Posts by Sigma

  • Mapcore Job Census

    I know I am no longer active here, but I just wanted to report in that I have accepted my first full time position with Lost Boys Interactive as a VFX Artist. So even if you're struggling and its been years, know that it can still happen when you least expect it.

  • The random model thread!

    After working on my cave scene so much, I decided a few months ago to parry away from environment art permanently, and instead have chosen the VFX route. Below are a couple I have worked through. I am on the fast track for learning Houdini as well.

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  • Demoreel feedback

    Hey Pau,

    I agree with Mike that there seems to be a little bit of confusion between your stated role (Environment/Props) and your reel and portfolio. Why is there a character head if you're doing props and environments? If you do not need movement to show the nature of your work then stick with still shots. Recruiters and managers do not have time to watch unless they are specifically looking at motion (animation/vfx). They're literally going to do a "has chair, has table, good material definition, has talent" type of check. So I would start there. The second thing I would mention, and you have gotten much better, is to really spend some time on environments and/or props. Give them a lot of character. Go back in and really define a prop's story or the environment. Environmental storytelling is key and it takes a lot to get right. Look at some of the twitter threads by Ryan Benno (Insomniac Games) as he covers this in detail and really pushes for it, particularly with juniors. Right now, I see basics in your full environments, but not storytelling. Same with the props. Go back in and really refine where the rust shows on that airship and how large it is, etc. On this note as well, remove your weakest works from your portfolio. The bomb, futuristic pistol, and ShogunX (not the photogrammetry one, although remove the character face). My last note, remove the "(training)" from everything. You are a Environment Artist. Period. I hope that helps.

  • Dome Modeling Pains

    It's both clunkier and also less clunky due to the modifier stack. Regardless, looks like you have a good start there. Depending on how detailed you want to get, you could probably get away with a lot of it just showing as texture work using tiling textures. Also, FFD (or lattice deformer in Maya) is an awesome tool. I use it all the time.

  • The random model thread!

    Took a break from the bridge and hopped back onto the vfx work for this scene. Made a new, smaller scene so that I can work, refine, and compare versions of the effects (namely the waterfalls with light shafts and mist and fire work).


  • How to break in the games industry - an insiders' guide

    Quote from Castle

    43 minutes ago, Castle said: I think city management is a different beast because you are not dealing with creative people. Its so much harder once you get into things to keep design decisions rolling and everyone on board. You need a Miyamoto or Kojima. Someone who has total creative control and uses it. Those kinds of people are rare. But they cut through a ton of bullshit.

    I think you'd be surprised how difficult it is to get everyone on board. Bare in mind that City Management is not just "do we pay police officers, firefighters, or clean the water", it's very much "where do we build that park, if so who is impacted directly, indirectly, who pays, what amenities do we provide as part of that park, is part of it rental or not, do we have partners helping to pay for it, etc. . ." (I'm using a park as an easy example) and you need community and stakeholder buy-ins (local residents, non-residents, neighborhoods that may compete with each other for attention and/or visions of the City's future, businesses, other impacted local governments, and more) and a strong vision for the future to succeed. I view it as being very similar in nature - competing visions and interests with limited resources - and it takes a strong individual or group that are willing to assert leadership and their vision (while being receptive to alterations) to succeed. The timelines for work are not necessarily dissimilar either (it can take literal years to fully build out a project). Cutting through bullshit is a major part of it. City management had to grow up a long time ago in terms of approach to long-term projects and long-term success, which any business wants; I think there are a great many lessons that could be imparted on the video games industry in terms of management and approach from other industries, and a reluctance to look at other industries is detrimental to the effectiveness of those leaders and their organizations.

    Btw, I completely agree that the drive to reach financial sustainability and solvency is more important than hitting that "awesome big company" gig, particularly given how high demand the industry is and will increasingly become for the foreseeable future.

  • How to break in the games industry - an insiders' guide

    @Castle: This is what concerns me the most about approaching the industry to join it and it is something I have been trying to argue against for the last year. I come from the land of City Management as a professional; we have literal lives on the line when we make decisions so it disturbs me when leaders are ineffective and/or incapable of decision making. It helps that we have a very well understood organization hierarchy and that decisions are made early and often (reassessed depending on changing environment). It drives me nuts hearing about decision paralysis so deep into a project as being prevalent throughout the industry. It is why I have become a strict adherent to a mantra of "under promise and over deliver." I hope one day I get to bring my professional expertise on organization management to a video games company. As for the burnout and lack of information concerning mass layoffs (and by extension project release dates) I created videogamelayoffs.com (don't look if you are touchy about the subject). Hopefully that becomes a helpful point in tracking the relationship between hits, the general economic outlook on sales, and layoffs/burnouts.

