Hi Rez, day 4

So, with the Snowpocalypse that happened two weeks ago, I find myself with five make-up classes on fridays. So we decided to change our meeting days to Tuesdays. I got there with Vivi, as Leandro went on his own (he wanted to arrive and leave sooner than us).

When I got there I had a small meeting with Jerry. I finished the concept for my last character and was set to work on a new one. Jerry wants me to work on four very different projects, so this character does not look like the previous on at all. I was taught a nice way to create slight variations on the same base for outfits. It seems very simple, simply use layers, but also layer the clothes so that there is one in a simple suit, another in a slithly heavier outfit, and so on, including layers with only variations. I've always used layers for different versions, but never to really layer the clothes. It's an amazing way to create intricate armor without having to think of everything at once.

As usual, I was only drawing for the whole time I was there. It's just interesting to see how almost everyone leves around 6 PM. Near the end Vivi and me were almost alone in the studio.

Hi Rez, day 3

Yesterday we went to Hi Rez for the third time. We managed to get lost in the hallways at all and arrived directly at destination.There isn't much to say about the day though. I was mostly sitting at my desk drawing, with some feedback from time to time.

At the beginning I was able to present some variations on the concept that I have done at home, and one of them was selected to finalize and add detail to. From there it was just linework and detailing. It's a time consuming process but I enjoy it. From time to time Jerry pointed out a detail that needed changing. I also worked on the value/color scheme and tried to figure out what material fit where. In the end it was almost done, although there are still some changes to do.

The highlight of the day for me was the pizza and the salad, which the company got for all the employees. I greatly enjoyed those.

Hi Rez, day two

I'm not sure this is the best way to present this... Might be too detailed and boring. I can only hope that if it is, someone will say so.

Today, after spending a week snuggled at home because of some snow turned to ice, we went to Hi-Rez for the second time.

We decided to start a bit early in case it took longer than usual (again, because of the snow). Not only did we make it on time, but we arrived 20 minutes early. Everyone was out for lunch so we had to wit for everyone to come back before being presented to our workstations. Jerry, my supervisor, showed Vivi and me how to use Perforce. It's a program that Hi-Rez uses to share and centralize files within the employees.

I was then presented with my next assignment for today, as well as the next session(s), which will be to work on some particular character concepts. i eeven got to choose which one to start with. Then I went to my station and started working on photoshop.

Quickly I was presented with my first difficulty, which is wacom's last driver. The tablet ignores pen pressure every few strokes, which can be dealt with but is clearly annoying. Luckily I had faced the same problem at home some days ago and immediately knew what the problem was. It can be fixed by replacing the new driver by the previous version of the driver, which can be found on wacom's website.

Once that was done I worked on the concepts for a few hours and got some more feedback from Jerry in the middle. He suggested I use stock photos or 3D models as background for my drawings to accelerate the process and to get proportions right straight away. He also pointed to what was and what wasn't working in the concepts I had done 'til that point, so that I was able to go in the right when in the next ones.

With that advice I was able to get better concepts for the second half of the day. We selected which concept was the most successful, as well as best suited the character. Next time, I will be defining the most successful concept as well as making slight variations to it, maybe using some of the other successful elements from the other concepts. Jerry also adviced me to limit the use of textures and colors when I got there in order to unify the piece.

It was a good day overall. My supervisor was happy with my drawings, which makes me happy in turn. I mainly spent time at my workstation drawing, which I enjoy. I wish I could socialize more with the employees but I'm shy and am afraid of bothering anyone. I might be working at home before next time (luckily I only need photoshop to work), I really want the concepts to be the best I can do in the end.

first visit

During the winter holidays, I was pleasantly surprised to be selected for an internship at a game studio, Hi-Rez. Our first visit at Hi-Rez was on January 7. We had a hard time finding the right building because of the GPS's vague directions, but we got there almost on time.

We met the people that were going to guide us during the internship. After the presentation I was separated from the other two interns, as my task is different from theirs and I will be working with someone else on the character side for Global Agenda. I was explained what I was to do during the internship, which is to create new character concepts for the game. I might also be doing some 3D modeling with 3DSmax, but nothing major, only props. I'm really glad with the assignment, I was afraid I would spend the week doing nothing but modeling.

I was shown many concept works that have been done in the past, and spent some time drawing to get the feel of the game's artstyle.
However, we didn't stay for long as Vivi and Leandro had nothing to do. The computers had nothing set up for them yet, so we left early together as we car pulled.
I'm pleasantly surprised with my assignment and the people at the company seem really nice. I look forward to going back.