The "Future Career Ranking" reflects the times and circumstances of the respondents, with civil servants, system engineers, and nurses being particularly popular in recent years. Occupations such as video contributors and distributors are particularly "recent". However, for some time now, "animators" and "game creators" have been consistently listed at the top of the "professions I want to be. As you all know, Japanese animation and games are very popular worldwide, and their popularity as occupations is high because they are familiar to people, especially young people. This time, we visited a special lecture at the " Nihon Kogakuin College Kamata CG Imaging Department," where the future leaders of Japanese animation and games are gathered. We also interviewed Mr. Hideo Yoshie, Art Director of Namco Bandai Studio, and the faculty members of the CG Imaging Department of the Nippon Kogakuin College.
We visited the CG Imaging Department of Nihon Kogakuin College of Technology
Two minutes walk from Kamata Station in Ota-ku, Tokyo. Passing through a shopping street with a downtown atmosphere, you will see the Kamata Campus of Nihon Kogakuin College and Tokyo University of Technology. Building No. 3, which was renovated as part of Katayanagi Gakuen's 70th anniversary project, has an overwhelming presence.
After an explanation of visual artists, students asked questions and critiqued their works.
The lecturer was Mr. Hideo Yoshie, an art director at NAMCO BANDAI Studios. He has been involved in the development of the " Tekken " series, " Soul Calibur " series, and the much talked about " Summer Lesson ", the launch title of the first PlayStation VR.
First, an introduction to the profession of visual artist and the detailed job description. Incidentally, although not exactly the same, you can also find an overview of the work and a briefing session on the recruitment website of NAMCO BANDAI Studios Inc.
Mr. Yoshie earnestly answered questions from the students. He also asked other creators about questions outside of his field of expertise and delivered real voices from the field.
Finally, she gave advice on the students' demo reels and portfolios. In addition to the quality of the work, Mr. Yoshie, who is also in charge of the recruitment and selection process for visual artists, also commented on "how to present art in an appealing way.
To the author, who has no sense of art, the students' works looked splendid. However, Mr. Yoshie's advice was spot on. I couldn't help but listen to his advice.
After the lecture, I interviewed Mr. Yoshie from NAMCO BANDAI Studios and the faculty members of Nippon Kogakuin College!
Interview with Mr. Hideo Yoshie, Art Director, NAMCO BANDAI Studios
- Nice to meet you today.
Mr. Yosh ie: Nice to meet you. I am Yoshie, Art Director of NAMCO BANDAI Studios.
- First of all, please tell us about the abilities and attitudes that students need to have in order to create good works of art in the future.
Yoshie: We are a company that specializes in game production, so we prefer people who love games and have a strong desire to create games. In terms of ability, if you are a visual artist, we prefer someone who can express originality in addition to basic drawing skills.
- Originality was also emphasized in your critique of the students, wasn't it?
Yoshie: We create all kinds of characters, from realistic fighting games to mobile suits, mecha, and celluloid-like animation. Of course, basic skills are important, but we prefer people who have originality within themselves and can express a wide range of different art forms.
- Do you have any opportunity to give advice to students' works like this one?
Yoshie: As a recruiter, I visit vocational schools and art universities, and our interns also have many opportunities to give feedback to students.
- What do you look for in such occasions?
Yoshie: In the case of demo reels and portfolios, I think the composition is also important. First of all, the work that you are most confident in and want to showcase should be at the top of the list as the "grab" piece. In addition, I also want to see the breadth of the work, whether it shows the artist's taste, and whether it clearly shows what he or she wants to create.
- What kind of student were you when you attended the lecture at the vocational school?
Yoshie: I majored in graphic design at Osaka University of Arts. At school I studied a lot of marketing publicity materials like product posters and package art. I joined the manga study group and tried to draw manga, but that didn't work out, so I just drew illustrations (laughs).
- (laughs) So you didn't always want to be in the game industry.
Yoshie: Of course I loved games since I was a child, but I never thought I would make a career out of it. I worked in graphic design in publishing and advertising, and I also liked manga and anime, so I did some personal activities drawing illustrations and cartoons, and so on.
- As a result, you stepped into the third option, the game industry.
Yoshie: One of my seniors at university was making independent games, and I felt that the game industry was a creative outlet that I was familiar with, which is how I ended up in the game industry.
- Was there any particular work that left a lasting impression on you or was a turning point in your professional career?
Yoshie: After I joined the company, I was making only fighting games and action games, but one day I made a game called "Summer Lesson," which was derived from the Tekken team. Until then, I had been making games with a large team of 100 to 200 people, so this was the first time I was exposed to the atmosphere of making a game with 5 to 10 people in an indie style, and I was finally able to do it myself! I was like, "I finally made it!
- (laughs) So you were able to realize your admiration for your seniors in college.
Yoshie: We didn't originally plan to commercialize "Summer Lesson," but the demo we made for VR was so well received that we decided to release it. I was surprised to see how such a product came to be. I am glad that it became a product and became a hot topic in the VR community. VR was a turning point for the industry, and for me personally, it was a turning point in many ways, as I had a lot of fun creating games in a completely different way than I had in the past.
- Are there any particular difficulties in VR game production?