  • 3D Art Reference Wiki

    Hi gang. Last year I started putting together my own personal wiki due to finding others lacking in areas (such as dead links or out of date information). After a couple of migrations and a lot of additions and edits, I made it available publicly in November. Since then I have continued working on it. I don't know if anyone here will find it useful as I am not treading any new ground - but thought I would share it. It covers a wide range of topics centered around 3D art for games. It is a work in progress so there are areas that are clearly lacking (e.g., the Unity section). Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

    - John

    [Blocked Image: https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/media_assets/images/images/000/309/755/medium/Index.jpg?1539705767]

  • The random model thread!

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    [Blocked Image: https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/media_assets/images/images/000/203/011/medium/Receiver.jpg?1520864722]


    Working on a fully working (with internals) 1847 Colt paddington style revolver. Currently going through and fixing the major areas where mistakes were made before moving onto all the internals (which are far easier... mostly screws/springs). Booleans are my friend! :

  • Altered Carbon

    Binge watched this over the past couple days. I think what you have to remember is this is a classic Dick Tracy (crime mystery drama) set in a dystopian neo-punk universe. Once you accept that, it becomes much more palatable.

  • Looking for a game development team.

    @joro.jur The advice being given here is hard-earned knowledge through the School of Hard Knocks (experience). The reason @Puddy, @'RZL, and @FrieChamp are saying to scale back on what you are trying to accomplish is because we can tell that you are underestimating the complexities of a single project, if not multiple projects simultaneously. To contextualize why this is so difficult, look at Valve. Presumably their company structure is set-up to be flat and allows employees to work on whatever project(s) their heart desires. How many new innovations does Valve produce? How many new products, IP's, services, etc . . . Not that many. The reasons for this are a great multitude ranging from interest levels, fatigue, to turnover in personnel and lack of clear direction due to flat management styles.

    To clarify, it is like trying to spread too little butter across too much bread. The covering of butter is not adequate to provide a tasty treat on any portion of the bread. Whereas if you use a smaller piece of bread, the butter fully covers the bread. Do not assume you will have more butter because resources are always finite, particularly when first starting.

    I would also reiterate what @Puddy had said about expecting people who likely work full-time and have some years of experience working on hobby projects. They are projects of passion, but time is not limitless. If I only have X amount of time in a day, and I intend to devote 1 year to a hobby project, then my full effort should go into that single project and not be split between others so that I maximize the output (result). So you are better served to scale back what you want to do, be specific, give a time frame to work on it (e.g., 1 year), and be receptive to feedback. Furthermore, as a 15 year old you are going to struggle to find people willing to work with you. That's the reality. So again, scaling back and demonstrating knowledge, experience, and understanding of scope will increase the likelihood that you are successful.

    No one is saying a 15 year old cannot do it, but we are saying to tread cautiously and understand that you are attempting to be a project manager, which encompasses a great depth and breadth of knowledge. Read, a lot, on what others have accomplished and how they did it. There is no perfect model, but recognizing your own limitations is critical to being a good manager.

  • Star Wars

    Just saw it last night... I'd have to write an essay (and started to but abandoned it as it would take all day to write). But I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't go into movies with expectations, so for me this was a 9/10. A lot of room to write in for Episode IX and the next trilogy.

    Spoiler

    There was a forced relationship development between Finn and Rose that I did not like. It felt way too contrived and more 'puppy-dog-love' for Rose. Benicio Del Toro did a great job acting his character imo, but then he is a fantastic actor. As for Luke's death, they clearly indicated that he was exhausted after the confrontation with Ben Solo. His death is a foil of Obi Wan Kenobi as well as Yoda... so I have no issues here. He was a master that knew the time to return to the force. Cool beans. Not epic, but hey - not all characters need a fiery explosive death unless you were in that opening sequence. DAMN! That was some heavy hitting stuff right off the bat. Awesome.

    The key I am taking away from this trilogy as they transition off of the OG characters, is the moral ambiguity surrounding all of the characters. They all have good and bad moments, good and bad decisions, good and bad traits. I like this as it deepens the characters, particularly as they learn from failure (Hi Yoda!). This is a more nuanced Star Wars imo, but still Star Wars.