Creative Development Week28: UbiArt Framework

I was reading articles on the Game Informer website and came across an article in which the creators of Rayman Origins which is a 2D platform based game of which we used in our team projects for our final major project, want the UbiArt Framework engine which the games uses to be available for free for everyone and are finalising the licensing for that to happen. For this to happen would be great as this would in a way prepare potential employees of Ubisoft to have experience in their engine but also help to produce work in 2D which is an area of games which aren't as popular as once was and for me i can't wait as i loved the game and also the art style so it will be great to produce something at that level.

Article at: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/07/14/rayman-creator-wants-ubiart-framework-to-be-open-source.aspx

Website: http://ubi-art.uk.ubi.com/

Creative Development Week28: Marketing Myself

In a previous blogpost i talked about the need for social makreting and recently i have been updating my social network accounts to where i now have a much more professional logo. I used the logo on the left for the start of my accounts but eventualy Chris Rhodes said he could do a logo for me and after different design variations the final logo design that i will be using is the one you see on the right as the first ink splay with Iffy Ink in will be used as small logos for my work and the text is the initial font style of levibrush found on dafont.com to which i will be using as a white piece of text on a dark blue shade to make the logo stand out.

Front

Back

Once i had the final logo design figured out i was able to begin updating my accounts but Chris had helped me once again by producing my business cards as you can see on the left and right. I decided to not just narrow my speacilty area to just concept art as this final major project has really made me more confident towards carrying on with 3D modelling so i added tht to the business card, along with my website, email and Twitter links as most of the information will be on the website there wasn't much of a need for overflowing the business card with many of my links.

Twitter Page

Facebook Page

Youtube Page

Official Website

Then i started to update my social accounts such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter by applying the colour that covers all of my work and not accounts to be made aware that these are my accounts as well as adding the logo. Then i purchased a website which was around £8 for two years for the domain of iffyink.co.uk and once that was online i used my blog to become the layout of the website for now and so this also enabled me to have a blog similar to how professional concept artists have along with an official website but this way i wouldn't have to upgrade two sites until i make my website separate. Through my website i was able to link my Twitter, Youtube and Facebook so that i have all work to be visible through different social networks which are linked to one area.

Along with all of that Chris was talking to me about doing a showreel to which i said that i had nothing to show as a video for a showreel but Chris then showed me examples of concept art showreels and this was something i never thought was needed but agreed to do. So once again Chris helped to produce my showreel by producing the title sequences and setting the overall video settings and animations up for my work to be displayed in video form:

Creative Development Week28: Portfolio Proposal

As my speciality area is concept art my portfolio is evidently going to be a physical portfolio one which will cover my best work as well as relevant to the job I am preparing for. A physical portfolio is something in which I will be using but as found in my research a physical portfolio isn't always fully seen and that the interview process is more about getting to know the individual to see their communication skills which is seen as essential, rather than looking through a 200 page portfolio.

There is also the fact of which I have 3D work also which I would like to show and in a physical portfolio there isn't a really great means of demonstrating that without having screen shots but due to most of the portfolios that I have looked at online and the information that I found was that having a digital portfolio through a means of a website is much more successful as it is accessible by anyone and anywhere. Also having a website I can integrate social media to my website such as Youtube which is perhaps the best way to show 3D models, levels which can be seen through walkthroughs and turnarounds. Another way in showing 3D products is through Unity by creating a interactive turnaround in which can then be exported for an IOS and Android device making my work portable.

It is pretty clear though that with the current times everything is going digital and this is why I believe that having an online portfolio makes the work much easier to be organized and safe as well as accessible at any time and by many. With this indulgence in digital devices the fact that my work will be in an online portfolio enables anyone to view my work and this is the same with the 3D work being shown in video form but also with the use of Youtube I can have a thread in which whatever I upload on Youtube can be posted on my Twitter, Facebook and other social sites to which will enable more exposure and online presence to which will give more people a visual presentation of my work to which they can share.

