Creative Metaverse Podcast

What a great conversation with Freelance Sculptor Irene Matar! I just love her stories about getting started as a freelancer, pounding the pavement for work when she first got started, how she maintains relationships and decides which contracts to stay on... She has so much experience and awesome advice. What's most important? Don't take anything personally. And, if you can't help it, don't let it stop you from moving on and moving forward. 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Irene Matar: https://www.artstation.com/irenematar & https://www.instagram.com/ireneeweeny 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

We had such a great conversation with Character Artist Frédéric Arsenault, who joined us to talk to us about his work and how he got to where he is. The key? Balance is everything. Balance your expectations. Always maintain your goals and keep working towards them, but understand that you might not reach them immediately. You might need to take many steps to get there. Stay humble through your determination. Another thing that Fred reminded us: Balance your health with your work. :-) 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Frédéric Arsenault: https://www.artstation.com/fredericarsenault 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Have you checked out the amazing work of Vinícius Cortez? He taught himself nearly everything he knows, picking up what he could through Internet tutorials. And now he’s a freelance artist who specializes in material creation in Substance Designer. Vinícius joined us for a really special conversation and walked us through a special demo of his workflow and process, even taking requests from the Bootcamp students. 🙂 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Vinícius Cortez: https://www.artstation.com/vinicortez 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Check out this awesome conversation with Digital Sculptor Bob Plociennik. Bob primarily sculpts miniatures, which means that his sculpts are typically just about 15 centimeters tall... That's less than 6 inches! 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Bob Plociennik: https://www.artstation.com/bob 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Ashley Sparling's story is so incredibly inspiring... But, no spoilers here! You have to listen to this episode to hear him tell his tale of how he got started in the industry and how he finally landed that first job as a Character Artist. ;) Now Ashley is a Senior Character Artist at Ubisoft Quebec where he was part of the team that worked on Assassins Creed Odyssey. I mean, just check out all of Ashley's amazing work released for the Assassins Creed Odyssey Art Blast! And I loved hearing all the behind-the-scenes details about how the studio optimized so many characters for the game engine. I'm super excited for Ashley because he's just launched his first online course! He's going to teach you how to create amazing hair -- something that challenges all Character Artists. Be sure to check out the course at https://www.ashleysparling.com. He also shares some helpful tutorials for free, so you're guaranteed to get something awesome, no matter what. :) 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Ashley Sparling: https://www.artstation.com/sparrow87 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Walid Kaskhoussi Perrussel is a Props & Environment Artist who is completely self-taught. He started off as a freelance artist and then recently transitioned into a studio as an environment artist. Walid's career trajectory and artistic journey alone are unique and interesting enough... But we were just really struck by the level of his work. Take a look, for instance, at his Gothic Confessional. The level of detail he put into the ornate intricacies and realistic modeling of his asset is just breathtaking. His words of advice: Start small and finish. Don't worry about making mistakes; the more mistakes you make in the beginning, the less often you will make the same mistakes later on. Be sure to check out the Vertex Blog to watch Walid demonstrate some of his workflow and his process: http://bit.ly/2OU4yWb. (He even takes time to explain how to troubleshoot any issues that might come up!) 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Walid Kaskhoussi Perrussel: https://www.artstation.com/walid-kp 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Shane Olson is a Senior Character Artist who specializes in creating stylized characters. He's been working in the Game Industry for nearly 20 years! Boy, did he have a treasure trove's worth of wisdom to share with us. Of the many gems he doled out, something that really stood out is this: Define who you are and what you want to be. Then make that clear in your portfolio. If you want to do characters, do characters. If you want to do cars, do cars. Make it clear to everyone how you are positioning yourself in the industry. (Are you an illustrator? Do you work in games or in film? Do you sculpt collectibles?) If you are looking to work at an independent company, you have the luxury of being versatile. But, especially if you want to work at a bigger company, focus your work so that everyone who sees your portfolio knows exactly who you are. 

More about Game Art Institute: www.gameartinstitute.com 

More about Shane Olson: https://www.artstation.com/shaneolson 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Freelance Concept and Character Artist Mario Stabile joins us in this Podcast episode to share his amazing journey with us. He started off as an aspiring programmer, redirected his focus towards 3D art, became a successful freelance artist and recently started his own business. What?! :) Mario shares some great advice with us, starting from the the ins and outs of working as a freelance artist and extending all the way to general good practices to being a good businessperson, person and artist. 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Mario Stabile: https://www.artstation.com/stabile 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

In this illuminating conversation with Maria Yue (Lighting Artist at Cloud Imperium Games), we learn about Maria's diverse experience working as a lighting artist in different industries. She even prepared a great presentation spotlighting her work and the factors that inspired and motivated her. What's most important as a Lighting Artist working in Games? It's all about how you define the Mood and how you combine that Mood with the Scenario and Environment. The goal is to make everything work together and highlight each other. 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Maria Yue: www.artstation.com/xiaowantou 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com

Man, it was such a treat to have Georgian Avasilcutei join us all the way from Romania for this conversation! Georgian is currently working remotely for WB Games as a Senior Character Artist. He got his start by teaching himself 3ds Max. From working at a media company, he became a Prop Artist and then a Character Artist. He's fully committed not only to his work but also to constantly learning and improving. And he's regularly helping others and giving back to the community. He's got some amazing advice and pointers that he shares in this episode, but here's something that really stood out to me: "I think you always need to push yourself and try to do the thing you're most afraid of. People will see that you put in that effort and people will appreciate that." 

Learn more about Vertex School here: http://www.vertexschool.com

More about Georgian Avasilcutei: www.artstation.com/nimlot 

Want to be a Character Artist or an Environment Artist in the Video Game Industry? Apply for your spot in our upcoming Game Artist Bootcamp here: http://www.vertexschool.com