Dawid Batog
A blog/portfolio documenting each unit of my work
Unit 11 - Professional Profiles and Progression
I've created a great deal of work to present the skills I've gathered over the course of my education in 3D. All evidence of my work has been documented on an online portfolio/blog in which I've shown the ability to 3D model, texture the models that I create and then render/showcase the models using environments and lighting in order to make it as appealing as possible to a distinction grade standard. I have also made several different 3D art forums such as artstation and sketchfab in order to promote myself as an artist and possibly get scouted by a company looking for artists.
After I complete my current course I would like to move on to a higher education within a university. The universities I've looked at were Hertfordshire, Escape Studios and Brunel. Initially I was wholeheartedly convinced on going to Hertfordshire. The uni was very popular, had an excellent reputation and every student that graduated seemed to make beautiful work however once I took my time to look into the university by visiting on open days and interviews I've noticed that not every student's work is presented and the university itself is not very organised. On my interview I was not too sure where to go and so I asked a lecturer there if they could take me to the room where the interview was held. It took the lecturer half an hour and two other lecturers to finally find where the interviews where being held and for a university known for its 3D courses it really let me down that none of the lecturers knew about interviews. After looking more into Escape Studios by also going to open evenings and workshops I've noticed that Escape Studios takes a unique approach to lecturing 3D that no other university has access to and teaches the students with direct connections to the real 3D industry allowing for an environment that readies the student better for how real work would be treated. After looking at the big picture and how I want to progress as a student I've decided to study at Escape Studios instead of Hertfordshire and the straw that broke the camels back was when within the interview, the interviewer asked what other universities I've applied to and when I replied with Escape Studios and Brunel the interviewer scoffed and said that I would not get into escape studios with my work when at the time I've already received a proposition from Escape to study there as long as I achieve a pass grade.
This is the showreel that I've created in order to showcase the best work that I've created during my two years of studying at this course.
Below is the personal statement that I've created when applying for UCAS.
Personal statement
I harbour a great interest and excitement in the 3D animation and game design industry and I
am hoping that I will be able to put myself in a position where I can develop my skills and
land a place within a well-known company. This medium sparks my interests because it allows
for a greater range of demonstration when it comes to artwork such as 3D-showcasing,
interactive show-reels, in-engine rendering and even 3D-Printing models created through
software. Currently I am studying a course of lower qualification but of the same category of
3D work and I aim to progress onto a higher education once I pass the current one using the
skills I've acquired during the course of the two years.
Through my studies I've created a great deal of work to present the skills I've gathered over
the course of my studies in 3D and all evidence of my work has been documented on an online
portfolio in which I've shown the ability to 3D model using Maya, texture the models that I
create using Substance Painter and then render/showcase the models using various rendering
engines such as Arnold, Mental Ray and Iray to showcase environments and lighting in order to
make the models as appealing as possible to a distinction grade standard. I have also begun to
study rigging through forward and inverse kinematics and animation using said rigs. Outside of
my usual schoolwork I have begun creating my own 3D models using techniques such as Polygon
Modelling besides just Box Modelling in order to make sure I have a wide variety of skills
available. I've also discovered texturing using "Substance Painter" that proved to be superior
than the traditional ways of texturing in Maya taught to us in lessons however that required
me to learn how to UV map my models.
Over the course of my studies I've attempted to visit as many exhibitions/galleries as I could
in order to expand my knowledge and appreciation for the industry. One of the exhibitions that
I've recently attended was ''BlueGFX Expo 16" which is an exhibition that hosts some of the
most known companies within the 3D industry such as Autodesk, Adobe, Radeon and many more.
This exhibition allowed me to experience the top-quality work first hand and provided me with
a greater understanding of software I use everyday such as Maya through the different booths
and panels hosted at the exhibition.
The studios that inspire me the most are Riot Games and their very popular game named "League
of Legends", Blizzard Entertainment with games such as "Overwatch" or "World of Warcraft" and
CD Projekt Red with their game of the year "Witcher 3". These studios all have people with a
passion for the industry creating characters and environments that are both believable and
practical due to limitations of different videogame engines. From those studios some of the
artists that inspire me the most are Renaud Galand for his unique art-style and excellent
characters that he created for "Overwatch", Jan Marek for his brilliant character concepts
which were used to create "Witcher 3" and Daniel Orive for his absolutely astonishing quality
of work including his character "Ivern - The Green Father".
Outside of usual work I've also worked in a warehouse facility whilst driving a low-order
pickup truck and I've also participated in the Duke of Edinburgh award where I have spent 3
months doing voluntary work, practicing a skill and engaging in physical activities. I have
also spent 2 days camping and trekking to earn the bronze DofE award for my efforts.
Throughout, I have learned skills of time management, team-working, great awareness and
setting myself realistic boundaries.
I believe that these skills whilst not directly correlated to 3D will help me further improve
the quality and quantity of my work.
Completing the course will enable my progression into working for a company that specializes
in 3D work and offers positions in Game Asset Creation, Game Environment Creation or Character
Animation.
After completing my university course I hope to be able to move on to a company that creates videogames within the 3D medium as my passion is to create videogames for others to enjoy. In the future I aim to be a part of a large main-stream company such as Riot Games or Blizzard Entertainment.
I've also looked into entry-level and more advanced jobs that I might consider in the future using the Creative Skillset website. Some of the jobs that I've looked into and was interested in becoming a part of were "Games Artist", "Level Editor" and "Compositor" as I feel like the descriptions of the jobs relate to the work I wish to produce more than any other jobs available on the website. Out of the three I'm most interested in "Games Artist" as it is the job that I would love to be able to do, I've been involved with gaming for a very long time and I feel like I would be able to bring some new elements to the industry or improve the quality of it overall as I believe many other artists from this job archetype were in a similar situation to me.
The Show:
I belive that the show was a great addition to our course, it showcased our work to people that would not normally see it and allowed us to first hand experience the reactions and effects it had on other people. Below are two pictures that I took whilst being at the show to prove I attended.
