Meet the Team! – Adam Devine, Junior Technical Artist

meet the team: adam devine, junior technical artist

adam is coming up on his one year anniversary at skyhook! as he nears this milestone, we thought it would be good to chat with him about how he found his path into the industry, as well as his experiences (thus far) as a technical artist!

Now then, what’s your role at Skyhook, Adam? 

A Technical artist’s role is to essentially bridge the hap between the Art and Programming teams. My personal duties usually involve, the development of procedural art tools for large scale maps in Unreal Engine. These tools are generally used for populating the maps we create, with instanced assets in a much quicker time than placing them by hand.

So, how did you find your way to Skyhook? 

I became aware of Skyhook while studying at University. I spent much of my time before, and after, graduating trying to get noticed and find a studio willing to take me on; I was fortunate enough to be accepted by Skyhook as my entry into the games industry!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I love getting to learn new processes on a regular basis. Technical art is a fairly broad subject with plenty of areas which are constantly evolving! It never gets stale in this job.

What other departments of Skyhook do you interact with? 

As I said earlier, part of a Tech Artist’s job is to act as a bridge between multiple departments. We tend to work closely with art, programming and design to assist them with getting the assets into engine, and making sure everything is optimised.

What project/piece of work are you most proud of so far?

At this point in time, my proudest achievements are the tools I have helped develop. It’s tough to pick a favourite. I’m sure in time I’ll be able to answer this question in more depth!

What education path did you follow to break into the industry?

I actually studied general art and design at Hugh Baird College and learned a lot of art fundamentals. It wasn’t until moving onto University, where I studied illustration with animation, that I started translating those skills into 3D art. This was where I fully committed to 3D art as a career path.

How did you go about searching for a job after your studies?

Luckily, at University we were tasked with finding as many studios in and around Liverpool, as well as overseas. We obtained contact details, job listings etc and put them into a PowerPoint document so we could refer back to them later. I then began contacting studios every so often in hopes of getting my foot in the door of the industry.

I also checked ArtStation daily to see if there were any new job postings that I could realistically do at the time of leaving University.

What games did you enjoy playing while growing up?

Mostly single player; particularly the Batman: Arkham series, Assassin’s Creed, Jak and Daxter, The Legend of Zelda and a bunch of others.

How would you advise those looking to become a Technical artist or have a career within the industry?

Reach out to as many people within your chosen field as possible. This will give you a better idea of what they are searching for, and what qualities are often absent in applications from graduates. Of course, fresh graduates will always be in need of extra training. However you’ll have a much better chance of standing out if you can demonstrate an understanding of the requirements.

Lastly, you want employers to see you as someone that could slot right into the culture of the company.