Art school. There’s a fear among us art students about “the great beyond” or what happens after we graduate from school and we’re thrust into the world and have to make a living off of our passions. With the creative industry and its jobs being so dependent on our technical skills and personal voice, thoughts resembling questions like “am I good enough?” or “am I doing enough work?” begin to bubble to the surface of our minds and plague us regularly. But it’s important to know that most of the time, success is far from linear and you are not a failure if you take a while to get your “dream job” or if you end up in a completely different spot from where you were originally planning.
Tim Kaminski, also known online as “randomspirits,” is a concept artist and educator currently working as an Art Director at Robot Entertainment, a video game developer responsible for titles such as the “Orcs Must Die!” franchise. Previously working on other big games such as “Brawl Stars” and “Clash Royale,” his personal journey after finishing school as with an M.F.A. from SCAD in Illustration and his thoughts on the industry is something many of us can find inspiring.
Most current upper class college students and recent graduates were placed in a special situation due to COVID, with many of us having done a full academic year or two completely online to curb the virus spread. Not only that, but many who graduated during that time had difficulties in finding employment as a whole, let alone entry level jobs in positions related to the niche degrees that we study in at SCAD, limiting the number of options they had for what they were going to do. Kaminski had faced a similar dilemma during his own academic career and chose to go through the path of obtaining further education.
“When I went to school, the economy had just completely crashed and tanked,” Kaminski said in an interview with The Connector. “I went to school and finished when a lot of people were thinking that they had to keep working, but I was like, ‘I’m checking out, I’m gonna go and focus on education because right now it’s hard to make money, so why not kind of build for the future?’ Even though it technically was getting me further into debt in an economical crash.”
Kaminski then went on to study at SCAD for an M.F.A. in Illustration four years after getting a B.F.A. at Northern Michigan University. “I wanted to take advantage of the situation and just focus on education because it was a better time than any other, really.” He decided to do so because while he always had aspirations to enter the creative industry as a concept artist, he finished his tenure at Northern Michigan University without any work to show for it.
However, after he was able to refine his portfolio during his M.F.A., he was quickly able to land an art director role and he has been moving up ever since to where he is today. Now, on top of his work at Robot Entertainment, he runs an online shop selling his work, regularly mentors younger aspiring artists and most famously, runs and participates in one of the most famous #Swordtember prompt lists annually.
It took a lot of time and hard work to get to his current position and one of the many things that Kaminski emphasizes, both online and during alumni talks at SCAD, is that it is incredibly unlikely to land your “dream job” from the very start. In between his B.F.A. and M.F.A., he had gotten himself a job in graphic design, because even though he already had his eyes set on doing concept art and game art, he graduated his Bachelor’s with no portfolio to show for it. “I really disliked it,” he remembered, “I was out of there as soon as possible.”
So it is incredibly important to continue to work towards your true goals and remember not to stay stagnant. During this process and even after landing the job of your dreams, it is crucial that you manage a good work-life balance so that you stay happy and healthy throughout. During his talks as an alumni mentor, he makes sure to get his point across on it.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re creating, like, the most amazing work out there, if you are constantly depleting your mental wellbeing. I understand the need to fulfill job requirements, but knowing when to take breaks and slow down is important in sustaining your mentality.”
So in finality, if you ever find yourself (which, in all honesty, is quite likely) in positions such as these, remember to take care and be good to yourself, because finding career success is not a straight path and the journey is different for everyone.
And in the meantime, especially if you are into concept design, be sure to check out Tim Kaminski’s collections of amazing tutorials for sale on his online shop, which also includes beautiful art prints and join his Discord channel to keep up with him and other like-minded individuals.