Environment Technical Artist
Being an environment artist, I build everything from the 3D models, I do texturing, lighting, and then I put it all together and actually make the world itself.
TL;DRPeterson started in QA about seven years ago as a graphics-focused compatibility tester, aiming to move into art, and recommends QA as a way into the industry.
I got my foot in the door through QA, which was about seven years ago. I was working in the compatibility lab as a graphics guy. If there was something wrong with the game, I could see it and be like, okay, the normal map's flipped or the spec map's not working, things like that. And then I wanted to eventually transition over to an art role. So getting my foot in the door kind of let me learn about the business from the ground up. And what's great about that is when I'm making art for games, I pay attention to a lot of things like, okay, does this complement the design? Does this complement the play space? Would my artwork run in budget for this hardware that I'm developing for? That's one of the great things about coming in through QA. If anybody's out there trying to get their foot in the door to the game industry in general, I think QA is a great way to go.
TL;DRPeterson found Star Citizen through Chris Roberts' Reddit AMA while in a dental waiting room, emailed his portfolio though no environment artist role was advertised, and was invited in.
Actually, I found out about Star Citizen... I was learning the CryEngine myself, and I was wanting to go more of the indie route. And I was actually at the dental office, in the waiting room, and I was reading this AMA on Reddit, and it was like, I'm Chris Roberts, I did Wing Commander, and I was just like, oh, this might be interesting. So I clicked on the link, and I started reading it. And everything that Chris was saying was pretty much aligning with what I'd want to do. He was using the CryEngine, he was doing a Kickstarter fund, he was doing sci-fi, and I love the fidelity of all the graphics and everything he was using. He was bringing in the Oculus Rift and everything else. And I was thinking to myself, yeah, this is great, this is exactly what I want to do. So I found the website and they're like, if you want to work at Cloud Imperium Games, email us here. They weren't really looking for an environment artist or anything, but I emailed them, showed my portfolio, and they were like, we love your work, come on down. So here I am.
I am a huge fan. Battlestar Galactica is probably one of my favorite TV shows. Yeah, I am a huge sci-fi fan as well. Let's see, Star Wars, Star Trek.
I played Wing Commander 3, and it's been a while since that, but I remember I loved that game. It's been a long time since I've played it, but I just have fond memories of it. It had great gameplay, and it also had a great storyline, and I just love the cast of actors. I mean, Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, even Biff from Back to the Future, Tom Wilson was in it. Great game. I just love that game. I have fond memories of it, so getting to work here is great, because getting to work with Chris Roberts and getting to bring that magic back into Star Citizen, I just can't wait.
It's about time, isn't it?
Yes, it is about time.
I've been at Cloud Imperium for about two months now. And for the past month, I've been out here in Austin. About 25 days, roughly. Been working those full 25 days, 14 hours a day.
I am working on the hangar module.
In fact, everybody's working on the hangar module. It's all heads down here. And how are they looking?
They're looking good. We got the guys from Crytek out here. They're consulting us, getting everything running well.
That's fantastic news. And that's a big help. The CryEngine people, and that's one of the reasons we chose it, is that they are very supportive of us.
Through and throughout, man. Just been helping us with everything. Technical questions, everything being answered. It's been great.
Well, yeah, a technical environment artist. It goes hand in hand. You have to be technical in the games industry as an artist. You have to.
TL;DRPeterson's first industry job was as a storyboard artist for a San Antonio production company before moving to 3D graphics and then QA at NCSoft.
My first job in the industry, I used to work in television and film. I was working at some production companies in San Antonio, Texas. I was working with, I don't know if you remember that guy, Jackie Earle Haley. He was in The Bad News Bears. He was Rorschach in Watchmen. He had a production company in San Antonio and I used to work for him. I was a storyboard artist. And then I transitioned over to 3D graphics after that. And then when Jackie got bigger into acting and everything, I decided to just jump into games because that's where my true passion lied. And then I got a job at NCSoft about seven years ago and I was working in QA, which was a good foot-in-the-door kind of job, which is also great because I learned the business from the ground up.
A lot of us got our start in QA. And, to be fair, we're all in QA anyway. Even though you start there, everybody QAs and goes forward.
Yeah, that was very brief. I was in the news for like two weeks. I used to do the flying graphics. It was really cutthroat. You'd walk in and they'd be like, do this graphic by six. If you didn't get it done by six, you're usually axed. It was too intense for me. And then I started getting into just television commercials.
TL;DRPeterson says his hobby is modding and helping others improve their 3D and CryEngine skills, and offers advice once he sets up a forum page, though first he must finish the hangar.
Well, really, I do this as a hobby as well. I'm usually on modding sites. I get on Polycount, Mod Database. I work on some mods in my spare time. I help people out who are trying to get their skills upgraded.
So if they had some questions about some of that stuff in Star Citizen, they could go to you asking.
Yeah, if you guys are making ships or anything and you want some of my advice, or you're making environments or something like that, get on the site. Get on my blog when I set up my forum page. I don't have it set up yet, but when I do, just get on there, ask any questions you have, anything about 3D Studio Max, the CryEngine, I'll help you out.
We're not going to put him up on there yet for a while because we need him to finish the hangar.