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An archived Hellgate: London feature. See the Hellgate Archives for more.

Interview: Lee Dotson and Charlie Lapp talk about their art training, background, and influences.
Date: June 1, 2007
Source: Posted here courtesy of Apocalyptic.

IGN Insider Interview

Inside the Industry is a new series on Insider where we give our readers a closer look at specific jobs in and around gaming. Developing and releasing a video game requires the cooperation of so many talented people that those looking to be a part of the process have plenty of options. Today we're spotlighting two artists working on Hellgate London. Lee Dotson (character artist) and Charlie Lapp (background artist) were kind enough to chat with us about their education, inspirations, and responsibilities as professional designers.

Can artists maintain their visions in the format of a game? Are they forced to make all women look like porn stars? What do you need to break into the industry? Read on to find out. When you're finished let us know what you thought of the feature and which facet of the industry you'd like Insider to explore next by writing in to the mailbag.

Insider: What is your formal training and background in art?

Charlie Lapp: I am primarily self-taught but I did receive an art degree from a local college. This was right around the time that home PC's were becoming powerful enough to run a good 3d package so there really weren't any digital art courses available at the time. I taught myself how to use Photoshop, 3d Studio Max and every other digital art tool I've ever used. After briefly using Imagine and Hash's Animation Master I started out with 3d studio 4 and quickly switched over to the first version of 3d Max. I've been using 3d Studio Max now for close to ten years.

Lee Dotson: I attended the Savannah College of Art and Design for a little over a year before I dropped out of school to pursue working in the games industry full time. I've recently begun taking classes part-time at ConceptArt.org Atelier since I think it's important to always be learning / finding new ways to challenge oneself.

Insider: Was developing art for games something you always aspired to as an artist or was it another outlet (comics, illustration) that originally drew you to the craft? What is your preferred medium?

Charlie Lapp: All of the above! I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do for quite a while all I knew was that I wanted to do something related to art or music. Even though I have been playing video games my entire life it didn't really settle in that I could do it for a living until I was about 22 years old. Before I got into the gaming industry I spent my free time making levels for Doom and Duke Nukem as well as doing my fair share of drawing and painting. If I hadn't gotten into the gaming industry I probably would have ended up being an illustrator. When working with traditional media I prefer working with oil paint.

Lee Dotson: Growing up I was just fascinated with the idea of making games so I was interested in anything that had to do with the actual process of making games. The focus on art didn't really come about until I was finishing up high school, though. I had been programming and doing sprite-based art for some simple games that I was working on with friends, but it eventually became clear that I needed to focus on one or the other if I didn't want to be mediocre at both.

As for my preferred medium... It really depends on what I'm trying to accomplish. Professionally, I'm most at home using Photoshop or Mudbox, but lately I've really been enjoying the opportunity to go into the studio and work with more tactile mediums for a change of pace from all the digital work I normally do.

Insider: What other games have you worked on? How have these projects differed from Hellgate and what projects have you been inspired by?

Lee Dotson: Anachronox, Alice, Unreal Championship 2, along with an unannounced project at Blizzard-North and some other projects here and there that never saw the light of day. Honestly, every project I've worked on has been so different from Hellgate that it's difficult to even begin to compare them. Apples and oranges.

As to inspiration... I usually pull from sources outside of games. I collect most anything that has imagery I like: books on piercings, tattoos, art nouveau paintings, fashion magazines, contemporary fantasy/sci-fi artists. Anything, really.

Charlie Lapp: The first game I worked on was Blood Omen 2. I created background art and a good deal of the in-game special effects. I made blood! Lots and lots of BLOOD!! I then went on to work on SimCity 4 and a few unreleased titles while I was at Blizzard North. I've definitely had more creative input on Hellgate than any other project I've been involved with. I get inspired by movies, comics, video games and various commercial and fine artists.

Insider: What are the differences in the creative process when developing art for a game versus any other project? How collaborative is the process and do you feel like your original vision is often maintained?

