Final Showreel and Exit Plan

Exit Plan

My exit plan will depend on my final portfolio/showreel quality, I have to have all 3 environments to a good standard and I will be ready to apply for junior entry roles straight after university, if I feel they could be improved on, and they are not ready to be sent out to companies just yet, I will work on it during the summer while having a normal job on the side. One thing that is important to me is not to let another job overtake where I want to be, the sooner I get a good quality portfolio the better and that is my target. I hope to have a good portfolio between April-September.

Final Blockout Showreel

I have now completed my final blockout showreel, planned my future environment projects next semester and used the camera to pan around them. Firstly I start with my name, role and contact email along with the logos of the software I used.
The first environment is a concept piece from The Last of Us, I wanted to create a modular environment and make it look as unique as possible, hiding the fact you are using the same models, textures for most of the scene, and I feel this scene allows me to do this. My second environment is a concept of a Sci-Fi styled diner, quite a compact scene however a lot going on, a lot of small props in the scene which will show I can work on small props if that is the entry role I have in the games industry. The main thing I like about this environment is the transition between interior and exterior, and the lighting. Finally my 3rd environment is a concept from gears of war, when looking for ideas I wanted something that could work well for my showreel and I feel this environment does, I can rotate around it while having a dynamic environment, falling leaves from trees, day/night transition.
My aim is for my showreel to show exactly what I want to be, an environment artist, there are 3 different environments in there, interior, and exterior, Sci-Fi, Grungy Urban and an old ruin style environment.

Guest Lecture - Ray Shum

A couple of weeks back, Ray Shum visited us for a talk, he is a professional 3d environment artist currently working for Rockstar North on Grand Thief Auto V. It was good to have someone from the industry visit and tell us of his experiences such as working on a variety of games, and how crunch feels.

His shipped titles are a racing game - Project Gotham Racing 4, Blur and GTA V, it is interesting to see the buildings he has worked on in his portfolio, and spot them in game.

Looking at his portfolio he has set it out really well, showing his shipped game artwork which is separate from his personal work. The one element I like about his personal work is he has shown he can work on different types of environments, such as interior, exterior, more dirty and grimy environment as well as some detailed props. This is the kind of thing I want to show in my showreel and portfolio, I want to show I can work on outside environments, working with foliage, working on interior environments which I have been doing a lot of so far and most of all working on different types of environments to create different moods for example Sci-fi will feel and look much different to Urban.

Going back to Ray Shum's portfolio, the navigate is simple and smooth, the pages load fine and the thumbnails show a good preview the environment. I like the fact he has kept all the text in the CV area. Showing key information such as location, email, skills, experience, education, and software knowledge.

Looking at the skill section, you usually see Low poly modelling, high poly modelling, texturing and so on, but Ray has added, team work, self motivated and organised and resourceful, and this is the kind of things employers want to see.