A day at the Studio
 

Hey Guys and Gals

I thought I'd do an insight of a day or my day as a Senior Modeler at the Studio just so you get an idea of the sort of thing that goes on on a daily basis in a typical studio environment.

So to begin with its the usual early morning at the coffee machine to get the 'engine' started as sometimes we do have to work late depending on the schedule.

Once the modelling and texturing team arrives or some days finding myself arriving after them, I usually greet them as a whole and then go around and speak to them individually about the work they are doing and discuss problems they may have with their models and help improve them. I also make sure that the guys doing the texturing are kept uptodate and also discuss how they may want model uvs to spread out across the board before they get their hands on it. Texture artists I have found also like to have a fiddle with UVs even after a modeller has done a good job on them. I have also found on previous jobs that you get the odd one or two modellers that are very reliant on auto uv scripts or plugins and are very lazy or reluctant to even attempt doing them properly, it is actually bad practice in my opinion for a modeller not to know good UV mapping. So if you ever work with me as your senior, beware! LOL I will make you redo them!

I then discuss any ideas and probs that may arise with the CG supervisor and also apply a little pressure at production to get as much reference and info for modelling and texturing to enable us to do our jobs properly without to much hassle.

Throughout the duration of the day, we are usually in the 'zone' modelling and texturing with our headphones on and itunes constantly pumping!! With of course refuelling with caffeine in the interim. Fuel stops usually follow with another discussion with the team on how they are doing. I also run a checklist of what people are doing thats updated throughout the day, so once a model is done then it gets crossed of the list and a new one is assigned. I'll then make sure that production is made aware of any changes before they badger me as to whats going on. This I have found keeps everyone very happy. I always try to be a step ahead. The new models then get a thorough going over by myself, before they are actually handed to texturing. Im looking for strange edge flow, unmerged geo, and all that type of stuff. We have implemented better versions of Maya cleanup tools into a GUI for the modellers to use, but they sometimes dont use them in their eagerness to get stuff out and onto the next thing, so I have to check this stuff over, and of course if Im not happy I will give it back to the modeller with specific instructions to sort the model out. If Im still not happy then I'll deal with the model myself.

Once a version of any model is complete it is then rendered as a 360 degree turntable (usually in Occlusion) and this is then sent off for review to the director and VFX Supers and producers to see if its looking like it needs to. Changes are usually quite minimal, though can be time consuming depending on the actual change required, as things can have a knock on effect on other model parts.

I am also in constant check with the TDs who are running the pipeline and any problems or ideas to help things along are discussed and things are put into motion pretty much straight away. Myself or the texture lead are given stuff to test as well just before scripts are rolled out to the whole team to iron out any bugs before hand, again we also discuss and throw ideas back to help make the scripts better.

The day also consists of looking at concept art for the film so it helps keep a mindset as to what we need to aim at style wise. I find it very useful too to pull the guys away from the screen and get fresh eyes too, as we all know how working on the pc can get.

Pretty much everyday is like this as a routine but the great thing about it is that although we are modelling, each different model does present its own problems, from the early concept right thru to the final object. I use the term 'final' very loosely as its only finished once its on the screen.

anyway I hope this gives a fairly good insight to what I face on a daily basis....

cheers
Jay

very useful for artist like me trying to get into the industry more seriously |:)

Sounds like just what I do Jay!!! Except I get the 'final' models from the design Engineers and change them on the fly. Though it has been easy in the Metro area weather wise I have the distinction of doing what you do in 50°c heat LOL.

I can see similarities however in the way you have to go over the data...even when people supposedly do a good job...there are always glitches.

Nice insight on your profession though mate...interesting indeed.

cheers bullet

cant wait to hire people so that i can tell them do this do that..... :)
say jay what company do you work for

From personal experience murambi...it aint pretty. Unfortunately despite your best efforts, with some people...you end up doing the job a lot yourself...which of course reduces production and your quality...and your own time..unless it is structured to avoid this. LOL and when the big PINEAPPLE comes out...its the Captain whom receives it in the rear end...LOL. I have 3 kids at home..young men who need to be told this and that all the time LOL but when you get to Jay or myself position..well its like 20 people etc...LOL you might not be so enthusiastic when you get there mate...which I know you will...

Planning murambi is the key....but you have to be good at changing direction all the time mate......it goes with the job. Good luck to you when you get there though mate....

cheers bullet

we have the exact same day up until the coffee in the morning. :P

Coffee for some...then Toolbox (saefty) then read JHA's job hazard analysis, then more safety. Kudo's and well wishes to the men in the mine.....some of them may be artists.

Cheers bullet

Great post! Thanks for the inside info, Jay.

glad its of use.

Its 11.30pm here and Ive actually just got in from work. We had a 3 hour discussion about pipeline changes from modelling thru to comp

cheers
Jay

is it quite a new company jay?

...I could write something about my day, I'm a generalist so its a little different. I'm also not in charge of any teams :)

No mate,

its just a new building but we are the film division. The otherside is TV.