Having an online presence is essential, which is the feedback I was given as it not only gives you an online presence to put your work out there for everyone to see but also for people to give me feedback. My online presence will consist so far of Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, a Website and a blogger site the reason for this is because I found that most professional concept artists carry on with blogging along with regular updates to their website and this is something I wanted to also do which enable me to integrate social features to my blogger along with my website, thus threading all resources into one location to then outsource to other areas that best show my work.

One new additional piece of portfolio that was made clear to me was a concept art showreel in which I could show my images in video something I never really thought was done for a portfolio however after being shown examples I was aided in producing a showreel which has fitting presentation and something that I will be now carrying on in the future. With my work being shown in an online presence I will be able to bring an Ipad to show my work 3D or concept art which creates a better sense of viewing as you can see 3D objects in app and even the images can be watched through a video being played in the interview or individual images being viewed.

My portfolio will mainly consist of recent and best work as this will show upto date work and that is why at this time for my portfolio I will show work produced in my final year as this year I really focused on concept art for my independent practice and produced team work along with a more 3D specialised project. The portfolio will consist of both concept art along with3D work, with my independent practice work being heavily focused on concept art much of the work produced in that project will be shown such as the space pirate ship concept art, ship turnarounds, colour schemes, character designs and the work on the main control room and in addition I will show the work I produced for Chris in terms of the best character concept work. From my Final Major Project I will show concept art as well as character designs produced in the children’s games of Elemental and Food Landmarks as these demonstrate my range in specific design needs and also my individual project from Fairy Tale Princess I will have the overview and interior of the room concept art pieces, the floor plan and a walk through of the room which will demonstrate my use of 3D software’s as well as my use of the Unity engine. As I develop more work I will add more of the best work to my portfolio in a professional presentation to be viewed by anyone and also add more of my 3D skills through asset modelling rather than full blown levels and also produce speed paintings.

Creative Development Week27: EA's Advice for Artists

I came across some information which i feel is useful for showing work to a games company and that information has come from EA a big company within the games industry with game such as Mass Effect series, Crysis Series and the line ups of sports franchises so having some advice being given to you from a company with the reputation that EA has is information needed to be taken and here is EA's advice for artist:

Reel Format:
Please submit your reel on a DVD or include a link to your website if applying online. The contents should be easily accessible (e.g., Adobe Photoshop or JPEG files for textures and other images; Microsoft Word documents for resumes, etc.). If you're including video, please be sure to encode it in a self-executable file or include a shareware/freeware copy of any programs required to open your files. Whether sending video or a portfolio, be sure to focus on a specific discipline while demonstrating a cross-section of your artistic skills and abilities.
Materials will not be returned. Please do not include original artwork.
Here are some suggestions for your reel:

• It's important to have an understanding of 3D packages and digital paint programs (e.g., Maya, Zbrush, Photoshop, etc.).
• If possible, include shots of still renders (wire frame / shaded / then textured).
• Indicate poly counts.
• Include time estimates of how long it took to make something.
• For group projects, indicate your specific role/contributions to the project.

Creative Development Week27: Companies Close to Me

I started to break away from looking at U.K based companies and narrow it down to companies around me and looked at a game developer map which has searches for companies around the area which you list and in this case i listed Leeds to which six companies were brough one which was Games Republic which are more of an organization than a games company. Another company was The Code Monkeys which i did list as a possible company in a previous blogpost but now i just found out recently that they went defunct last year so that narrows it down to where another company Weaseltron Entertainment is more of a technical side of games but have in house artists also so i sent an email in which i asked them to look at my work and give me feedback if they can and i am yet to hear from them.

Rockstar Leeds is another company and rather the most know company in Leeds so it was only inevitable that i would want to work for them and as i was going through their site i came across this:

"Environment Artist

Rockstar Leeds want to hire the best artists in the industry to help create the industry's best games.

Responsibilities

You will be responsible and pro-active; creating / implementing game assets to the highest standards.

Qualifications

Advanced skills in 3DS Max, Photoshop and other art techniques relevant to games are required."

This is where i looked at the qualifications to see what skill set i would need and found 3DS Max which my use in Maya can be transfareable skills to 3DS Max but i would be needing to go into 3DS Max to actually be confident once in 3DS Max for a job, also Photoshop skills for me need to improved and also i need to branch out into more art softwares, however whilst knowing that and working towards their qualifications i emailed Rockstar Leeds about looking at my showreel to then give me feedback so i know areas that i don't know about which need improving, i am yet to her from them.

