Why I left Blizzard and Riot

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Why I left Blizzard and Riot. It's probably not the reason that most people think.

#arttips #learntodraw #howtodraw

Games I've worked on -
CURRENTLY WORKING ON- Twilight Monk Metroidvania
Fortnite (Environment concept art)
Overwatch (Environment concept art + Sprays artwork)
League of Legends (Character design + Environment concept art, UI + Icons)
Diablo 3 (Character design + Environment concept art)
Hearthstone (Illustration)
Burning Crusade(Character design + Environment concept art)
Wrath of the Lich King (Character design + Environment concept art)
Indivisible (Environment concept art)
Final Fight Streetwise (Voice Acting + Character Design + World Design + Cutscene Direction + Co writer on script)
Ikeda: The Scrap Hunter (Programming + Art + Design)

[officialgrimwaregamesllc]

Very relatable dude. Same with me on CoD I was doing contract work and they offered me full time and I just couldn't see myself putting in 16 hour days 6 days a week crunch on something I wasn't passionate about especially that even if you do a good job, layoffs happen because numbers must always go up and along side with CEO bonuses. Now I do long days 7 days a week...but at least its not for me and on my terms. Twilight Monk looks like its really coming along. Wishing you the best!

[curtisnordstrom]

I’ve been doing the dream for over 8 years. A side from getting some voice actors ive made 100 animated shorts, 1 a feature length animated film, 8 30 page comic books, and 2 90 page books of comic strips all in my own universe and I’m loving more than every going back to pencil paper and ink. Loving the process.

[brucenunn]

The Best in the Business.! Can’t wait to get this on switch.!

[consilo]

7:50 "there's a lot that i think corporate game development is doing wrong lately"
my team recently participated in a pitch competition, vying for a 10k cash prize. we spent half our allotted time talking about this exact point. our goal was to illustrate why the current status quo of games monetization is unsustainable and predatory, and to create contrast between them and our more traditional business model (buy a game, get a game). the room was full of venture capital people, not really games industry folks, and so we had to lay out a lot of context. in the end, it was the narrative we spun that convinced them to award us the prize.
i really believe in this principle, and it's heartening to hear that you might be circling the same drain as we are. it's not an easy road to go down, but I hope it brings you security and fulfillment. VGInsights found that risky and creative games from small teams were unequivocally the best performers on steam last year. artful games will be the future of the market once more, and soon.
see you on the other side big dawg. thanks for all the inspiration

[oscyrion]

the biggest takeaway is to not contemplate, but start, and to do it big. Doing a short comic, do 30 of them, not just one. And the biggest reminder is that we are all going to die. Ashley Wood had said that in an interview, that he knows one day he will die, and that fires him up to be working hard. I forgot about that, until now.

[GavinHadro]

Thanks for this and all your videos ever since I was in high school. I'm (almost!) in the industry, and hearing about your rejections ironically makes it fun to stomach haha. Just means I'm one rejection closer!
Regarding the problem with working a corporate job too long, I went to the IAMC convention and remember talking to Mateusz Urbanowicz about it. He said something very similar to what you said, but it was in regards to anime. He worked at large studios for years until he realized the reason he was so unfulfilled was because he was telling and retelling other people's stories and, worse yet, the big-budget entertainment industry's stories usually, and understandably, target the lowest common denominator. He said working on the same things that you don't truly care about for too long can make you lose sight of what you originally wanted to share with others, of your larger life vision. It's not easy to pursue, but nothing worth having ever was! Keep going man looking forward to your game and whatever comes after!

[Strange_Heroes]

I’ve been making indie games for 15 years now. I talked to a lot of publishers. None of them cared. I think it’s easier to get that kind of interest when you are Trent Kaniuga, who has worked in AAA for 20+ years, who has made a bunch of indie comics, creates content for a moderately successful YouTube channel, and probably most importantly is making awesome art that they can see with their eyes.

I’m not telling anyone not to try to be an indie developer, I am still making games, but I’m lucky enough to have a paying job as a software engineer. Most of the indie devs I have known in those 15 years are not making games any more. it's just not viable.

