When Being Negative is a Good Thing

Being negative can sometimes be viewed as a positive.


There, I wrote it. Now, allow me to explain with the most basic example I can think of.


As a Lead 3D Game Artist in the company I work for, I am responsible for scheduling when assets created by my team are due. So naturally I have to make sure I give my team enough time to create quality outputs, while also making sure that we deliver it soon enough for  approval.


When it comes to scheduling I don't usually over-commit. In fact, I usually give a buffer of plus 50% the usual time for output. The reason for this is because I'm already including the possible internal revisions from the higher ups. Plus the fact that I'm already anticipating every possible negative scenario to happen (hardware failure, sick leaves, total revision of concept art).


You could say I'm being negative when I start factoring all the bad stuff, but for me it works. We usually pass our assets either on time or ahead of schedule. Usually there are no more revisions needed unless there are drastic changes requested by the client. And if ever we do submit it all my expectations have either been met or been exceeded.


Quality wise I always make sure we create better-than-acceptable assets. Duration wise I feel that the schedules I give are fast enough for the higher ups, yet long enough for the artist to complete the task without rendering overtime.


So there's one example of my being negative ending up as a positive. I usually set low expectations on certain things. So when the expectations are met, they are usually greater than what I originally expected.


Out.