Just Add Water is another Leeds based company of which i have started to take a liking to with their portfolios and what work they produce and is another company which i emailed to to look at my showreel for feedback and also to have contact with a company and maybe have them look towards me in the near future. Gamerholix is a company i have looked at before but quite recently i haven't heard much upto date stuff from them and was cautious about whether they are still in business but nontheless i got in contact with them to have look at my showreel and am yet to hear from them. So once i looked at the companies around me i started to look at companies near enough to me that were areas close to my family so i searched the place into the game developer map and one that stood out was Four Door Lemon in Bradford which they cover all aspects of development but also they mention that they do outsourcing so i could work for them whilst residing still in Leeds or even move to Bradford or even travel between the two which is not bad, so i decided to email them my showreel to ask for feedback and i am waiting for their feedback

All in all i have a few companies which are around me and which i am confident to work for but i want to be ready and produce high levels of work so i will develop and branch into more softwares to have a range of skills but also a much progressive portfolio to show which has high level work hence why i only emailed these companies and not applied as i want my skills to be at a level which they will be wanting. Also the companies job pages had roles for artists and whilst looking at that i really saw what essential skills i would be needing an area of which i feel taking time to rectify will help to strengthen my portfolio and skills.

Link to website:http://www.gamedevmap.com/index.php?query=Leeds&Submit=Search

Creative Development Week26: UK Based Companies I'm Interested In

Rockstar Leeds-Knowing that Rockstar Leeds is in Leeds and they are a Rockstar based company which have produced some big games, going for this company would be a good choice and after looking at their jobs currently available they are looking for and artist in the environment aspect of their games and although i think i need to develop my skills much more but looking at what they were looking for is interesting as they look for some of the skill set that i am currently understanding.



The Code Monkeys-Who make games for iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC would be an interesting choice to go for as their choice of games aren't generally focused too much on the artwork of the game but in this type of market specifically the iPhone and iPad the games that are produced for that market can help to develop skills and artwork through the various game descriptions needed.


Ninja Theory-This is a company that has impressed me the most as its because they focus on the artwork as much as the initial game, as you can tell from Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey To The West. After playing both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved:Odyssey To The West i found artwork from both games being brilliant and particularly in Enslaved Ninja Theory let you know that, which is why Ninja Theory's level of artwork is a an attraction to companies level of work.


GamerHolix-Looking at this company there website didn't give much information but what i could tell from their site was that they are a leading independant developer across all platforms which is something that would suit the production of multiple games and understanding how much of the artwork would be used throughout all the platforms. Looking at a much closer to myself, games companies i found Gamerholix a company which is still functional and has developed games across all consoles and the iPad and iPhones. Gamerholix is a close based company which has created 200 games over all platformas with serious and not so serious games but showcases that they are company which contributes to the gaming industry with their educational twist from their games.

Atomhawk Design-Atomhawk Design is probably the company that i would want to pursue as they are a concept art company who have worked on big games such as the Mortal Kombat 9 game and their artwork is the sole basis of their company. Atomhawk Design is a compay focused on the development of concept art and various games have used their artwork to create games and looking through their artwork on their site they are very impressive and residing in the U.K is a plus.

Splash Damage-Looking at Splash damage as another company who's recent game Brink has visuals at the standards in terms of artwork that i would like to work at. Although being in London i would have to relocate closer to them but being a company who are big from the other companies in the U.K they certainly are a potential company to work for and reading this "We're currently expanding our team and are looking for self-motivated and enthusiastic people with a talent and passion for advancing the medium" makes things interesting as i will be able to work for a company who focus on artwork as much as the game play itself.

The Bitmap Brothers-With being recently revived to create games for the iPhone and iPad systems i think this company could be a potential one to go after as they stated on their website that "Continually striving for originality, attention to detail and new levels of playability" which i think could suit me in terms of wanting to do original stuff and create art that people haven't seen. But also with the company being resurrected only last year and working for iPad and iPhone systems there could be job vacancies available but after checking their were none and so because they create games for the two systems meaning they can start new projects allowing a more coverage of game art.







