Ego vs Learning: Clash of Clans · Art Discipline .26

Not long ago I thought my career in games was in decline. It might sound exaggerated, but after OlliOlli World, I convinced myself I couldn’t do better, whatever that means.

Fast forward to today, and I can honestly say I am experiencing one of the best periods of my professional life.
(Artistically blocked like mentioned in the last drop tho hahah)

A big part of it has been going back into apprentice mode.

Ego vs Learning_

For almost two years, I’ve been working as an artist on Clash of Clans, Supercell. Right before starting, I was meditating on my career, unsure of what direction to take or which path was right for me.

Then this opportunity to work on Clash came along.

During one of my first meetings with team members they asked me if I would be interested in learning Blender to be more of a generalist artists (one of the requirements to be in the art team).

It had been some time since I learned a new technique. I was curious about what I could do on my own work using 3D, I liked the project and company, so I said yes.

Still, part of my ego was questioning why I needed to learn something new for work.

For a few years, I had been working with studios that approached me specifically for art direction and creative input based on my existing work.

I realized I was too comfortable with my art skills, and that refusing to learn something new just to keep repeating a familiar pattern was my ego getting in the way of improving.

In the right dose, ego is a good thing. But when it’s unbalanced, it creates a major issue, stagnation.

If you already think you're good enough, why bother improving?

Apprentice Mode_

In the months before Clash came along, I had been taking some time to draw, read, and reflect on these exact subjects.

When the offer arrived, I realized it meant working on a project with a larger scale than anything I had ever experienced. The team is full of incredible professionals, and I was going to have to learn new techniques, new processes, and adapt to an existing IP (when I started, it was a 12 year old game with a massive amount of existing content).

The perfect combination to forget about ego or being comfortable.

Ego_

I found my mission again: learning 3D from scratch, understanding the IP, and improving my design skills for a game with high standards.

Having an ego is not a bad thing, we need it in balance.

But a high ego and a learning mindset are simply not compatible.

Ego creates a barrier, stopping new knowledge from getting through.

And that’s a trap because it hurts you in the long term. In the moment you may feel good but it blocks you from listening to whom is trying to teach you.

Keep the apprentice mode on, and you’ll be surprised by the things that come your way.