Yoshie: There are so many that I could talk about them for hours (laughs). The drawing constraints and modeling methods are completely different from games played on so-called flat screens. At the time, there were not many games that we could use as references, so we had to really explore the possibilities.
- Recently, there has been a lot of talk about adapting existing games to VR.
Yoshie: We implemented a VR mode for "Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown" a while ago, and it was well received. However, if you don't have VR in mind at the time of production, you may encounter various inconveniences. Some of my friends around me said, "I can't play VR games for a long time because I get drunk. Summer Lesson is the only one that doesn't make me sick." I was proud of the fact that we specialized in VR, so I was proud to say, " I made it so that you don't get sick! I was proud to say "I made it so you don't get sick!
- Finally, do you have any advice for students studying at vocational schools?
Yoshie: I envy and admire students who have chosen schools with the goal of entering the animation or game industry from the very beginning. If you are choosing a school and studying with your future in mind, I hope you will not lose your passion for what you love even more. However, I also hope that you will not be obsessed with only what you like, and that you will look at a variety of other things. I am often asked, "What should I do as a student? Once you join a company or a team, communication skills become important unless you are an individual writer. Experiences that you can only have while you are a student, such as going on a trip with friends, organizing an event, or organizing a school festival, will surely come in handy somewhere.
- Thank you very much for your time today.
Mr. Yoshie: Thank you very much.
Interview with faculty members of the Department of Computer Graphics and Imaging at the Nihon Kogakuin Institute of Technology
- Thank you very much for your time today.
Teachers: Nice to meet you.
- What kind of students enter the Department of Computer Graphics and Imaging at Nihon Kogakuin College?
Prof. Suzuki: We have a wide range of students. Although their skills at the time of enrollment vary, they all share a common interest in the video game, animation, YouTuber, and other visual image industries.
- Please tell me about the classes in the department.
Suzuki: The knowledge required in the industry is broad, so in the first year, we aim to have students experience a variety of things, from analog skills such as drawing to software such as Adobe and Autodesk Maya, as well as basic knowledge of the industry and the visual arts. The term "3DCG" covers a variety of areas, such as character modeling and animation, so students are able to gain a variety of experiences during their first year. In the second year, students are divided into different majors, so they can take elective classes and acquire specialized skills according to what they want to do. In the third year, students work together as a team to produce a large animation or 3DCG work as their graduation project.
Tanji: I teach mainly animation. In animation, we often invite creators who are active in the field as special lecturers, so basically, students learn through independent work. Of course, there are assignments for the whole class, but I mainly give students advice on how to brush up their individual works, and then let them apply the knowledge to their own work.
- Will the graduation work be presented outside the body?
Dr. Suzuki: We hold an exhibition of graduation works at the Katayanagi Arena on campus, as well as on our YouTube channel " Nihon Kogakuin College_CG Imaging Department_Kamata " and on the web as an online graduation exhibition.
- Do you regularly hold lectures like this one, inviting creators who are active in the industry?
Prof. Sakamoto: Yes, we do. Especially in the first semester, we ask several companies every week to hold a kind of company information session for third-year students. After the briefing, we have time for individual critiques of their work, and they give us advice from the perspective of the company and the industry as a whole.
- So students can get advice from active creators on a regular basis?
Dr. Suzuki: Yes. This time, as the second semester was about to begin, we asked NAMCO BANDAI Studios, which has many students who are interested in working for the company.
- Do you also receive advice from various other industries?
Prof. Jinno: The other day we had a person from the animation industry, and before that we had a person from the video industry in the field of VFX and live-action compositing. The three main genres are games, animation, and video, and we also have production companies that specialize in smaller areas of these genres.
- What is the percentage of industries that students are interested in?
Dr. Jinno: As a curriculum developer, we hope that 30% of our students will go into the game, animation, and visual image fields, respectively.
Dr. Sakamoto: The percentage fluctuates slightly from year to year, but for example, this year, 10% went to companies specializing in animation, 20% went to companies specializing in games, and 40% went to other companies involved in all aspects of visual arts, including animation and games.
- Are there any commonalities or characteristics of students who are able to find a job in the industry or large company of their choice?
Dr. Suzuki: I think it is that they have opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. They go to various information sessions and take courses. They learn English as well as specialized knowledge.
Prof. Jinno: The school also provides opportunities for students to learn about the real world as virtual creators, such as watching "The Lion King" by the Shiki Theater Company and viewing the "Hideaki Anno Exhibition" from their first year. Students who are "able to do what they have to do (assignments, etc.)" and "able to think about what they have to do next and take action on their own" are fulfilling their own expectations. I think these students are fulfilling their hopes. They are preparing to present their work to companies by creating portfolios and demo reels, including self-produced works. It is also important for students to know their position in a large group of people involved in a project, and to be able to relay the baton well. Students who are able to think of others and act accordingly are finding employment.
- Thank you very much for your time today.
Teachers: Thank you very much.
To the future leaders of the animation and game industry
This time we visited a special lecture at the CG Imaging Department of Nihon Kogakuin College! The spacious campus near the station andwell-equipped facilities make for a great learning environment. With regular opportunities to receive advice from industry professionals, the school is a strong choice for junior and senior high school students who are interested in CG image production for animation and games! We are planning to hold another open campus + trial enrollment in November 2023.
This is the Special Lecture Report & Interview!