Another Leeds based company is The Code Monkeys but from their website i didn't get much information but they have worked on iPhone and iPad games and that to me is ok as a job opportunity for concept at as these type of games can produced multiple times with various ideas.

Creative Development Week26: Game Republic

Game Republic are another company which lead on providing information such as latest available jobs, goings on within the games industry and really a great source of networking. For this reason of a wealth of knowledge on the games industry being apart of the Game Republic will be much beneficial for me as a whole as it will lend to my marketing skills as well as my expected work production. Also i looked at the job vacancies and found that there was a role for a junior game artist and looking at the expectations i feel that i am really lacking in few areas and one of which is knowledge within 3DS Max something i need to quickly work on as this job role seemed perfect apart from areas of which were missing as this job resides in Sheffield as well.

Link to job: http://www.distinctivegames.com/?page_id=8

Creative Development Week25: Games Recruit

Another link i found through Creative Skillset is for the Games Recruit website in which although the design of the site seem years behind the information is not is up to date and rather close to the available jobs within big companies such as Ubisoft, Rockstar, Blitz Games, Sega and more. So the amount of job listings as well as importance of roles is evident through Games Recruits featured companies and is also a good website to keep in contact and produce links to people to get you information first and quickly and to also learn of recent going ons with the industry.

Website found at: http://www.gamesrecruit.co.uk/Index.aspx

Creative Development Week24: Craig Shoji-Thor Movie Concept Artist

After getting replied by concept artist Mike "Daarken" Lim i thought i'd try contacting various other artists and i did but when i saw a link via @ConceptArtWorld's twitter for Marvels Thor film concept artist, Craig Shoji's work, i took a look at the artwork and tried to find a means of contacting him to give possible feedback. Going back and checking my e-mail i found that he said he would take look at the my concepts of my castle and give me feedback when he has time, so asking professional concept artists is gaining me more information about improving my art.

Here is the email i sent him:


Hi Craig Shoji


I am ifraz and currently studying digital films games and animations at Leeds college of art in the U.K.. and was wondering if you could possibly help me with taking a look at my concept for my game environment of a castle and tell me what I could do to improve this or work on or anything that can help me in becoming a concept artist.

Thank you

Ifraz Mohammed


Here is the e-mail he had sent me and i have replied back with images of my castle concept art and hoping for a reply from Craig Shoji in coming days.


hey ifraz,


i'm a bit busy at the moment but feel free to send me any work you'd

like me to look at and i'll do my best to give you some comments in a

timely manner. best of luck with your studies!


cheers-


 craig

Creative Development Week24: Creative Personnel

Through the Creative Skillset website i found this link which led me to the creative personnel website which really looks through available jobs with the games industry and narrows down them down to the ones that best fit your role. They have featured clients such as Sumo Digital and Blitz Game Studios so this is a job finder site which can be very helpful to me in looking at up to date expectations and needs from the games industry as well as applying and receiving feedback from jobs.

Link at: http://www.creativepersonnel.co.uk/jobboard/cands/jobresults.asp?c=1&ms=1&localstrKeywords=&locallstRegion=UK+and+Europe&locallstRegionvals=&locallstArea=UK+North%2FYorkshire&locallstAreavals=&locallstSector=Games+%28console%26sbquo%3B+online+%26+betting%29

Creative Development Week23: Jens Holdener - Dead Space Concept Artist

Looking through the names within the games industry i started to contact a few artists to receive feedback from them and not wanting to take away their time from producing concept art i kept my question short and simple and started off by asking Jen Holdener a concept artist who had worked on Dead Space 1 and 2, Tomb Raider, The Simpsons Game and more. So with that knowledge i knew that this concept artist had experience from which i could speak about and so i just generally asked about getting into the industry as well as expectations:


Hi Jens Holdener

I am a college student and i want to be a concept artist and i was wondering how would one get into the gaming industry as a concept artist and what are games industry looking for in a concept artist?

Thanks Ifraz



This is the response i received:

Hi Ifraz,

The best way is to develop your drawing and painting skills by practicing as much as possible. Second you should go to school for a formal education in illustration and possibly animation which teaches you the effective communication of story and film fundamentals. Finally they are looking for a creative mind with problem solving skills that enable you to create a believable world that one could imagine themself in. Work very hard because it is very competitive. Good Luck!

-Jens

So the feedback that i received is something i will be working on and really expanding my skillset as well as furthering those that i already know so that i don't rest on the basics and really grasp all that the softwares and areas offer.

View Jens Holdeners website for more artwork: http://jensholdener.com/

http://www.jensholdener.blogspot.com/

Creative Development Week22: Rorchard, Unity Produced

I came across the video below which explains some of the process and tools that were used when creating the game Rochard a 3D side scrolling platformer produced by Recoil Games and was released on the Playstation Network. The game uses Unity the same engine in which ihave been using for the past few years and the video really demonstrates what Unity is capable of and how the tools that are there really can produce games of a high calibre than just the web based games or IOS and Android games that i believed they could only do, in the video the way that as you go further into watching it, it really shows how some of the process in the game is created in Unity which i felt was interesting to watch as you see this fully white area to controlling a character to follow that character through the procedure of producing the game to the end which was a great look into.


I also found these two videos from the Recoil Games youtube page which they talk about the Unity engine as well as their production on Rochard:

Creative Development Week21:Art of Gaming

Art of Gaming is an original series produced by Machinima which delves into the process behind the modern day game production looking from the process of concept art to the actual implementation of the concept art. I found this series from simply looking for something and i was impressed by the insight that is covered of which i feel is definitely beneficial to me as i am constantly unaware of really how much work needs to go into something or whether i am doing something right and this series maybe at times isn't as insightful as i first thought through the information spoken but through the visual standards i was able to really understand much closer the process and work flow.

Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/show/artofthegame?s=1

Creative Development Week20:Workflow

Here is a free full length tutorial i found through my feed of VFX work and from The Gnomon Workshop, i found this video to stand out because it not only shows work done in Z Brush, a 3D software which i feel shows off a high level of detail in their model meshs but also the transitions and stability across other known softwares to me such as Photoshop. The tutorial shows the workflow through softwares such as Z Brush through Maya and Photoshop and allows the public to see that other softwares enable you to achieve things better than just the one you are using and all these softwares are aiding in just one piece of imagery thus enabling the use of detail through polygons in Z Brush to not matter much and taking into Maya allows the hypershade to take effect in lighting and atmosphere along with Photoshop adding the UV maps and finally piecing the image together.

Creative Development Week19: Mike"Daarken" Lim - Way Into the Industry

After previously getting into contact with Mike "Daarken" Lim about giving me feedback with my concept art and getting a quick response from him i tried again with question on how he had gotten into the games industry with his concept art and again i was given a quick response and also having asked a couple of concept artists for feedback and getting into the industry i have to say there quick replies are good to know as this allows me contact with professionals who are in the industry, here is the response:

Ifraz,

The way I got into the game industry is that I have a strong online presence and a website. All of my work has been from either word of mouth or from people finding my website. I haven't actually had to go and apply at any companies, they always just call me for work. You can try sending your portfolio to different companies. Look at sites like gamasutra.com for job openings and just apply. Be sure you have a strong portfolio together and that it is tailored to the company you are applying to. The only way you will improve is through practice. I hope that helps.

Mike "Daarken" Lim
www.daarken.com

For more of Mike "Daarken" Lim work visit http://daarken.com/

Creative Development Week19: CV

CV Draft 1

CV Draft 2

We had to do a CV this week and this was a new thing to me as i haven't gotten the time to start working as i have been so focused on my school work and really getting as much as i could out of that and so when i was doing my CV i really felt reluctant to do it as i felt there wouldn't be much to write about and this shows in the 1st draft i had done but it wasn't until i had my CV looked over that there more additions that could be applied to which i was left with the second draft and has given me more confidence to hand this CV into a potential employer however i still feel i need to add more stuff so i will be working on that part.

Creative Development Week 08: Sefton Hill Creative Process

Below is a link to the game director of Batman Arkham City, Sefton Hill who speaks on the creative process of Arkham City as well as in general of the process and how it doesn't always go the right way but through the wrong decisions you can get the right end results, also what stood out for me was the fact that he had mentioned that they had built a basic prototype of the whole game before actually setting out to develop it, to rather test what is needed and what they could do without to break down the game into key components, the video can be viewed at: http://guru.bafta.org/sefton-hill-games-directing-mini-masterclass

Creative Development Week18: Mark Davies, How to Get a Job in Game Design

In my previous blogposts i mentioned a series of five blogposts in which Mark Davies who is a games designer at Naughty Dog and additional experience under the role of designer working for Ninja Theory and Climax as well as having two publications where in these blogposts went through the areas that are needed for a portfolio and coming from someon with so much experience really stood and was well received information. Once that was read i started to go further into is blog and found a more detailed description of getting into the game design part of the games industry and Mark Davies states that without these essential skills you wouldn't be able to get a job in the industry.

So i read further on and the first section that is essential to getting into games design is

• Communication which Mark Davies states that ideas are worthless unless you can communicate the ideas across to others - Communication wasn't really my strong point but as i developed my skills in college my confidence started to grow as well the people around me giving me confidence to which it showed in the exhibition we had held at the start of the year when i really got talking to multiple people,
• A Lack of Preciousness in which collaborating with others and compromising ideas are essential - Once again this is an area in which i never really collaborated with anyone and that was not because i didn't want to but rather because i wasn't sure if anyone wanted my skills but i learned recently how beneficial collaborating is and this to me show through the two team briefs i took on,
• Passion for Games which is simple enough that enjoying what you do is essential as does the types of games you play which can narrow down your mindset on the design process, so eenjoying and expanding what you do is essential - I really enjoy creating ideas and designs for characters and environments and really bringing them to life but this is an area which i feel i really need to find that passion as i believe that the result of taking on multiple briefs has really drained me and taking a breather and really playing games which i never got to really do with the multiple briefs going on to find that spark again,
• Passion for Information which is stated that every knowledge from Math, Science, English and more is essential and that research is an essential part in developing a good game - This is an area which at first i started to overlook and go right to the design stage but as of now i have grasped the research part much more to where i spend enough time to research as much as i can on certain areas of my design,

Mark Davies went on to the advantages of qualifications as far going to say that those that study games design aren't always the ones that get the job but some other subjects such as Computer Science Graduates to which are some courses backgrounds of people within the industry. Academic qualifications are stated by Mark Davies as extremely useful but not essential as they show employer that you have the ability to work at a certain level and that you have applied yourself to an area and mastered it along with the thirst for knowledge. He goes on to state that doing courses in Engineering, Computer Science, Product Design or Architecture are areas of which teach skills that will be learnt on a daily basis and aren't as narrowly focused as games design courses and to also have a fall back plan if you don't get into the industry. Games Modding is mentioned as the best way to get into the games industry as it provess a passion for games, creating things and self motivation to do your own work as well as building up your portfolio, also to do extra curricular stuff as this shows your well rounded and not just playing or making games and that this is something important to an employer.

Blogpost can be found at: http://lifeofadesignmonkey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/how-to-get-job-in-game-design-revisited.html

Creative Development Week17: Digital Tutors

Through Chris Rhodes @CRhodesDesign twitter i came across Ant Ward a 3D modeler who has a tutorial in which he shows production on a low poly model in which at the start the model is really low on faces but as the tutorial goes on the tutorial shows how he UV mapped the low poly model to which really made the model stand out from that UV texture, so i feel watch and even following the tutorial will help in uncovering some tools to produce a better model.

http://www.digitaltutors.com/11/training.php?pid=689

Creative Development Week16: Next Gen Assets

I was looking through the Digital Tutors website and something caught my eye when i saw an article on producing next gen assets within Maya, Mudbox, 3DS Max and Z Brush which i will be trying out when i have the time but if you want to see the post visit http://www.digitaltutors.com/dtlabs/?p=4563 and along with this very interesting post there are many tutorials ready to be tried out.