Bill Crosbie manages the Opcode6’s Youtube Channel and recently has posted some great candid interviews with technical artists from the GDC conference asking great questions that provide insight into the technical artist trade including what it means to be a tech artist,what makes a great technical artist, and the best education path to be a technical artist. Great stuff! Check out all the interviews here.

  • Jeff Hanna, Senior Technical Artist at Volition and leader of the Technical Artist boot-camp at GDC11, describes what it means to be a technical artist in the games industry.
  • Jason Parks ,TA at Sony Online, talks about what it means to be a Tech Artist and the importance of Python in your toolkit.
  • Christian Akesson, TA at Sony Online, discusses the work performed and skills developed as a technical artist.
  • Erik Lindquvist, TA for Avalanche, discussing what TAs do on a day to day basis and areas educators interested in developing TAs should focus on.
  • Seth Gibson, TA from Microsoft Game Studios, works his way past doors opening in to him and dead batteries in the camera to talk about the importance of mathematics, programming and the ability to bridge between engineering and art.
  • Bronwen Grimes, TA for Valve Software, discusses why it is important for a TA to have flexibility in both education and job structure.
  • Martin Nillson, TA for IO Interactive, discusses his views on technical art and what students need to focus on to become a technical artist.
  • Adam Pletcher, TA for Volition, talks about the kinds of things that keep tech artists on their toes… like drives with transfer rates that aren’t up to spec. A lot of other great info for aspiring tech artists and educators.
  • Scott Harbor, TA for Criterion Games, talks about the role a broad background plays in being a successful technical artist. Don’t run away from your math courses!
  • Ben Cloward, TA for Bioware Austin, talks about how a TA can solve huge problems or automate complex tasks quickly through the power of scripting, resulting in more time to engage in other creative work. Also, he gives a stern warning for students looking to enter the industry with work that is ‘good enough’ in school.
  • Craig Goodman, Insomniac Games, shares some laughs and really deep concepts about the need for TAs to be broadly educated, perpetually asking questions about the world and always learning. This video is a little longer, but stick with it to the end. It’s worth it.
  • Rob Butterworth, TA for Krome Studios, talks about how you cannot avoid mathematics as a technical artist and the importance of continually teaching yourself new concepts because of the ever-changing nature of deployment hardware.
  • Chelsea Hash, TA for 1st Playable, talks about the importance of self direction and curiosity. ALso, an love of discovering new Trig identities comes up in the discussion.
  • Tom Long, Instructor at Rasmussen College and TA, talks about the need to chart your own educational course.