We’re ArenaNet—we’ve created a studio that makes online worlds infused with innovation, hand-crafted excellence, and creative passion. We're not the only ones who share this passion; gamers made Guild Wars 2 the fastest selling MMO game in the West with more than 3 million copies sold in its first 9 months, and players and press have consistently called it one of the best MMOs of all time.
At ArenaNet, we’re serious about games. We created the ArenaNet Apprentice Program to help develop young artists, providing them with the skills they need to be successful in the game industry. We’re looking to cultivate artists who have the talent, but lack one thing: work experience.
It’s our experience that artists learn more in the first few months of a game industry job than in their entire time at art school. We’ve created an immersive work-based educational program where apprentice artists work alongside professionals to develop real skills that are relevant and sought after in the game and entertainment industry. This isn’t a standard studio internship, where you’ll be expected to make copies or perform menial tasks for studio artists. You can’t develop your skills if you’re doing “grunt work” for a year, so expect to be challenged artistically and provided with opportunities to contribute to the success of the studio in a substantive way.
Program Features
- Small cohort. Work and learn alongside a small group of motivated apprentices.
- Professional environment. Hone your skills at the ArenaNet studio working side-by-side with top game industry artists in a dedicated work space.
- Meaningful work. You’ll work on a variety of important art assignments that contribute to the success of the company, not “grunt” work.
- Broad training, relevant skills. You’ll receive training in a broad variety of skills rather than specializing on creating specific content. We want our apprentices to emerge from the program as stronger all-around artists, not as experts in creating eyeballs or helmets.
- Pacific Northwest location. Enrollees in the ArenaNet apprenticeship program will be expected to relocate to the Bellevue, WA area at their own expense. Bellevue is in the beautiful greater Seattle area, which offers a wide range of cultural and natural activities.
Apprentices are welcome to participate in ArenaNet University, our internal program of classes and workshops presented by experts from our studio and guest speakers from the game and entertainment fields.
The ArenaNet Apprenticeship Program is not an apprenticeship-to-hire program. We’re not guaranteeing jobs to any apprentice in the program, but you will emerge from the program with an arsenal of professional skills, an incredible portfolio, and an invaluable experience under your belt.
WHO YOU ARE
- Strong portfolio demonstrating a well-balanced repertoire of level and world creation art skills.
- Self-motivated and eager to learn.
- Able to work in a team and collaborate across disciplines.
- Adaptable to a changing environment and project schedule.
- Can manage work against a given deadline.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to take direction well and execute on it.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL
- 1+ years as an environment artist in games.
- Proven ability to execute multiple art styles.
- Solid visualization skills to build worlds with minimal or no concept art.
- Technical knowledge to troubleshoot and manage performance and memory.
- Basic working knowledge of Maya is a plus.