How to Get Hired as a Vehicle Artist in the Games Industry

Over the past 30 years I've worked as a vehicle artist in the games industry and, as founder of Virtual Mechanix, I've employed dozens of vehicle artists. During that time, I've seen some incredibly talented artists get jobs—and I've also seen artists with outstanding portfolios miss out. Getting employed as a vehicle artist is an extremely competitive process, so you need to stand out. In this article, I talk about the skills and personal attributes that I typically look for in a candidate, how to prepare your portfolio, what to submit in your application, and how to approach a job interview.

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TorqArt

8/17/20267 min read

4. Apply Like a Professional

A generic application along the lines of, 'Dear Sir/Madam, I am passionate about cars and would love to work for your company…' is almost useless.

Make it clear why you wish to work for a particular studio and tailor your application for that specific job.

So, if for example you’re applying to a studio that makes racing sims, emphasise your relevant sim experience and demonstrate the type of assets they would typically use. Likewise for a studio that makes fantasy arcade racing games, show examples that would look great in their games.

Essentially: Make it easy for the person reviewing your application to see why you belong there.

Be honest

Sell yourself but be honest and don't claim skills you don't possess. Clearly identify what you actually did on a project. If somebody tells me they worked on a AAA title, saying “I worked on X”, this doesn't tell me whether you modelled the vehicle, made textures, fixed UVs or changed a door handle, so tell me exactly what you did.

Application

From my experience, every applicant usually states that they're hardworking, reliable, and passionate with a great work ethic. Don’t just tell me all those things. Show me.

mention a long-term project
explain how you met a difficult deadline
describe a production environment you've worked in
provide references
explain your experience working remotely
demonstrate consistent portfolio output

CV / Resume

Your CV / resume should include:

contact details
a link to your portfolio
relevant professional profiles
software/tools experience
shipped titles (if applicable)
relevant previous experience
role/contribution on projects
location/time zone where relevant

5. The Interview

Congratulations if you’ve been accepted for an interview—you’ve passed the most difficult hurdle. Without going too deep into the interview process, prepare for your interview by researching/learning as much as possible about the studio, the games they’ve made, and how they operate.

Going into an interview with that knowledge demonstrates that you care about the role, helps you ask intelligent questions, and allows you to assess whether the studio's work culture aligns with your values. If asked to talk about yourself and your goals, explain why you want to work at the studio, what you hope to gain, what you can bring to the table.

Importantly, show enthusiasm for creating vehicle assets and games.

Be prepared to explain:

why did you build the model this way?
what did you struggle with?
what would you do differently?
how did you handle a change in direction?
how did you deal with incomplete reference?
tell us about a time you received difficult feedback?
tell us about a deadline you couldn't meet—or nearly couldn't meet?
how did you balance quality against time?
What specifically was your contribution to this project?

So essentially you are being asked a lot more than “can this person model a beautiful Ferrari?”

You’re being asked:

can you work within a production pipeline?
can you take direction?
can you hit deadlines?
can you work within technical constraints?
can you optimise your work?
can you communicate with your team?
can you accept criticism without becoming defensive?
can you work consistently?
can I trust you with an important asset?
Will you make my life easier or harder?

These types of questions can be uncomfortable to answer on-the-fly, but they are designed to test you, so do your best to prepare because your responses will contribute to your suitability for the role.

6. The Art Test

If you advance to the next stage and are given an art test as a practical assessment, then definitely do the test and take it seriously.

read the brief carefully
don't ignore technical requirements
ask sensible questions if something genuinely isn't clear
submit exactly what was requested
organise the files properly
name things as specified (or logically/sensibly if not specified)
respect the time limit
don't add unnecessary work simply to show off
if you make an assumption, explain it

Remember… an art test isn't just testing whether you can make the asset. It's testing whether you can follow instructions.

7. Build Relationships Before the Job Exists

Don't always wait for a job to be advertised.

Try building genuine professional relationships via industry events and networks such as LinkedIn. Make good use of your connections to demonstrate your skills and build rapport. Getting a foot in the door with the right person before a job is advertised puts you at an advantage if/when a role becomes available.

