2014-01-14 We simply aren't hiring

[zaprzapb]

Could my prediction of Dark Matter Games having a studio in Montreal be right?

And Tristan knows the studio in North America is doing a Amazon-themed game so if the studio is indeed in Montreal maybe they could have Didi model for that game and have Gary be the lead concept artist.

But something is going to throw the wrench in the works for Gary I just know it.

['J']

ooh, looks like i touched a nerve there, hmm?

Gary's also 29 and only now getting his big break in art (some people got their break right off from high school or heck, even while IN high school... cos they're just that damn talented)... if all those years and time in practicing and honing his skills is not something that can earn him a good art job, then I have no idea what counts as earning a good art job.

Now, if his skills is abysmal as hell and he still gets a good art job? THEN I'll say he got something he didn't earn.

ok, that's a fair point. however, i think it'd be a more believable one if we'd actually seen him practicing and honing those skills. or maybe if we'd seen more of his work than a handfull of sketches & second hand accounts of it's awesomeitude. and then there's the fact that he didn't know how to draw women until just recently; i think it's pretty fair to question his diligence and dedication when he's got a $700 transformer toy in his room, but apparently can't afford life modeling classes.

still, i can buy the idea that the boy's got skills.


what i mean when i say that he hasn't earned this job though has nothing to do with those skills. i mean that we haven't actually seen him making any effort to get such a job. we've never seen him opening a stack of rejection letters, dredging craigslist for freelance work, going into job interviews, etc. we have no sign that he's ever done anything to actually advance his career as an artist beyond the hypothetical level. he basically just lucked into this job with very little sign that art has ever been more than just a hobby for him.


as to the idea that the universe somehow 'owes' gary anything; that's crap for two reasons.

1) you don't 'earn' anything by passively letting life kick your ass. and you don't 'deserve' anything just because you've done some suffering. you earn things by being proactive and working toward them. you deserve only what you make an effort to obtain. and in gary's case that is very little.

2) gary's life is awesome. he's surrounded by better friends than he deserves, has women falling for him left & right, gets opportunities handed to him on a silver platter, and scored a free fucking trip to paris just because a supermodel thought he was 'cute'.


see, here's the thing; i don't want gary to fail here. i'd just prefer to see him earn his damn victories via his own agency, rather than having them dropped into his lap by the plot.

[daryljfontaine]

Gary's success here is a good mirror to Sandra's, a similar unearned "right place, right time". Gary didn't have to apply through regular employment screening channels (though he may have to back in Montreal). "Networking" is exactly right: Sandra opened a door which allowed him to display his artistic skill in a professional setting, and he gets to show off the progress he's made as an artist with all of those weeks sketching DiDi, etc.

Professional growth for Gary lets MA3 introduce more characters (and complicating factors) over time, but it doesn't necessarily mean he gets screwed with in that capacity. It might even lead to him having (gasp) work friends, like the CG capture guy whose sense of humor he "gets". Good way to advance the background details in a realistic, meaningful way and keep the strip(s) moving forwards.

EDIT: To 'J''s point above, no, he hasn't put in the leg work, but that doesn't make for good comedy in the same way. Milking a depressing, soul-crushing starving-artist employment hunt isn't the same as allowing for a magical change of circumstance because comedy, then maybe giving Gary some workplace humor storylines to work with -- including a tried and true "dream job isn't quite the dream you expected" plot.

D

[crimzontearz]

Something tells me the authors are trying to redeem Tristan as people were so vitriolic about him

[Error of Logic]

Huh. Everything's coming up Gary, it seems...

[Raamyah]

@J: Why would he need life model classes when he has Matt, Didi, Sonya, and Yuki as willing models?

[JoybuzzerX]

and once again, the universe hands gary something he hasn't earned

Gary wasn't handed anything. Sandra just got him a meeting. Gary (possibly) got himself a new job, because worked at his art.

[JoybuzzerX]

ooh, looks like i touched a nerve there, hmm?

Gary's also 29 and only now getting his big break in art (some people got their break right off from high school or heck, even while IN high school... cos they're just that damn talented)... if all those years and time in practicing and honing his skills is not something that can earn him a good art job, then I have no idea what counts as earning a good art job.

