strong artistic foundation would be necessary to develop an aesthetic title, but strong interpersonal skills, a confident attitude and general management abilities will also be required to effectively ensure your vision is created, pleasing both the publishers and consumers would be the ultimate challenge, and the only way to gain that skill is through experience.