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View, browse and sort the ever-growing list of sessions by day, pass type, topic, and format. With this Session Viewer, you can view GDC 2023 session details and speakers, and share your favorites via social media. You will be able to build your schedule and access it during the show via export or Mobile App, once live. Sessions do fill up and seating is first come, first serve, so arrive early to sessions that you would like to attend.

Art Direction Summit: Artist vs. Manager

Kacper Niepokólczycki  (Lead Environment Artist, CD PROJEKT RED)

Location: Room 301, South Hall

Date: Tuesday, March 21

Time: 9:30 am - 10:30 am

Pass Type: All Access Pass, Summits Pass

Topic: Visual Arts

Format: Lecture

Vault Recording: Video

Audience Level: All

For many artists, the vision of becoming a Leader or Art Director is viewed as the end of creative work.

In this talk, Kacper Niepokólczycki, Lead Environment Artist at CD PROJEKT RED, shares his experiences as a Lead Environment Artist working on two huge AAA projects: The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. He dives into the pros and cons of leading a team, from the artist point-of-view.

Kacper goes through solutions on how to feed creative hunger while being a lead, showing attendees the big picture of leading a team, and all the effort that goes into this role. The goal is to provide enough information to understand if going into management career path is the right fit for you.

Takeaway

Attendees will leave with a handful of solutions on how to take on management role yet still feel a lot of creative fulfillment. Ideally, this talk with help answer the question of whether or not someone wants to follow the career path of a manager.

Intended Audience

This is for artists and developers thinking about stepping into lead or director positions, but are having doubts and wanting clear expectations of what can happen to their career after that step. Developers who are willing to learn more about what it takes to lead the team will gain much from this session.