Charlie Lapp: Every video game company has a different process so this is going to change depending on what company an artist is working for. Some companies give their artists a high degree of creative control while others employ an assembly line process. Here at Flagship every background artist gets to 'own' their levels. This means we are responsible for the look, feel and game play for the levels we work on so, yes, my original vision is definitely maintained.

Lee Dotson: To be honest, I haven't done much professional art outside of games. When I'm working on personal projects the biggest difference is that I'm doing something purely for myself so there's a lot more experimentation and I tend to tackle different subject matter. When I'm doing game art there tends to be lots of "Fire! Spikes! Tough Guys!" and of course, "More Porn Star-ish Women!!!" But, when I'm working on art for myself I like to use a lot of clean line work and more delicate design work / subject matter. I really enjoy designing crazy monsters and ornate suits of armor, but I also enjoy the chance to be in a different head space when I'm at home.

In terms of collaboration in games, it really depends on the makeup of your team. Some art director / project leads have a very specific vision that they want to see put forth; in those cases it's more like being a craftsman than an artist. There's a definite joy in making a great model, texture, etc. but it's not really a creative task. At Flagship, specifically, there are definite overarching themes and guidelines that I'm working with but there's still a lot of room for people to bring their ideas to the table so it's a more collaborative process.

Insider: What advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the industry? Would you recommend a blend of art and technology training?

Charlie Lapp: If you want to work in this industry you are going to need a portfolio with samples of your work that meet or exceed the industry standard. Your samples are going to need to reflect the position you want to obtain. So it depends on what position you are looking to fill. A concept artist position is going to require a focus on traditional art skills while a background artist or modeling position is going to require a focus on digital art skills. What is needed to acquire these skills is entirely up to the individual so I can't really say whether going to school or learning on your own is the way to go.

Lee Dotson: Work hard and stay in school -- wait, I dropped out of school... So yeah, just focus on working hard. Seriously, I've known many artists who had / have far more natural ability than me but weren't as successful in the long run because they weren't able to stay focused on their craft.

As game art is both a technical and creative discipline, you really need to be able to straddle that divide -- to work within tight technological limitations and figure out ways to get around any limitations time constraints or technology provide. Artistically, I can't stress enough the importance of having a good understanding of basic anatomy, composition, and color theory, in particular. Color plays a huge roll in game design as it's used for setting a level's mood and conveying whether or not a player is poisoned or hurt (etc.). So, knowing how to combine those elements together without turning your game into a circus is critical.

Insider: Artistically, what are your favorite games? They don't necessarily have to include great gameplay, just great vision and style.

Lee Dotson: I really liked the de-saturated color palettes and sense of scale in Shadow of the Colossus, the quirky character design in Disgaea, and pretty much everything about FFXII.

Charlie Lapp: God of War, Duke Nukem, Jak and Daxter, Metal Gear Solid 2, Grim Fandango, Pencil Whipped, Diablo, Doom.

Insider: Charlie, obviously your landscapes for Hellgate are set in a version of the real world. When designing the settings are you pulled more towards reality or fantasy?

Charlie Lapp: I do my best to blend the two. Having a certain level of reality makes fantasy that much more believable and having a certain level of fantasy makes things more interesting. We use real world locations as a basis for what we do but we are always more concerned with providing the player with something fun and entertaining to experience than creating a perfectly accurate version of the locations we are building.

Insider: Lee, how often during character creation does someone lean over your shoulder and say something like "He needs more guns" or "She needs less clothing?"

Lee Dotson: You know, I think I've waged the breast size vs. practical clothing holy war on almost every single project I've ever worked on. Ever. I'm not really against showing skin, but I think it should be appropriate to the character and there are so many more interesting ways to have a character be 'sexy' than just slapping a buxom figure into a bikini. I was particularly proud of the Necris character, Lauren, in Unreal Championship 2. I felt that I'd managed to design a character that was attractive and stylish to contrast the busty and scantily clad main female character, Selkhet.