[i]
Producer Travis Bourbeau on what makes Jason a Unique artist and great Mentor: [/i]
Often when people think of the studio Id, they think of DOOM. When I think of the studio I think of Kenneth Scott and Jason Martin. While so many students today show hyper real portfolio work, I try to imagine which games they have a shot at; like brilliant productions such as Last of Us or Uncharted. The list is usually short. Then I Imagine Uncharted with Kenneth and Jason and what a different game that would be. Realistic characters can say a lot about the skill of an artist. How good is their anatomy? How skilled are they with texturing, or are they able to communicate types of fabrics, wrinkles, folds. Does iron feel like iron or aluminum? Are the hands a 6 and the face a 10? These things can really test an artist, but more often than not there’s one type of piece throughout their portfolio that usually consist of a lot of the same things. Depending where you are applying this may be exactly what a recruiter wants to see. But what if it isn’t?
Anatomy studies, realistic characters, head sculpts and maybe a hard surface piece occasionally… How many pieces online have you looked at recently with AMAZING anatomy and a lackluster effort on simple things like weapon props or even belts that are lacking? Pursuing their craft they have gone past good to trying to MASTER anatomy and spend days working on the details of a face, that in production would be better left to having a bit of stylization and brought to life by animation. I reviewed 3 portfolios just this week of artists wanting to take on a mentorship with artists that can help with anatomy, when their anatomy was already a 7 or 8, but everything else was a 4. If its starting to sound like a rant against artists with brilliant portfolios its not, Im getting there. Schools that teach Art for this industry as well as recruiters can grow to HATE the word stylization because its so often used as a justification for areas an artist simply chooses to ignore. A monster where the muscle structure doesn’t make sense, things of that kind… Sometimes stylization gets grouped into work that fits into Disney or Dreamworks Feature Animation and everything else is realistic.
What about characters that fit into Sunset Overdrive, Border Lands, Overwatch? Or DOOM games that are more realistic, but have a bit of flare to them? Thats where artists like Jason come in. I can find 40+ guys to work on a project right now if the goal is realistic characters, but someone that can do realism and pull it back to something like the dragon above is far more challenging. There’s no question in my mind that Jason can pull off whatever he wants including a hyper real human, but it feels cool to see a character like the barbarian that has enough anatomy to sell it, but respect to feeling powerful with a hulking silhouette and the feeling you aren’t going to win this battle even if youre standing there with a shotgun! Its what makes him an artist that uses his art as a weapon; a warrior in a garden instead of a gardener in a war. Own your ability. Know what makes your art unique and what studio you are fit for and practice that art to become a Samurai controlling your future and having a rich portfolio of work to show studios who you are as an artist. These are some of the discussions we have when it comes to live classes and the upside to being able to not only grow your art skills, but also have a targeted mind set of what to do with it.
[b]
Christina: Can you explain what you do professionally and how you got started? [/b]
Jason: I am the Lead Character artist at Id Software working on next gen AAA titles for multiple platforms, most recently Doom 2016. I got my start with a few tiny freelance jobs here and there before landing at Blur Studio. Blur has always been a major staple in the animation/cinematic industry. It had been my goal since the start to do all that I could to be a part of that team. As fortune has it, hard work paid off and I got a 6 month onsite freelance gig. While there I was a sponge and absorbed everything I could from the talent around me. I knuckled down and put in the work to hone my craft as much as possible. What are your main software apps and how dependent on them are you? Jason - These days, Zbrush is my main piece of software. Character artists use many applications to get the job done but the majority of my modeling, if not almost all of it is done in Zbrush. I have been especially excited to dig more and more into Zbrushs Zmodeler tools. What I initially thought would be just a quick way to block out shapes and forms quickly became my go to for hard surface modeling. Great set of features once you get the hang of it. Its made me fall in love with polymodeling all over again. Texturing is all Substance Painter with some minor Photoshop. Still use XSi and some 3dsMax for any of the precise traditional modeling tasks. Rendering I tend to stick mostly with Keyshot and Marmoset.
