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Interview with Sam Yang

Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you became a renowned artist?

During my high school years I loved to draw my favorite characters and all sorts of nasty creatures on paper. I decided then that I wanted to turn my "hobby" into a career. Inspired by video game cinematics, I finally decided that I needed to go to an art school to learn the fundamentals of 3D to get things started. After graduation I committed myself to polishing my skills in my free time so I didn't fall behind in the industry. Entering competitions on forums definitely helped me get closer to becoming a renowned artist - it is a great way to get more exposure, receive critique and open up to any freelance opportunities.

When looking at your work I can tell that you certainly don't lack ideas. From where to you extract your inspiration; is it comics, old movies, life or something out of the box?

Going back to the old-school low poly characters that we all remember being so amazing has been my newest approach this year. When recreating Zero from Marvel vs Capcom (originally from the Rockman X series) I knew he would already have a great target audience. This way people can easily relate to the character, which is something I think about a lot before committing to anything. I wanted him to have a new twist, yet maintain that iconic original design that Capcom came up with. Thinking out of the box is a good way of putting it. As artists, it's important that we try to step away from what's already been seen and introduce things that are fresh and unique. Some inspiration comes from watching my childhood favorites: Laputa, Nausicaa, and many others. As for video games, the ones that had an impact on me when I was young were Final Fantasy VII to X, StarCraft, and Diablo II.

Modeling-wise, have you ever started your model from scratch, disregarding the current stage or development, due to having a new idea?

Yes, I have. Sometimes the first pass of your model gets revised and tweaked afterwards in production. Coming back to it a second time or even a third time is usually for a final polish pass in most pipelines in the video game industry.

How have you refined your workflow after so many successful projects and competitions, and how has it evolved?

The reason I enter art competitions is not for the prizes, but because I learn something new at the end of each one. When I was a student I was trying to do everything in a single software package. After a lot of trial and error I started to understand how much faster and cleaner my workflow could be. Things like switching to RoadKill for UV unwraps, and rendering real-time on the Marmoset engine has saved me a ton of precious time. I work with 3ds Max, ZBrush, Roadkill, Marmoset and Photoshop. Learning how other artists approach their contest pieces is another great way of improving your skills as an artist. Silhouettes and making sure the shapes read well at a distance are very important as well.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you deviated from your current style and started to make cute furry creatures that the world could fall in love with?


(Laughs) I will make something cute and furry next time I get the chance! I do enjoy watching movies like Ice Age and Finding Nemo, so perhaps this new direction could turn out to be fantastic.

Because of the potential of 3D tools these days, do you ever make your concepts within them or do you usually create traditional concepts?

It's always better to keep up with what's new in the industry today. I don't really have a great grasp of tradition art; I usually just keep an open mind and let my imagination run wild. If it doesn't work out, then I slowly bring things back down to a simple level so I can adjust them. At the end of the day, my job as a 3D artist is to give people an epic experience with breathtaking characters and environment art so the creation process is very important.

It seems like you are happy in your job and like intersecting with the CG community. What do you do in your free time?

Working in the 3D industry has always been fun to me. Being able to contribute to well-known games such as League of Legends and StarCraft II has been extremely fun and fulfilling! As for my free time, taking some time off to get away from the computer is nice and important - especially in this industry, where so many hours are spent behind a desk. When I do get a spare moment I like to spend some time with my family and grab some drinks and party it up with some close friends.

Have you ever considered taking on a role as an educator? The reason I ask is that you present your art in a way that gives people an insight into the process you use.

I have never imagined myself has an educator before; I don't see myself as having great teaching abilities (Laughs). But I guess it's nice to try everything at least once. I would love to share my knowledge, experiences and honest opinion with artists who are seeking help in this field in the future!

Looking back to when you were younger, what were your goals when you were practicing your art?

Back in the day when I was a graduate, I was taught to not worry about low hourly wages and low freelance offers when starting out in the industry. It

was difficult to find jobs to begin with, so I accepted anything I could so my resume would expand more quickly. Studios only want people with experience. I've done 3D art in different fields such as aviation, architecture, flash animation and now at a game/cinematic company. All these good and bad decisions led me to some valuable industry experiences that money can't buy. I wanted to learn as much as I could while I was still young. Every company does things differently and has certain art styles. I believe seeing it from every perspective has helped me to understand what I want to do.

I know our readers are dying to know the sensation and feeling that you have after playing a game you worked on, or seeing a movie that has something you created in it. How does this feel?

(Laughs) I didn't know how to react after watching Smallville Season 7, or seeing StarCraft II and League of Legends publicly announced and released around the world! But yes, I'm really grateful when I look at how far I've come, from the days when I first drew a stick man on lined paper as a kid to someone who is now working on some of the most popular games around the world!

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us and looking forward to those cute furry creatures that the world has never seen before!


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