Q: Tell us a bit about you — where do you work and what do you do?
I am a Senior Environment Artist at Respawn Entertainment on the Star Wars Jedi team. My duties are what you would expect out of any other studios, working closely with other departments like cinematics, level design, concept art, combat design, etc. An Environment Artist touches almost everything in a video game and it involves a lot of daily collaboration to help others, bring up concerns, and brainstorm ideas.
As a Senior, you are expected to have a high quality bar of both art and skill, but what is most important is to have a voice and knowledge of how to create games and how changes can impact your workload and the workloads of others. Every day I am learning from my leads and peers on how to become a better developer and artist. Not only am I making art every day, but I am also observing, asking questions, using my voice, taking feedback and challenging myself in many ways.
On the art side, I gather references, review the space and break it down into pieces for kits, sculpt and texture, set dress and world build, etc. A lot more goes into the nitty-gritty of making art, but that’s a high level explanation of my duties.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your personal journey into games. Why did you want to get into it?
My journey into the games industry is a little different. In high school and early college I was a painter. Oil painting specifically. I also had a passion for drawing, as they often go hand-in-hand. My whole life I was always artistic, but I struggled with academics. I failed almost all my math and science classes – I had a hard time paying attention and remembering what I was taught. I was a terrible test-taker.
But I always had an A+ in the arts. My art teacher in high school would allow me to stay in the studio even after he went home so I could paint, because I did not have the space at home to do so. I thrived being in an art studio, surrounded by supplies and many hours by myself to just make art. I miraculously graduated high school, and immediately went to art school without hesitation.
With my love of painting and fine arts, I also became passionate about animation and concept art for film, tv, and games. In art school I focused my skills on illustration and concept art, but also learned 2D animation. While doing that, I was also still painting and learning about art history. Art school was a really enjoyable time as I was figuring out what I wanted to do, and I would get excited about going to class every day. I knew I was on the right path.
I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Animation/Illustration and I was ready to jump into the working field as a concept artist. Unfortunately, I was rejected by every job I applied to for about a year. I realized the competition was incredibly tough and it did not look possible for me to break in with my current skills. I decided to take a chance at 3D art, something that I had been afraid to try because I am not a technical person. 3D art seemed like a difficult thing to learn and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to understand it because I did so poorly in school at anything that wasn’t art related. In my mind, 3D artistry would have required computer skills, math skills, coding skills, etc. I had none of that. But I thought I’d take a basic modeling class and see how I felt.
I moved my whole life to Los Angeles, a city I had never visited and knew nothing about, and took an Intro to 3D Modeling class at Gnomon while working at a coffee shop full-time. I took to modeling pretty quickly, proved to myself that I could do it, and to my surprise, loved it. I enrolled in the 2-year Games program at Gnomon with a focus on Environment Art.
I chose Environment Art because it felt similar to painting and drawing. I loved setting scenes, vast open spaces, and creating worlds where, in my mind, I could explore and take in the sights.
After about a year learning the basics of 3D art, I was looking forward to my first Environment Art for Games class, because that’s what I really wanted to do. I’ve always been a gamer, so when I started to learn 3D art, I realized I could actually make video games! I didn’t think that would ever be something I could do because it seemed so out of reach and impossible. But if I tried really hard, maybe I could.
I poured my entire life into my project for that class because I really wanted to impress the teacher. It took many, many hours, sleepless nights, and constant feedback from peers. By the end of that class, he offered me a job to work on God of War: Ragnarok as an Environment Artist. I left school early and did not complete the rest of my program.
Q: What do you love about working in games and what inspires you about it?
What I love is the passion. Not just my own, but my peers’ passion as well. It can be really hard work with long hours, but in the end when it all comes together, the pride and excitement we share for what we’ve created together is the best part. Especially when we see the impact it has on the players. That is what I absolutely love about this job. I love video games as a player, developer and contributor. I get quite emotional thinking about it.