The unfortunate reality is that making it as an indie game dev is maybe slightly more possible then winning the megabucks lottery.

[LANMEE]

Here I am working on a sameish tree design for my game for 2-3 days, and you come and do it in timelapsed 2-3 minutes :D. Inspirational as always!

[PuckettCreative]

Love this - you are literally talking about crushing your dreams and goals while doing it in the video. As a creative this is super compelling! Thanks again for encouraging the rest of us, this is the juice I need to keep going after the big stuff.

[BookmansBlues]

Yeah I am nearing my 25 years in VFX/Animation, which I never really set out to do, always just wanted to do my own thing, and trying to put the will together to get that stuff in motion. My problem isn't that I do not know what I want to do, the problem I have is that I have too many ideas to really settle on one of them.

[dianamarques]

Not gonna lie, this was a pretty demotivating video for me! Hearing you say how time is limited, and here I am, 41 years old, still chasing the dream of breaking into the industry. Had to put that on hold for a few years and work a desk job for a while, but I had the chance to give it another go now, and I'm going for it. But right now, things are even more insane than they ever were.

[kermbydoesart]

im 22 and cant help but feel that time is flying, ive been looking for a mentor or SOMETHING besides being self taught. Esp these days it can be discouraging, but i live and breath art. I will never evr ever stop. watching you always gives me some fresh air from all the noise

[mirandaart]

I started to do my "i did (that thing)" that you talk about around the 8min mark of the video, all these plans and dreams i had over the years were stalling me as I thought I had to be in the industry or have certain degrees to prove that I know things, cov*d really turned my world upside down and the years after it, this year i wrote a list of all the game projects and any other thing i wanted to do and i started to work on them. slow progress most days but when i find the time/motivation to work for even a few minutes i focus on the task. Hopefully in the future I can say I finished some projects that mean something to me. Thanks for all the time you put into your videos and your game looks great, i can't wait to play it :)

[bidibuzz]

Man, your words and your work is so inspiring keep it up i'll keep you in my inspirations and ressources for years to come!

[jamfilledjars]

I'm not even in the industry yet, nor at a professional level as the character artist I want to be. Yet, I want to work on my own projects and my own brand, than focus on committing myself to a company. Hell, I'm wanting to study and work in/set up shop in Seoul, where I feel I will find greater success in my career, connections and personal growth as an artist and person.

I also just find that Canada has so few options for what I'm interested in when it comes to art and specifically characters, that being extremely detailed shenanigans (mechs, cyborgs, sci-fi, etc. etc.). It feels constricting to stay here in Canada or NA in general.

[subterranean]

Good stuff, Trent. I've effectively given up on being a professional artist, but I'm more committed than ever to making the stuff I want to make, even if it's not for money.

[yurig.]

Trent, your videos really helped me, some good years back to learn more about concept art. Eventually I landed a in-house job, learned a bunch there, and now I'm on my own, developing my indie project! It's so fun to see your creative journey!

Would you mind making a future video about the Indie game publishing side of stuff? Also, with this early demo you made, do you think publishers expect more polishment in regards of visuals or mechanics? If you were to say in a scale from 0-10, how much (of the slice you prototyped) the visuals and mechanics would lend in the scale?

Thank you so much, I've already wishlisted Twillight Monk in steam!

[PolSiete]

real man. youve been inspirational. currently i cant take risks but im spending my free time learning animation.

[purinp]

Our needs change with time. I started as junior working for indie studios and work towards the goal of working for big studios. Im tired of indie - lack of stability, cancelled projects, lack of amazing seniors to learn from, irresponsible bosses who have no idea what they are doing and budget limitations stopping from doing more quality, detailed art. If indie is not your own studio/project or it's not founded by super-experienced people, its often not fun at all.

[ArtDadDraws]

Thanks for this video Trent. I have three studios I want to work for (bucket list goals). My goal is to get into one of those studios, make a game with them, then do my own thing between the next dream studio. I've been a freelancer for a long time in other fields and I just can't stomach the grind for this part of my life.