Since day one of starting the podcast I have wanted to talk to JRO Tools founder Jonas Ronnegard ! We unpacked how he started his successful asset store and how he grew it over the years to be what it is today, while also tackling the uncomfortable topic for artists, self promotion and exposure! 

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Jonas’s ArtStation ⯈ 

Listen here  ⯈ 

It has been a long time coming but we finally got Eidos Senior Material Artist Vincent Derozier on the podcast. We got into all things material art as well as how important context is to the art you make, as well as how important making art for yourself is. 

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Vincent’s ArtStation ⯈ 

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Listen here  ⯈

So I have just released a photo pack from my trip to Luds Church Gorge here in the UK, it was an incredible place and I can really see why it served as a source of inspiration for God Of War. I went there looking to gather formation references for how these rocky areas form ground coverage as well as how moss/foliage builds up in these areas. Funny thing is we only explored 50% on this location so we will return again in the future.

  I went on this trip with some long-time friends in the games industry and my wife. from left to right; Jason Ord (Dambuster), Hannah Watts (Ubisoft Reflections) & Michael Kinsey (Counterplay). This was the first time we could all really get together and do this due to covid and this trip has been over a year in the making but just the weekend alone felt like a long-overdue holiday!

One thing I didn't expect from the trip that was truly refreshing is being around people who got as excited as I did over small things; an interesting crack formation, some crazy moss buildup or just the way a fern clings to the side of a cliff. Having these people around me to bounce off and keep the energy up really helped us get through a long hot day of hiking. 

As a side note, the equipment I used for the trip was my Sony A7ii, a Sigma 35mm F1.4 lens with a polarizer. I also had a Sony 85mm F1.8 which Michael used for a portion of the trip, next time I hope to have a little more, either a GoPro for some POV photography or a good 105mm lens.  

So all in all this trip was a huge success, and now we all have the itch for doing it more so we are planning to have a lot more trips in the near future, as a sidenote all proceeds from these packs will only be going into funding this trips, whether that be transport & accommodation or picking up new camera gear. (this isn't a cheap hobby)

I hope you enjoy and find the photos useful, and if you have any location suggestions I am all ears, I am putting a wish list of locations together! :D

Are you a character / stylized artist?  Then this episode is for you! 

I really enjoyed this one, me and Riot Lead character Artist Katia Bourykina unpacked things such as higher education foolishly deterring students from the medium and saying ‘there are no jobs for stylized artists’ while also talking about how judgmental artists can be of each other. 

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Katia’s ArtStation ⯈

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Listen here  ⯈ 

Concept Artist rejoice !

We have Eric Persson on, who spent a decade with Dice as a concept artist before joining The Initiative as an Art Director. It was fun talking to another discipline and we got into how artist leverage 3D in concepts and unpacked the relationship between an AD and a Artist! 

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Eric’s ArtStation ⯈ 

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Listen here  ⯈

It has been a long time coming but this week we have Massive enviro artist Maarten Hoff!  WE got stuck into what drives him through his vast array of beautiful personal projects as well as digging into how photography has helped the both of us!

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Maarten’s ArtStation ⯈ 

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Listen here  ⯈ 

Returning guests really are the best, and this week we have Kurt Kupser on! We digest the UE5 early access and what this could mean for game art as well as unpacking the idea of how we transition from an artist into a game dev! 

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Kurt’s ArtStation

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All the links to listen are here

This week we had Snr Enviro Artist at Sony Santa Monica on, Melissa Smith! This was a really fun chat where we got to unpack team culture during remote working and just what kind of effect it has on mental health!

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Melissa’s ArtStation ⯈https://www.artstation.com/melissasmith

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Listen on Spotify ⯈ https://open.spotify.com/show/7spDMpMZJ9dr3Ziu8bRwCA

Listen on SoundCloud ⯈ https://soundcloud.com/gamedevdiscussion

Listen on iTunes ⯈ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/game-dev-discussion/id1459400002

Listen on YouTube ⯈ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfTBvcsO9Kw0b5EVuf4CJQ

On the GDD podcast this week we have a very special guest, the creator of the widly used 'Orb Brush Pack', Senior Enviro Artist at Blizzard Michael Vicente, we had the pleasure of deep diving into everything stylized in art and unpacked the whole medium.

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Michael’s ArtStation ⯈ https://www.artstation.com/orb

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Listen on Spotify ⯈ https://open.spotify.com/show/7spDMpMZJ9dr3Ziu8bRwCA

Listen on SoundCloud ⯈ https://soundcloud.com/gamedevdiscussion

Listen on iTunes ⯈ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/game-dev-discussion/id1459400002

Listen on YouTube ⯈ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfTBvcsO9Kw0b5EVuf4CJQ

Ever wondered how things get blown up in games? Well Sony Santa Monica's Lead Destruction Artist Rubin is on the podcast to give you all the insight to what this career path entails along with some great advice when it comes to interview time!

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Listen on Spotify ⯈ https://open.spotify.com/show/7spDMpMZJ9dr3Ziu8bRwCA

Listen on SoundCloud ⯈ https://soundcloud.com/gamedevdiscussion

Listen on iTunes ⯈ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/game-dev-discussion/id1459400002

Listen on YouTube ⯈ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfTBvcsO9Kw0b5EVuf4CJQ