GDC 2009 - Rapczak - Unknown Soldiers: Technical Artists

Unknown SoldiersTechnical Artists

Jesse Rapczak | Exigent

Who is this guy?

Who is this guy?

» Technical Art Director for Exigent

Who is this guy?

» 3 years bouncing back and forth between India and China studios

Who is this guy?

» India Tech Art Team pet project

Outsourcing: A Misnomer

» Stop thinking of outsourcing as something separated from the rest of your pipeline.

» Embrace the concept of a remote team working closely with your internal staff.

» Understand what it takes to get the job done.

What is Technical Art?

» All Game Art is Technical Art

» Game Art serves three masters: Design, Code, and Visuals.

» The challenge - Get it to play well, run well and look great.

What is Technical Art?

» Without artists who are technical, programmers have to implement art by hand.

» “Programmer Art” has not evolved into an endearing term.

Who are “Technical Artists”?

» The confused offspring of a forbidden love affair between artist and programmer?

» Someone not artistic enough to be a “real” artist and not smart enough to be a “real” programmer?

» NO WAY!

Technical Artist Traits

» Critical thinker» Logical thinker» Team player» Problem solver» Sees the bigger picture» Takes initiative» Humble, always learning» Loves games!

What do Tech Artists do?

» Tech» Pipeline planning and implementation» Tools development through scripting

and programming» Exporting, troubleshooting, testing

and QA» Software training and technical

support» Game Engines / Shaders / Lighting» Internal Help Desk

What do Tech Artists do?

» Art» Modeling» Texturing» Rigging / Animation» Level Design» Visual Effects» Optimization» Etc

» Since all game art IS technical art, there is no single profile of a Technical Artist!

Tech Artists in Outsourcing

» Must be leaders, because other artists will look to them for answers.

» Relevant artistic skills are valuable. Always seek to improve them.

» Technical skills should be focused on efficiency and quality.

Tech Artist Primary Objectives

1. As leaders, help other artists become more technical.

1. Become game artists, not just “CG artists”.

2. Learn tools and exporting.

3. Understand how game engines and real-time rendering work.

Tech Artist Primary Objectives

2. As learners, become more artistic.

1. Observe colleagues and their techniques.

2. Understand production from the lowest level to stay in tune with the process.

3. Have an artistic specialty.

Tech Artist Primary Objectives

3. As team players, seek to improve efficiency and the end result.

1. In production, time is money.

2. There are multiple ways to do things. But which is the right way?

3. Try to reuse (assets, scripts, adapting workflows).

10 Common Problems in Outsourcing…

… and how Technical Artists help solve them.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

10. Industry Jargon

» Tech Artists help decipher client instructions, i.e. "Ensure the number of visible vertices doesn't exceed the available texels."» (Don’t model more high res detail

than your normal map can capture.)

» Maintain an internal Glossary of Terms with links to tutorials and further reading.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

9. Inexperienced Clients

» Some clients have never outsourced before!

» We've done this hundreds of times.

» Tech Artists look out for stumbling blocks by asking the right questions early on.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

8. Every Project is Different

» Pipelines, tools, and requirements are always changing.

» Tech Artists are front-line integrators of new tech in the studio.

» Break down process on internal wiki, bringing the team up-to-speed quickly.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

7. Sure, we’ve done that 1000 times! <gulp>

» The industry is always changing.

» Sometimes work comes along that you have never done before.

» As problem solvers, Tech Artists are at home in this situation!

Common Problems in Outsourcing

7. Sure, we’ve done that 1000 times! <gulp>

» Some tech art "firsts" last year: HDR lightmapping HDR skybox creation Spherical panorama photo stitching High-end UE3 VFX Assets for real-time displacement Assets/animations for GPU cloth sim

Common Problems in Outsourcing

6. “Help! My ___ doesn’t work!”

» Problems arise in production, reducing efficiency.

» Tech Art Team serves as Internal Help Desk, troubleshooting issues.

» We maintain a forum of Help Tickets, so artists can search for common problems.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

5. Keeping pace w/ the industry

» New "grassroots" software and techniques are constantly being adopted by teams everywhere.» e.g. Crazy Bump, xNormal, FAogen

» Tech Artists actively seek new workflows to create better art more quickly. » Maintain an internal Wiki-based

training archive.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

4. Your Tools Are Teh Broke

» Distributing in-house tools to outsourcers is a double-edged sword.

» Technical Artists can trouble shoot problems and even solve them…

» But, please, test your pipeline outside before you send it over!

Common Problems in Outsourcing

3. “Our team is small” or “We don’t have an art team”

» Some clients have little or no experienced art support staff.

» Tech Artists help define art pipeline and drive implementation of final assets.

» "Virtual Art Department" model.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

2. Autode$k 2008, 2009, 2010…

» Come on, guys. Seriously!

» Most clients are 1-2 versions behind.

» Keeping costs low with such diverse pipelines is a big problem.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

2. Autode$k 2008, 2009, 2010…

» Standardize on one software & version.

» Keep floating licenses of other software on maintenance for final conversion.

» Secret Sauce: Tech Artists create scripts and plugins that make this possible and practical.

Common Problems in Outsourcing

1. Quality Assurance

» Increased pressure to deliver bug-free "game ready" assets

» Large number of assets to be checked across multiple projects

» Tech Art maintains tools and scripts to streamline the process and spread the work to all artists

Recap: Hallmarks of a good Technical Art Team

» Helps artists become more technical through:» Ongoing training

» Technical support on projects

» Exposure to scripting and new tech

Recap: Hallmarks of a good Technical Art Team

» Helps boulster the studio by:» Streamlining client

communication

» Increasing final quality and efficiency

» Making technically challenging projects possible

Building a Technical Art Team for Outsourcing» Challenges

» Not well-known job role in emerging gaming industries (China, India, etc).» Tech Artists may not even realize they are

Tech Artists!

» Lack of experienced talent due to limited production exposure

» Language Barrier» Tech Artists may have detailed queries that

can be difficult or time-consuming to translate correctly.

Building a Technical Art Team for Outsourcing

» You may have technical artists in your ranks and not even know it.» Do an assessment of internal staff

based on technical artists traits discussed earlier.

» Hire a Lead Technical Artist» Source experienced talent from

local game industry» Drive tech art team based on your

studio and project needs

Building a Technical Art Team for Outsourcing

» Find a Lead Technical Artist who reads/writes English.

» Failing that, hire a really good translator, and provide English lessons!

Developers!

» Remember that your project has a "language" of its own.

» Make sure your remote team can understand it.

» Ask the right questions and keep communication lines open and clear.

Technical Art Resources

» http://www.tech-artists.org Forum and Wiki

» http://wiki.polycount.net/ » http://boards.polycount.net/

Polycount artists are technical!

» My e-mail: jesse@exigent3d.com