ZBRUSH RETOPOLOGY WORKFLOW TUTORIAL

GAME CAREER SPOTLIGHT: INTERVIEW WITH GAME ARTIST JC CAPPELLETTI

Game schools are only as good as the quality of its instructors. Fortunately for me, my time at VanArts was a positive one thanks to its qualified instructors alone. The program was successful for me because of people like JC Cappelletti. From the first time I walked in for Maya instruction not understanding why this dude was teaching the lesson so fast, to graduation day as I shook his hand after graduating with honors.. excuse me, honours. JC was always there to teach us however much we were willing to learn. I tried to soak up everything I could, whether it be in Maya, Photoshop or other Adobe multimedia programs. However, there are two courses that I will always remember and that’s his instruction on sculpting with clay and sculpting in ZBrush.

In sculpting, it was very inspiring as a game student to see what used to be a glob of what looked like Silly Putty (Super Sculpey) turned into a sculpture of Batman, or a sculpture of an elderly man or if he got bored enough, a sculpture of one of our ugly faces. The skills and techniques he taught us in that class transferred over into his instruction in ZBrush. Sculpting with your hands first made it easier to learn how to sculpt digitally on a computer. Personally, I thought it was genius to do it this way and we happened to be the first class to get a program set up like this, leaving the students in the game art program ahead of us, quite jealous.

So have you ever met a person who possesses such an amazing talent you just sit in awe as you watch them create their art? Well for me, that person is JC and lucky for us, he gave The Gamer Report an inside look into his adventurous path into the game industry. Even though he has been involved in the game industry and in game education for years, I believe his path has only just begun.

First off I’d like to establish who you are and what your background is in the game industry.

I began about 11 years ago with Graphic Design interning for a book publisher. I created layouts primarily using Photoshop and Illustrator. Over the next few years, my work ranged from Video Editing to Freelance Graphic Design to Sign Production.

I reached a point where I was severely bored with work. Sculpting has always been what I do best, so I naturally had an eagerness to translate those skills to the booming 3D market. When I was able, I enrolled at VanArts (Vancouver Institute of Media Arts) to better my skills and shift careers.

I graduated from the Game Art and Design course at VanArts in February, 2004. Later that year, I pitched a game concept I had to an investor and got the funding to build a Proof of Concept. I formed Veda Games, and began pre-production with a team of 8 artists and animators. The studio was opened in India, because of the investor’s choice to save overhead costs. I worked on some of the models and directed all the artwork for the project.

I pitched my POC at the 2005 GDC meetings in San Francisco. It was much harder to get a game published than I heard it had been a few years earlier. The idea was well received, but since we were a new studio, the publishers wanted to see a Playable Demo before they would consider any deals. Over the next six months, my investor raised funds while I worked more on the script and concept art direction. In Summer of 2005, I interviewed many and hired about 20 more artists. We then expanded our studio in India to work on the Playable Demo. Due to many unfortunate circumstances, the investor pulled the funds and closed the studio before the project was complete.

Shortly after returning from India in early 2006, I began teaching at VanArts. During that time, I was the Game Art Program Coordinator, and teaching the Sculpture in Clay, Character Modeling, and Photoshop courses. In April 2008, I became the Production Manager at Offload Studios, where we provide full-color 3D prints (Rapid Prototypes), primarily for the Video Game industry. I absolutely love making cool toys all day.

Where did you go to school and how did it help you get to where you are today?

I went to VanArts for Game Art and Design. It was a very new program back then, in fact it was the first course anywhere in Vancouver. It gave me some very good training in 3D fundamentals, but I still have to continually educate myself to keep up with new software as it is released. Going back to school was the best thing I could do for my career. The best thing I got was direct contacts to industry professionals. Almost every job I have gotten since then has been directly linked to someone I met while going to school there.

Please explain what Offload Studios is all about and where it fits in the game industry.

Offload Studios provides high-end 3D printing from digital media files to the Game and Film Industries. Some want to have Fine Art sculptures created for their desks and lobbies, or prototypes of characters to aid in their production process. Our main focus is with games that want to turn User-created Content into actual 3D printed collectibles. Because every 3D file that is printed is created by a different person, each of the products generated is completely unique and personalized. Each product is printed in full color from the texture files as well. This technology has been around for a few years, but this application to the game industry is fairly new.

What does your job entail at Offload Studios, what skills do you need to do your job and what’s the best part about working there?

I do a lot of everything here. I was first brought in to do Character Modeling, but as we expanded, I began to fill a more full role with OLS. Now I focus mostly on the production of the 3D products, or Tactuals as we like to call them. It’s a very fitting word actually, meaning a touchable object. I am constantly developing the production process we use to get the highest possible quality 3D prints. Most recently I had to solve the problem of getting LED lights into an IronMan Fine Art print.

I take files that are submitted to us for print, Zbrush, Max, Maya mostly, and prepare the file for printing. A lot of these details can be found on the Offload Studios FAQ. It details all the considerations and checklists that need to be done in order to have a successful print. Successful meaning that it will print without errors in geometry and not fall apart when the print is finished. A common misconception is that these 3D printers are like a Replicator machine from Star Trek, where you just input data and out pops a finished product like a vending machine. I’d like to dispel any idea of that crap. The product is far from finished when the printer is done printing. I can’t get into any details about what we do with post production here because it is a trade secret, and I am under a strict NDA.

I can’t pick any part of this job I like best. I finally feel like I am doing what I’m meant to. I am a very hands-on person. I’ve always loved sculpting and creating things with my hands. I consider myself a maker of wonderful things now, and I love every bit of it.

How long have you been sculpting and what inspired you to take this as a career path?

I was exposed to clay sculpture and mold making from an early age by my father. As a child, I was also heavily influence by the work of Ray Harryhausen, and the creatures in films like Star Wars, and Legend. The Incredibles is currently my favorite film. I noticed I had a very strong ability to sculpt when I was in high school, but did not pursue a career in it, with the false information that an artist must starve. In High School, for some reason I never imagined there was a way to approach the video game industry as a career choice. The only related schooling back then, before even 3D games were standard, was a very generic “Graphic Design” program at an Art School.

What words of advice would you give to an aspiring artist trying to make it in the game industry?

Try to create something that inspires you. It can be derived from something popular, but the best is to create something that is both interesting and original. Esthetics are very important. Also, avoid stereotypical ideas. Something pleasing to the eyes for both genders. Doing lots of visual research on something that is based in an old-world culture is quite popular with the studios these days. Mostly it depends on the studio. If you have a particular studio in mind, the best thing to do is research that studio and know what projects they are working on or have done recently. Then base your demo reel on a related subject matter. This is mostly important to Modelers. Animators just need to be good actors first, then learn the tools second.

Check out JC’s ZBrush Workflow Tutorial I posted a few days ago…