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I have 15 years experience within the computer games development industry, working for some of the biggest companies at a senior level. During this time, I have grown as both an artist/animator as well as a manager. My senior positions within the art departments have enabled me to develop my skills in not only managing my own time and workload but also that of a team. I have proven myself adaptable, tough under pressure and a good team player. My understanding of the industry, having worked from the bottom up to leading on a big budget project, has allowed me to be confident in my own abilities. I have been able to pass on the skills I have learnt effectively through both my in-house roles and my books.
I am the author of two successful technical manuals, Game Character Development in Maya (published in 2004) and Game Character Development (published in 2008). These have been popular and have been translated into many different languages including Chinese. I am also currently in discussion with another publisher about writing my third title.
In my spare time, I like to develop my artistic skills further by working on personal projects. I have recently had one of my images selected for publication in ‘Exotique 4′. This is one of a series of books produced by Ballistic Publishing, widely thought of as the benchmark for computer generated art. Entrants from 45 countries worldwide submit their work for consideration, therefore I was honored to be one of the few chosen.
Present…
In September 2007 I decided to leave the comfort of a studio position and go it alone. Becoming freelance was both challenging and rewarding, allowing me to develop my skills further in game development while also branching into other media.
Game Character Development. (September 2007 – May 2008)
When I decided to go freelance I also made the decision to create a second book, a follow up to my first. This was aimed at the readers of Game Character Development with Maya, especially the ones who took the time to email me. In this book I bring the game character creation process up to date and show how current game characters are made.
In House Experience. (October 2004 - September 2007)
After leaving EA I returned to the people I had worked closely with at Infogrames. Now running their own company, I was eagerly accepted into Sumo and soon moved back into a senior position.
Game Character Development with Maya. (June 2003 – October 2004)
Inspired by the popularity of my Real Time Character Modelling Tutorial I decided to expand upon it and do something I had wanted to do for years, write a book. So in June 2003 I put together a proposal and sent it off to various publishers. New Riders were quick to sign me up and I began working on it the book in my spare time. The book covers all aspects of real time character development, designing, modeling, texturing, and generating levels of detail. I then go on to illustrate how to generate a full rig before introducing Maya’s animation tools by showing how to create a simple walk cycle.
In House Experience. (May 2003- October 2004)
In May 2003 I began working for Electronic Arts. Here my role was Associate Character Animator but my tasks also included creating concept artwork, modelling characters and writing animation-based tools in Maya. During my time there I had access to EA’s worldwide community allowing me the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Maya, character rigging and creation.
In House Experience. (June 1999- April 2003)
The summer of 1999 saw me moving to Infogrames Sheffield House, formerly Gremlin Interactive, and get my first taste of working on, then, next generation consoles. As well as changing employment, I also changed art packages, making the transition from 3D Studio Max to Maya. With the help of Maya and MEL (Maya’s Embedded Language) I tailored my skills towards characters before further educating myself in the process of generating both low and high-resolution creatures. Developing my skills in the rigging and animation process meant I was able to create a superior rig that is to this day, easy to animate with and fully automated in its setup.
During my last year I was able to further diversify my role at Infogrames. In recognition of my character skills, I was appointed Head of the Character Department, managing six other artists and animators. Our role within the company was to cover all aspects of creature/character development i.e. modeling, texturing, rigging, animating and rendering.
In House Experience. (February 1998 - June 1999)
After five years at Freestyle I decided to move on and went to work for for Krisalis Software, based in Rotherham. Here I worked on a 3D strategy/adventure game aimed at a very young market meaning we had to work within very strict guidelines. The game, for instance, had to be educational as well as fun. It also had to be non-violent. These parameters could, at times, be quite challenging, although they provided me with valuable experience into making games for younger gamers.
In House Experience. (November 1993 - January 1998)
My first position within a development studio involved working in-house for a software company in Sheffield creating games for Gremlin Interactive. The last two years I spent there were as lead artist where I undertook various tasks, such as delegating work to the other artists in the team and preparing schedules in order to meet deadlines. Here I gained exceptional experience in the field of computer software, learning the demands and high standards that were needed to succeed in this highly competitive industry.
