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Patricia Gomes, CG Artist, landed a job as Associate Digital Artist at Digital Domain; an academy award winning visual effects and animation company with over 1000 employees. DD is known for working on movies like Tron, the A Team, Transformers, Star Trek, and many more. The company has also worked on many advertisements for games like Gears of War 3, Assassin’s Creed II and Halo 3. In this interview she talks about what she does, how she got there, and she shares some tips for aspiring artists.
GOE: Can you tell us something about yourself?
I am a character artist, and I just graduated and got a gig at DD. I’m also working on an indie game with some friends that I am really excited about. As far as the job hunt goes there are lots of resources out there and if you have the passion for the craft there is work out there.
GOE: What is your prior education?
I have a MS in Interactive Entertainment, BFA in Computer Art and Animation and a BA in Philosophy.
GOE: Can you give a brief description of what your job entails?
I do a variety of things from modeling to digital painting.
GOE: How did you start out?
I started out with art school. I studied traditional art, mainly painting and sculpture. That was until I discovered the digital world. I was drawn to it because I wanted to bring my paintings to life. I am a self-taught character artist. I use Maya and Zbrush.
GOE: Why video games, what do you love about them?
I fell in love with video games when I played God of War for the first time. I loved being Kratos and my boyfriend at the time looked just like him which was funny. At the time I was new to games so when I got stuck on a level he would get me past it because I would get so mad! Now I get him past the difficult parts. That makes me laugh.
GOE: What are your aspirations?
I want to work on an art team that produces the caliber of work you would see in Assassin’s Creed or God of War. It would be awesome to be a part of a project that I am a fan of.
GOE: What / who inspires you?
Lots of things inspire me from high art to the mundane. It is always a pleasant surprise when you get that creative spark just by seeing an interesting face in a crowd. Other artists inspire me as well. Salvador Dali is a big influence because he was my introduction into fine art. KakaiKotaki is an amazing concept artist that I really dig. The way he uses shadow and light in his digital paintings is beautiful. Meats Meier is another artist that really inspired me to get into Zbrush. His point of view is so interesting and his attention to detail is incredible.
GOE: How do you stand out in your line of work, what sets you apart?
There are so many great artists that are really pushing the envelope with their visions. I am so happy just to be a part of it and contributing to it. Perhaps what sets me apart is my own aesthetic and what I find interesting as subject matter.
GOE: What is your favorite project that you’ve worked on / are working on?
I am working on this indie game that I mentioned earlier. I wish I could talk about it but it is in its infancy stage.
GOE: What do you love most about being a character artist?
I love making characters that have a personality and story just in the detail and textures of their face and clothing.
GOE: And what is your least favorite part?
Critiques are always hard but a necessary evil. As long as it is coming from a constructive place then they are a great tool. But then there are the people who just want to tear you down and that is difficult to deal with. Being a creative person isn’t for the faint of heart.
GOE: What tips can you give to aspiring artists?
Keep working at your craft and listen to yourself. If you have a passion for what you do the skill set will come and everything will fall into place.
GOE: What qualities / experience / skills do you possess as an artist?
I use Maya, Zbrush and photoshop. I keep it simple.
GOE: How much time / commitment does it take to become a professional?
You have to really believe in your work and invest in yourself to succeed. Being an artist is a difficult road to walk so a thick skin would help too!
GOE: When was the first time you realized that video games could become your work? What was that like?
I realized that I could make it happen when I worked on my first game and understood the process. Making a game is rather complex so understanding the pipeline and process is key. Everything was very clear from that moment on.
Founder of Game Thingie (gamethingie.com), she currently works as a game journalist to learn about the industry and get into game development after attaining her MscBA.
Nice! Very interesting to read about her background!
I’m not easily irpmesesd. . . but that’s impressing me!