Why Think Tank: An interview...Originally from Milano, Italy, Giacomo Bonanno currently works as a Junior Environment Artist for Ubisoft Berlin. His journey, however, is much more complicated (and interesting) than the relatively short commute from northern Italy to Germany's capital. His experience is a digital one—capturing the essence of CG Art from Think Tank's online learning platform, Portal. Yet, his experience both as a student, and his first steps as a working professional are very, very real.
We sat down with Giacomo back in July of 2020 to discuss his experience learning remotely, and what his first impressions of the video game industry were. A lot has changed since our original conversation, so be sure to check in with what Giacomo's been up to via his Artstation and LinkedIn.
What led you into CG and 3D Art? Tell us your story.
I always wanted to work in the video game industry since I was a child. There weren’t any online courses at the time when I finished high school (Yes, I’m old), and studying at university abroad was too expensive for my pockets. So, after being stuck in the loop of not being happy with my job, I decided to pursue my dream job.
I started learning by myself with what I could find online, and then a couple years ago and I started studying Environments more seriously. I chose to attend the Think Tank Online's program, and am now working as a QA at Ubisoft Berlin with the goal to be an Environment Artist very soon.
What was your experience like learning from Think Tank Online?
I always wanted to come to Vancouver and attend the school, but as I said before, it was unfortunately not an option. But when I saw that Think Tank had started an online program, I couldn’t miss the chance! It was a tough year, I had to manage my time since I was working full time as well, but motivation and consistency led me through the way. I really like how the online course was structured, I was part of the first class from the online path so the course kinda shaped from our feedback to be the best for the future students.
What was it like going through each term (Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced), and what were some major differences?
The Foundation term is an introduction to the 3D world. You’ll learn the basic of modeling, sculpting, texturing and rendering. It’s a good start that will bring you to your next term with the right knowledge. At the end of the term, you’ll have the challenge to work on a final piece where you’ll use all the techniques you learned. After the Foundations term, you’ll have to select your specialization. In my case, I chose Environment Art.
Intermediate term is a term where you’ll learn more in-depth skills from Foundations, but related to your specialization path. These new skills will then be used for a final project, and in my case was specific to Environment Modeling. Pro tips: Go small. Don’t make the same mistake I did, and try to create a huge Environment.
In the Advanced term, you’ll focus on producing an industry-standard quality project. You’ll still learn some new stuff from a couple of courses, but everything will be on a weekly check-in with your Supervisor, and classmates to review your progress, and get critique and feedback. This is super important to help you progress—your work will be pushed to the highest quality possible.
What was your Portfolio Production Term like? Who were your mentors and supervisors?
I chose an artist outside Think Tank's usual selection. You'll have the option to reach out to an artist that you admire, and ask if they’re available for a mentorship. Think Tank will then take care of everything else. How awesome is that!?
My Mentor was Cliff Schonewill, a super talented artist that worked on titles such as God of War. Check out his Artstation. My Supervisor was the awesome Jonathan Chan. This term was the one that I liked the most. I built a really good relation with my mentor, we still talk today and keep up-to-date on what we're both doing. I also still ask him for feedback on my personal work. He helped me develop so much, not just for the mentorship project itself, but also artistically speaking.
In my Portfolio Production Term, I focused on building another Environment, but being mentored 1 on 1 for 3 months, I needed to take advantage of this time and absorb as much as I could from my Mentor.
What was the best support or advice you received?
From Term 2, Jonathan (our Supervisor) managed to invite a lot of people from the industry to make give talks, I found that really valuable because then you also had the time to ask questions and get feedback on the project you were working on. “MAKE IT BIGGER!” That was the advice that Jonathan always told us. The best advice was always to continue learning new techniques; to be flexible, and to keep pushing your work. If you're consistent, you’ll reach a level of quality that Games studios cannot ignore.
How did you transition from Think Tank Online and begin your career?
I didn’t find a job straight away. After my Portfolio Production Term, I didn’t even finish my final Environment since I had to focus on some personal matters. Still, even without having that much time for 3D, I managed to make some other small work to put on my portfolio, polish my skills, and learn new stuff.
At the same time, I started to respond to studios that had openings for Junior Environment or Hard Surface Artists. I love Hard Surface, and thought that some pieces in my portfolio could show my skills. I got some responses for Environment Art, took some art test, but it didn’t go as planned. It was a rough time: working a full-time job, while spending a lot of energy on your portfolio can lead to little sleep!
I saw an opening at Ubisoft Berlin where they were looking for an Hard Surface Artist. I applied for it, and casually reached out to one of the producers on LinkedIn. He told me that I had an interesting profile, but unfortunately, I didn’t have enough experience for the position yet, so he offered me another solution, joining the studio as a Junior QA before eventually transitioning to be an Environment Artist.
Are there any particular techniques that you use often, or do you like to experiment?
I would love to learn more in regards to procedurals and their integration, such as Houdini. I would like to dive deep in shaders work, so that I can make work smarter and faster. Usually, with every personal project I work on, I try to integrate something that I want to learn, so that I can then implement that into my professional workflow.
Any advice for future Think Tank Students?
Look for people that already work in the gaming industry and understand what it takes to be at their level. Don’t overdo stuff. Once you feel comfortable, start going step by step. Working on your portfolio should teach you something, a new technique, how to tackle something you never did before, or just speed up your workflow.
Think Tank will give you the right tools, but you’ll need to invest a lot of time to master them! Be persistent—motivation can push you, but consistency will get you the result. Even if you’re discourage by a finished product, if you're being consistent, the amazing results will come. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the time you put in to mastering your craft!