If you connect with the right company/person…

follow their work
engage intelligently with their posts
ask an occasional genuine question
participate in industry communities
attend conferences/events
share relevant work
ask for feedback when appropriate
don't become annoying (very important)

Remember… networking isn't repeatedly asking someone for a job. It's becoming someone they remember when a job becomes available.

8. Common Mistakes That Cost Artists Jobs

From my experience evaluating the suitability of candidates, here are some of the most common reasons why applicants fail to get a job:

the portfolio doesn't demonstrate sufficient vehicle modelling experience
inconsistent models and/or modelling techniques
accuracy issues and/or missing details
no breakdowns
exaggerated skill claims
poor presentation
inability to explain decisions
poor communication
failure to follow an art-test brief
unclear contribution to team projects
portfolio doesn’t match the requirements of the role
portfolio shows beautiful work but no evidence of game production knowledge

This can differ depending on the circumstances of the role, however, use this list of reasons as a general rule of thumb of things to avoid.

Final Thought

The person who gets the job isn't necessarily the person who can make the most beautiful car. It's the person who convinces the studio that they can consistently produce great work, within the constraints of a real production environment, and be someone the team wants to work with.

1. What Studios Actually Want

Without diving into technical tutorials about polygon modelling, budgets, texturing, materials and asset set-up, we'll keep this focused on the fundamentals—the skills, attributes and production awareness you need to demonstrate to a potential employer.

Five things I typically look for:

artistic skill
technical knowledge
production awareness
communication skills
reliability

Asset Optimisation & Thinking Like a Game Artist

A games-industry vehicle artist needs to understand that a beautiful 3D model isn't necessarily a good game asset.

It’s important to demonstrate examples of both low-poly and high-poly work, however regardless of mesh density, topology needs to be appropriate, clean and purposeful for the asset and its intended use. We all love to see beautiful renders; however, examples of good mesh topology can be far more valuable than fancy renders.

Remember… a beautifully modelled and rendered vehicle demonstrates modelling ability. A model that is properly prepared and running inside a game engine demonstrates that you understand game development.

2. Skills That Can Set You Apart

Sketching and Texture Painting

The ability to draw cars convincingly isn’t the highest priority for a vehicle artist but demonstrating that you can communicate visual ideas quickly is definitely a bonus.

Likewise, showing that you can paint realistic-looking textures is an excellent skill to have. Regardless of whether 95% of the vehicle is utilising material shaders, or there are dedicated texture artists working on the project, there will always be times where hand-painted textures are needed for various parts, and if you are skilled at doing this then it’ll add breadth to your application.

Along with good texture painting (and texture-page layout), good, optimal UV mapping skill is essential.

Technical Knowledge

Having some technical knowledge of game engines and production pipelines can be very beneficial.

You don’t need to be a technical artist or a programmer but demonstrating that you understand the transition: reference → modelling → topology → UVs → materials → optimisation → engine integration… can only strengthen your chances of landing a job.

Automotive Knowledge

Having good automotive knowledge can actually make you better at your job, and it also demonstrates that you understand the subject you're modelling.

It’s helpful to know about:

vehicle types (marques, models and years etc)
vehicle proportions
mechanical components and relationships
suspension
body construction and panel gaps
wheel/tyre relationships
motorsports and automotive history

Can you take criticism?

Good clear communication is vital to working in a game team environment, as is navigating all the expectations put on you as a team member, which means you’ll need to be able to take constructive criticism at times.

A studio workflow involves constant feedback and revision, so if you’re told “the proportions aren't correct”, or “I’d like you to change this”, this should not be interpreted as “you're a terrible artist.”

You’ll need to be able to revise your work as requested without becoming emotionally attached to it. Consider that a technically brilliant artist who can't take constructive criticism can be a liability.

3. Build a Portfolio That Gets You Noticed

Your portfolio should demonstrate your typical standard of work—not the best model you've ever made. You need to demonstrate consistency across the entirety of your portfolio.

I suggest you show three or four strong examples of vehicles, however, show some variety, and include the process breakdowns. For every portfolio vehicle, I'd encourage artists to show a few stages, for example:

Blockout → High-Poly → Low-Poly → UVs → Textures → Final Renders

Include: