For Module 5 of my MA Game Art course at Escape Studio, the task was to create a personal project. The plan was to utilise what I learned during the past modules, starting at the bottom from learning how to model a simple shape up to advanced material scripting. The project brief was to show off everything we learned in class with creative freedom.
During my studies, I enjoyed working with materials the most. I knew I wanted to make a scene that would let this work shine, while still challenging myself. I went with a subtle horror theme, eventually settling on a mid-west Americana scene.
I concentrated on self-teaching new techniques that I wanted to master before graduating and starting my career, while also building a portfolio that showcased my strengths in game art. I was eager to apply my art direction skills from previous projects to create something engaging.
Looking back at my work from 12 months ago, I truly see how far I have come. I came into this course freshly graduated with a BA in fine arts. I had self-taught myself 3D-modelling over the past year and was still exhibiting my first game during Module 1. I knew how to get something that looked okay, but I did not know how to model and texture effectively, or how to create performative mesh. I also had not touched tech art yet.
In just one year, the Game Art MA course has brought me up to industry standard. My mesh quality has come a long way. This MA has taught me a lot about best practices, working on 3D projects as a team and so many priceless skills for my future career. This past year has challenged me to work hard, learn fast and put out high quality work. I would not have expected to enjoy working in technical art as much as I do.
My personal project highlights were figuring out my own bird system, troubleshooting an issue I had with the post processing, where the final gather quality setting caused severe artefacts in the final render, and overall working on effects and materials.
I am coming out of this project and this year feeling ready for the next project and ready for the industry.
One resource that I would like to highlight was my classmates and my tutor, Christian Avigini. I could always count on them for feedback and technical support with a high level of professionalism. Under Chris’ excellent guidance, I have grown confident in my abilities and feel ready to break into the games and FX industry.