Christina: Did you have a traditional school education for art or are you self taught?
Jason: I went to art college and got a degree in Media Arts and Entertainment but my schooling was typical of that era. It was extremely generalized and broad. The program itself was lacking in specifications and never really got deep enough in the right areas. I made the most of it and learned as much as I could. After graduation I attended Vancouver Film Schools 3d modeling program. It was there that I got a much better in depth understanding and grasp of 3d modeling overall. In the end though, its all what you get out of it. Its up to the individual to put the time in and push oneself. I took the educational path but I have also worked with others who were self taught. Honestly, school is only half the battle. There is the instruction side and there is what you put in with your peers around you. At least half of what I learned was from the other students around me and all of us growing together. Are you a social artist or do you prefer to work alone? How has that impacted your art job or journey to becoming a professional? Jason -Social 100%. I’ve done both but prefer the studio environment over the other. Working with others hands on is where I have learned the most. Being social and managing your soft skills is key to being a quality professional. How you get along with the team is extremely important. On that note having a good online presence is always helpful. Posting work and networking has expanded my horizons and forged friendships along the way.
Christina: As a professional artist what are you doing now to make sure you stay relevant to the talent coming behind you?
Jason: You cant rest for a second. You have to constantly stay active, learn new things, stay open minded and realize knowledge can come from anywhere, in all shapes and sizes. I am forever a student and the day I stop learning its over. What is the biggest problem youve faced on a creative team and how did you handle it? Jason -Managing personalities. The best way to work with others is to get to know them. Learn their strengths and weaknesses and help build them up. Putting others before you and actually listening before reacting often fixes problems. We are all unique creatures and having a better understanding of your team makes it that much stronger. What is a piece that really pushed you to learn more any horror stories? Jason -Impossible to answer really. I have been very fortunate to work on a lot of IP’s. Being a part of Doom has been a real honor and an extremely rewarding experience. Getting to work with iconic characters of that universe was and is just awesome. I can still vividly recall playing Doom for the very first time on my friends Dad’s office computer. We had to hide to play it in fear of his parents catching us. To ever imagine twenty plus years later I would be working at Id Software on Doom, would have blown my little mind.
Christina: When do you know that your work is finished? When do you walk away or abandon a piece? Is there ever a time where you notice you go to far?
Jason: You dont. Its just due. To me, no model is ever finished, its just due. Everything can always be better, but in a production environment you need to know when enough is enough. That said, I approach every character with schedule in mind and what role the character plays. You pick out what really matters, what features stand out. What kind of personality does this thing have, how is he seen? What is the end goal you are trying to achieve with this specific character? You take this information and apply it to the character with a focus on what counts, all within the time table you have to work with. You can point to any character I have ever done and I can tell you what can be better on it. I try to approach my characters in passes, never staying too long in any one spot. It keeps a fresh eye and you dont get too hung up in any one area. I like to always pull out and view my character at a distance to get a feel for how it looks zoomed out, the squint test. All these are good ways to approach things and a good set of filters to apply to know when enough is enough.
Christina: Youre teaching a class with CMGA this semester, can you tell me about who your class is for and what its about?
Jason: This class is covering next gen creature creation for games. Anyone who wants to make monsters in crazy attire need apply here. I think this class is for all ranges of talent, but you have to have a decent understanding of the process and applications used. I do my very best to cater to a wide audience here. I like to cover all aspects of the pipeline, but not get bogged down in technical process and frustrate more advanced students. The end goal is to give the class bite size bits of knowledge that stick. Sculpting live and talking process is a great way to get these things to sink in. Its all about adding new tools to the artists tool box. Coming at ideas from different angles and trying to think outside the box. Watching the students progress is what really matters! Christina: What advice do you have for artists that are currently working professionally that want to move up? Jason: Work hard, stay humble. Always be working on your craft and know what you are weak at. Knuckle down, put the time in and dedicate yourself to be a better artist.
Jasons Class starts Feb 18 and includes a demo reel review as well as resume workshop for those that want it!
Click here to take Next Gen Creature Creation with Jason Martin