On Friday 8th October the media students of NUCA were visited by a very special guest by the name of Chris Goodswen. He is a 3D character artist that originally studied in NUCA on the Games Art & Design course and then proceeded onto studying a MA in Professional Games Development at the University of Abertay in Dundee, Scotland. He came to discuss his progression in life after education and give us some useful tips and advice.
During the lecture he spoke about his advancement in the industry and just how hard it actually was to get to where you want to be. He managed to put it across in such a way I interpreted it as enlightening giving me more determination to get somewhere than disheartening.
A lot of the things he said I already knew but went over some of the really key points that you need to be able to do, for example research. Whatever project you are doing, whatever job you have been set, research is essential to helping you produce the best outcome possible. He also highlighted how you will need to do independent studying. What you get taught on the course will not be enough, it is just the base of things. If you want to get somewhere and be good at what you're doing you need to have the passion and willing to keep getting better through whatever means necessary, whether it is practising drawing, practising with software, learning about anatomy, clothing, environments, whatever part of the industry you want to be involved in.
Above all you must be able to adapt to an industry that is forever changing with time.
This image defiantly shows a clear progression on the graphical side of the industry from the first 8-bit inception of some of Nintendo's most famous characters.
Throughout the lecture you could notice at some points in his work he had been discouraged but it was good to see that he hasn't stopped trying to better himself to get further up the ladder.
After this lecture I was left thinking about what exactly did I want to do in the industry? The past few of years my ideas have evolved from wanting to work in the games industry, to wanting to specifically be a concept artist, to now thinking about 2D character design, but why don't I stretch my abilities further? Seeing his work inspired me to want to try new things and 3D modelling has become awfully appealing to me over the past couple of weeks. I know for definite environmental concepts are not my 'cup of tea', so I've taken it upon me to purchase some anatomy books and arrange attending life drawing classes. Chris emphasised this point continuously throughout the lecture. If you want to draw characters, anatomy is extremely important (of course!), it's such an important and useful skill to acquire.
Chris wrapped up the talk by showing parts of his portfolio to us. He said it's very advisable to include bits of everything you do. From the finished models/concepts to 2D traditional life drawing, sketches and other work that show your skills with art that do not necessarily have reference to video games.
www.tincow.net
Mr Goodswen's work shows the time and effort he still spends on studying anatomy and the human form.
He is an inspiration for all of us.
Above all you must be able to adapt to an industry that is forever changing with time.
Throughout the lecture you could notice at some points in his work he had been discouraged but it was good to see that he hasn't stopped trying to better himself to get further up the ladder.
After this lecture I was left thinking about what exactly did I want to do in the industry? The past few of years my ideas have evolved from wanting to work in the games industry, to wanting to specifically be a concept artist, to now thinking about 2D character design, but why don't I stretch my abilities further? Seeing his work inspired me to want to try new things and 3D modelling has become awfully appealing to me over the past couple of weeks. I know for definite environmental concepts are not my 'cup of tea', so I've taken it upon me to purchase some anatomy books and arrange attending life drawing classes. Chris emphasised this point continuously throughout the lecture. If you want to draw characters, anatomy is extremely important (of course!), it's such an important and useful skill to acquire.
www.tincow.net
Mr Goodswen's work shows the time and effort he still spends on studying anatomy and the human form.
He is an inspiration for all of us.