Now, if his skills is abysmal as hell and he still gets a good art job? THEN I'll say he got something he didn't earn.

ok, that's a fair point. however, i think it'd be a more believable one if we'd actually seen him practicing and honing those skills. or maybe if we'd seen more of his work than a handfull of sketches & second hand accounts of it's awesomeitude. and then there's the fact that he didn't know how to draw women until just recently; i think it's pretty fair to question his diligence and dedication when he's got a $700 transformer toy in his room, but apparently can't afford life modeling classes.

still, i can buy the idea that the boy's got skills.


what i mean when i say that he hasn't earned this job though has nothing to do with those skills. i mean that we haven't actually seen him making any effort to get such a job. we've never seen him opening a stack of rejection letters, dredging craigslist for freelance work, going into job interviews, etc. we have no sign that he's ever done anything to actually advance his career as an artist beyond the hypothetical level. he basically just lucked into this job with very little sign that art has ever been more than just a hobby for him.


as to the idea that the universe somehow 'owes' gary anything; that's crap for two reasons.

1) you don't 'earn' anything by passively letting life kick your ass. and you don't 'deserve' anything just because you've done some suffering. you earn things by being proactive and working toward them. you deserve only what you make an effort to obtain. and in gary's case that is very little.

2) gary's life is awesome. he's surrounded by better friends than he deserves, has women falling for him left & right, gets opportunities handed to him on a silver platter, and scored a free fucking trip to paris just because a supermodel thought he was 'cute'.


see, here's the thing; i don't want gary to fail here. i'd just prefer to see him earn his damn victories via his own agency, rather than having them dropped into his lap by the plot.

I always took Gary's "inability to draw life like women" to mean, he drew porn stars.

[Spidrift]

@J: Why would he need life model classes when he has Matt, Didi, Sonya, and Yuki as willing models?

The plot point goes back to before the comic started, when he only had Matt as a model. Plus, the operative word is classes. With, you know, teachers. People who could guide him to improve his work.

He's managing without, as it turns out - though Yuki and her father may share some of the credit there, as both actually took some time to critique his work - but that has to be more luck than judgement.

['J']

@J: Why would he need life model classes when he has Matt, Didi, Sonya, and Yuki as willing models?

because except for matt, he didn't have them prior to the beginning of the strip. basically, he neglected a crucial area of his skillset up until the universe saw fit to just give him a harem of willing women to model for him.

[tenchi13]

and once again, the universe hands gary something he hasn't earned

Quite the opposite. He worked hard in practicing and refining his art skills and he nailed the "interview". Job interviews are a skill in itself and to nail one so well that the person is willing to recommend you to a different place in the company that could use you despite ill will toward an acquaintance is very significant. The only thing that wasn't "earned" was the opportunity to speak with Tristan. Even that's up for debate considering he had to man up and dump Senna to stick around to get the chance.

[themacnut]

what i mean when i say that he hasn't earned this job though has nothing to do with those skills. i mean that we haven't actually seen him making any effort to get such a job. we've never seen him opening a stack of rejection letters, dredging craigslist for freelance work, going into job interviews, etc. we have no sign that he's ever done anything to actually advance his career as an artist beyond the hypothetical level. he basically just lucked into this job with very little sign that art has ever been more than just a hobby for him.

You'd be surprised how often many RL hobbyist-types get just that kind of break that Gary just did, simply because the right person (i.e someone with a checkbook and hiring authority) noticed and liked their work, or they got introduced to such a person by a mutual acquaintance. Then the hobbyist gets offered a job with a fat check (something they weren't even looking for but are happy to take) and their new career is off and running.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of starving artists out there, many with considerable talent, actively looking for a job, but because they can't get the right "hookup" (i.e. they don't know anyone who knows the guys with the checkbook and authority to hire, and it's who you know as well as what you know that gets you the job) they can't get that break, especially in a market like this where there are a lot of unemployed or under-employed people looking for jobs. It's unfair, but it's how the world works - rarely are people hired merely on the merits of their skills and experience alone.

Yes, Gary got lucky. But I suspect that, just like when he started getting lucky with women, he'll soon find this "dream job" has its downsides.

[ChattaStarhawk]

and once again, the universe hands gary something he hasn't earned

Not earned?

Do you think the work he put into the art he showed counts for nothing?

My view is that what he showed gives him the chance, now he has to grab on hard and make it work. If he can produce on the schedule needed for the company it can open new directions in his professional life.

[wi1dfire]

Now how will Tristan get his revenge? New secret Sandra humiliation level showing all the faces she just scanned?

You know, that actually sounds like something that'd go over well. A blood and guts heroine (assuming they're still going that route) not taking herself seriously as part of bonus content.

[dreed]

http://www.screencuisine.net/hlcomic/in ... 2005-08-29

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