What inspires me are my coworkers. My leads, directors, colleagues, and other artists in studios that I may not have worked with before. Seeing people create things, their workflows, and the quality they produce makes me want to always strive to be better and continue to learn. I’ll probably never feel like I know all there is to know – there will always be someone out there who creates something spectacular and I won’t know how they did it. But they inspire me to push myself further to maybe understand a little more than I did yesterday.
Q: Do you have a piece of work you’re most proud of in your career and if so, what is it?
Brok & Sindri’s House from God of War: Ragnarok. It was one of the first big environments I made in a video game. It was also the hardest to figure out. At the time, I felt way in-over-my-head when making it. There were so many technical aspects to it when it came to cinematics, state changes, optimizing, and more. I was so afraid of failing and not being good enough in the eyes of my peers. I knew I could make art, but imposter syndrome hit me really hard.
In working with such great people who were willing to answer my hundreds of questions and mentor me through the challenges, I was able to finally get a grip and put my skills to the test. With this piece I had a lot of creative freedom when creating the environment. We had concepts, but little by little, I added my own spin on the area and it was such a fun experience. It’s a very unique environment and it had its challenges, but it helped me grow immensely as an artist and developer.
I feel as if I was able to really make my mark in a AAA title and it’s crazy to know that millions of people will see that treehouse – and hopefully think it’s cool.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you early in your career?
You do not need to know everything right away, have all the right answers, or know all the software at an expert level. It’s okay to do things your way if you feel like it’s the best way to get results.
What I mean by that is just because someone is using Substance Designer to create their materials, doesn’t mean you have to use it. If you feel better using a different method to get the same results, that is completely okay.
There is a lot of misinformation and “you should do this” methods out there, but in the reality of game development, everyone has their own methods and no one is forcing you to learn something you don’t want to. With that being said, you should always keep an open mind about learning new things and workflows because sometimes it can improve your speed or improve quality. But you can go at your own pace.
Q: What inspired you to join Vessel Forge as a mentor and why?
I joined Vessel Forge because I want to give back a little, and teach those who might be interested in learning from me and my experience. I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I know enough to help others, but what I’ve come to realize from working in games is that all knowledge can be valuable.
Additionally, the structure of Vessel Forge mentorships allows mentors and mentees to share knowledge between both parties, which I think can be very beneficial.
Q: What mentorship program are you leading for Vessel Forge?
My program is Environment Art Sculpting. I think this program will be crucial for someone interested in environment art sculpting because there has been a huge jump in “next-gen” games heavily leaning into high-poly sculpted assets. Video games now are being made with extremely high res sculpts, high-poly count, and minimal-to-no baking down workflows. Sculpting has become more important than ever in order to get the highest quality assets.
Based on your needs and ideas, we will analyze and break down your environment into modular assets, with a heavy focus on organics like rocks, wood, metals, etc. Ideally this will be a sculpting focused mentorship, with most of the time spent in ZBrush and refining your sculpting skills or anything you may be struggling with, then creating a compelling portfolio presentation for your sculpts.
We can also go over how to bring these kinds of assets into Unreal Engine and how to use them in-game.
If you have never touched software like ZBrush, Maya, Unreal Engine, and Substance Painter, this may not be the course for you quite yet. This mentorship is set up to refine one’s preexisting skills, learn new workflows and tips and tricks, get feedback, and take those skills to the next level of quality.
Q: Who are the ideal candidates for this mentorship and how can they sign up?
To get the most out of this mentorship, you should have intermediate level knowledge of ZBrush, basic modeling skills for block out, and basic level Marmoset Toolbag skills for presentation.
Optionally, for those who want to go a bit further and use Unreal Engine 5 to get a better understanding of how to best use these assets in-game, an intermediate understanding of how to create materials, shader set up and material layering is ideal. If you have previously used Unreal Engine 5 to create an environment, those skills should be just fine.
To sign up for this mentorship, start by reviewing the Environment Art Sculpting Mentorship page to make sure it is right for you. From there you can apply on the Vessel Forge website. Spots are limited, but if your application is approved, we’ll reach out to you and provide you with a code to purchase your program and officially begin your mentorship journey!