I think it would be good if you write about your day, as it from a different perspective.

Cheers
Jay

1130 pm Jay!!! jeez mate that makes for a long day!!

cheers bullet

Well it was made worse as I had to get a flight yesterday morning to work and had been up since 3.30am LOL so it was a very very long day

J

Ouch....Im hearin ya mate...done that a few times. Worst part is when you go from cool weather to the Northwest over here...50c° and dry as a camels fart LOL...should be a law against mate eh??

cheers bullet

so how exactly do you get time to do this other stuff like outlaws comic if most of your days are like this

Jay's superhuman. He also worked on Hawkins Universe so maybe the good prof let him in on some way of interdimensional time travel, or splitting himself into more than one incarnation of himself.

Nice insight Jay!

Steve

LOL Steve. Ive actually cloned myself LOL.

Murambi: Basically Outlaws hasnt been updated for a fair while because I've been busy. Leads and seniors have the larger responsibility of a production, so they have to go to meetings, make sure stuff is right and so on, and sometimes that means staying late while the other artists have all gone home.

At the moment Im doing Outlaw over time on weekends, so its taking longer to get done as weekends are limited too because I need to have a life, or at least a bit of one LOL. Plus I need to wash my pants at some point, as theres only so many times you can reverse them in a week.

cheers
J

See that's the best part of working form home mate.
I can go to work in my P.J.'s!.. no need to wash pants until i run out of food!
Heh
g-man

Sounds like a lot of fun... great write-up jay :)

LOL, the best part about working from is being at home, but for me it kind of sucks as I love the studio atmosphere - the buzz of knowing a film is being made. Being at home day in and out is not good for the head as you tend to work more and play less, balance is key, and a bit of interaction with others is good too. though generally Im pretty quiet at work just doing the do.

Yeah we do have a good laugh too when the opportunity arises. From what can be a quiet working environment can turn into a real riot and everyone can break the mould and laugh about, but the team are well drilled and we can snap out of it as quickly as it started.

good stuff

Jay

Great thread and thanks for the write-up Jay! Very informative!

Amazing how my day is very similar except I'm in Architecture and Design as an associate designer. The higher up the more meetings you go to!

I would so love to get into a job like this, but I don't know if I have the talent to do it... plus going to school is extremely hard for me with a full time job already going... sounds like your work is pretty fun yet hard work at the same time...

I missed this first time around cool read cheers mate.

Dave :)

Dave? Identity crisis!

It's Miss Dava :alien::twins::giggle:

I think the new site's just starting to get to him, wouldn't surprise me if he starts swaying around in my underwear as well any day now:mstickle:

Nilla aka Dave

Jay, could you give me an approximation of the total man hours a char model or prop or whatever is budgeted to take? I know my models arent up to par YET but whats worse I believe I take too many years to complete each one.

Hahahahahaha!! Dammit, thats funny i laughed so hard i spat all my breakfast onto keyboard :(

Cool post, Jay! I'm a Senior Environment Artist, but I don't have any of the responsibilities you do. At our studio, you would probably be classified as a Lead. I would give a write up about my day, but it wouldn't be as exciting as yours. ;)

Please do :happy: It's always interesting to hear what life is like "in the industry".

Hehe, ok, here we go:

I usually arrive at the office before most of the rest of the art team due to my use of public transportation. If I miss my ferry boat, then I'm suddenly getting to work two hours later! So, I do my best not to miss it!

Before getting started, I'll typically take a look at gametrailers.com and giantbomb.com to keep up with current game reviews and the pulse of the industry for that day. I don't get a lot of time to play games so it's important that I stay up to date as much as possible by using other means.

I have several podcasts that I subscribe to and generally am listening to them all day at the office while working. These are an additional way for me to keep up with not only games, but films and comics as well, which all can help contribute to my subconscious creativity as well as keeping me up on pop culture.

Then it's just work work work all through the day. I'll typically head home around 6 pm (yay lack of leadership responsibility! ;))

Cheers Mike :)

Sometimes its nice not to be the boss

David :)

So David are you saying you have now removed Nilla's undergarments? and are now not the boss? LOL sorry mate couldnt resist

bullet

sounds like you are a busy person too Mike....I can see from what I have read about a different industry to mine...the closer you get or are at in planning/organising etc etc the workload increases...which in fact is identical to us construction people. So no matter what you do really as a job...you will end up putting in a lot of unpaid hours...doing thankless tasks to get the job done...whilst most of the crew are at the pub...makes you wonder sometimes which end of the stick one would prefer?

Yeah, I have no real desire to be put in charge of an art team. The only "in charge" I fantasize about is to somehow be the Creative Director for my own projects, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms!

Thanks Guys for all the cool feedback.

3dStudent: mmm, its just depends on the production limitations per model. You might only get a 3-4 days on a character, 1 day on a prop but then you may get a month or more on either as well, as I said its all down to the actual production limitations which are obviously budget constrained.

Mike, thanks dude, well can you get me a lead position then LOL. You must do a write up too, it would give an insight into the games side of things

cheers
Jay