The Rookie Contest 2020 – And all the way up to here

30 July, 2020

Okay, here we go.

I started to use Artstation last winter around December 2019. I knew about the website around one year before it but I just started in the 3D world and I didn't have anything to show. I come from an audiovisual background as Film editor/Colorist (www.FranVergara.com) and in the summer of 2019, I just decided to focus on the videogames industry. I used to work as a freelance in London. For the last 4 years I did all kinds of content: some good, some great, some unpaid, some please-take-the-money-and-run. but after my partner came to live with me I started to work full time in an advertising company to save money. After one whole year making adverts for banks and the army mainly (I regret this) I just quit, I decided to quit to study and learn to become an Environment Artist.

Picture from 2017 during a film in Granada, Spain, by Fabio Albarracín

Do not misunderstand, I hate advertising but I love the cinema. I just found another way to create. The strongest tool that has kept me going is storytelling, become a storyteller. I found in my young career very different ways to tell a story: drawings, photography, video, and finally, 3D. I experimented a lot and I think that finally, I think I found the best way to storytelling for me, the environment art. But I would like not only work in games but mix film and 3D.

Draw, around 2014

I like editing narrative films, before that I also was a camera operator for a while. And photographer before it. I found that I prefer to tell or help to tell the story in the post-production room, where you have the story in pieces and you need to use your creativity to create something new and alive. Working in office, already in London and after a few months of basic 3D courses I just can't stop, I love it. I really love it and even I studied while in my office job (when I was less busy, I'm a professional, please.. banks need me *clearly sarcasm*). I brought some 3D books to read in the everyday commute. Create, literally, anything from zero from a CUBE! was.. well, an infinite possibility of creation, magic! After basic character courses and without a job I had to choose which way: characters or environments.

Picture from 2016 close to Granada, Spain, by Fran Vergara

Now that it's "easy," but at the beginning was a bit harder since I didn't make any prop at all, only the models from the course I did meanwhile I was working, and after my freelance work, so after work's work. I chose environments for the possibilities of storytelling, and when I started, well, you can see the rest.

My first "decent" project was a Japanese Urban Street, (not influenced by the Persona saga, not at all). From my point of view right now it's not a big deal, but I loved it then because I didn't believe I can do that. I thought that an environment without a story is a poor env, this is why I started to make cinematics, fill it with stories and with the help of the voices of my partner and flatmate, bring to live the characters that I put on it (an immense thanks for them! <3). I'm influenced by all the books, comics, films and series I see, also photography and art of other people, even stories without a proper physic shape. I uploaded that environment at the beginning of this year, and my most recent project was a prop turret that I did in record time (4 days, around 60h.) to apply to a certain company of hard surface and space games. Right before that, I participate In The Rookies 2020 with my four environments, that's all I had. All I had in my public portfolio at least because I also did a lot of projects that I didn't finish, or that I didn't know how to finish, or even that ones which were absolute garbage. (I think everyone can understand this point)

Picture from 2018 in Brighton, UK, by Fran Vergara

After two months, I received great awards in each contest I participated, two "B" levels in Game Development and 3D animation, Finalist for the internship of Ninja Theory and an Excellence Award with good opinions of people from the sector over my work. THAT'S a lot! I have a lot to thank for the contest and for sure I'll participate next year to get the Rank A!

I feel that after that, after everything I learned, after all these days in front of the screen day by day, weeks without sleeping, and some other sacrifice, this is just the beginning of a new phase. That is why I started this post and with it, a blog here and on my website; to tell my experience, collect it and share with others. If the 3D community has taught me anything it's to share, share knowledge, experience and passion. Thanks also to the people that live with me every day, physically or virtually, love you all.

As for the blog content, I want to dedicate it to exploring Environments, but also to the video game industry. I don't want to create tutorials, but useful content about art: maybe interviews, and talk about everything that comes to the industry, which is a lot. Also my personal experience, which in the end is the main thing of a blog. I feel that in Spanish there is much that is lost along the way but in English there is a lot of content so I hope, in some way, to use this tool as a bridge to access and transmit part of that information by having a blog in both languages. I hope it becomes useful.

At the moment, I think I need to create a new env, a "killer scene" as someone told, more complex with a full breakdown, and of course, it's own story. I was thinking to spent the rest of summer 2020 working on it, and then start the job search, but that's another story! :)