Let's start at the beginning, what made you decide to pursue being an artist for games, do you always plan to take this route?

I haven't got a beginning like most game artists where they say: "I've been drawing since I was 1day old" etc. In fact i didn't really get into any form of art until just before college. I was first interested in pursuing art when I saw Concept Artists previsualising for Star Wars episode 1. I just found it fascinating how their ideas would be translated into an actual movie for people to enjoy. I loved the fact that they worked for movies and games. I started a game art course in university after making a portfolio of self taught art skills, and began trying to be a Concept Artist. That was about a year and a half ago. Shortly after that I met Ben Mathis who introduced me to something i found even more interesting; '3D Character Art'. He showed me so much in a very short amount of time, and I knew immediately that this was for me. I could transfer all my artistic knowledge over, and the idea of being the one to actually Make the characters in 3dimensions for someone to possibly interact with was far more attractive than just visualising it. So yeah... Ben messed everything up, lol.

ComiCon must have looked like a hard challenge. Personally, why did you enter ComiCon?

I entered ComiCon to better my skills. Before it had begun I had successfully made my first two character models, and i wanted to jump in at the deep end and pit myself alongside professionals just to see the outcome. I learned so much from it, far more than I ever have in any school project. I think the reason is mainly because you are being critted constantly by fellow artists (professional and amateur) around the world, instead of just a single lecturer who may or may not know what they are talking about. I really recommend it for any level of artist looking to improve, or create a nice piece.

To get this entry done must have been no easy feat. Tell us about your working habits?

To be honest the best advice I can offer is to pick a good artist on the forum and copy the crap out of his workflow. The main problem with working by yourself in your room is that you have to make all your mistakes by yourself. Looking at someone work online who is clearly more experienced than you can be a way of skipping loads of deadend methods and learning rapidly. Making sure you have fun with the project and picking something you don't mind looking at for a long time is important. Nobody wants to work on something that bores them. Finishing something is very important to me. Whenever I see someone with a million WIPs it just lets me know they don't 'want it' as bad as i do.

Can you describe from concept to the final beauty render, what it took for you complete your entry?

Most people i know make characters in this order:

- High Poly in a sculpting program from a simple basemesh
- Retopologise the finished sculpt
- UV unwrap
- Create Normal Maps and Paint Textures

I deliberately chose not to do it in this order, because I felt that my skill level wasn't really at a stage where I should be shaping things in 'clay' as I had used zbrush once before and didn't feel comfortable with it yet. Instead I Modeled the Character completely as I wanted in 3dsMax then High Poly Sculpted. This method isn't particular a good one if you want to make any real shape changes once you begin sculpting, but I knew exactly what shape I wanted and felt that this method would be a good test of my modeling skills. It worked for me, but there is no real 'right' or 'wrong' way of doing things. Most people just do what works for them.

What would be your advice for other aspiring game artists out there? What type of training do you think would be helpful in becoming a successful 3d artist?

Well I suppose the advice I'd have for other students like myself is to set regular tasks for yourself. Most people don't realise that when your a 3D artist your working like 60hours a week 11+ months a year, which is like 2700 hours a year of work. If your not trying to work towards that amount of workload then your skill level is probably just poor. Students make the mistake of often comparing themselves to other students, and their peers when they should be comparing their work to professionals. Buy training DVD's and books, and get on the forums and online communities so you can get feedback on your work. Its easy to hide your work and pretend like your improving by yourself, but benefiting from crits from other artists is something you should make sure you are a part of.

What your initial plans were, and how they reflect on your final product?

For my entry i knew i wanted to pick a character that had a really recognisable silhouette, because people usually react to something they are familiar with positively. I figured that chun-li has one of the most recognisable head silhouette's and pretty much went about looking for the best comic book rendition of her. I intentionally picked the less muscular version of her so I could convey more of her sex appeal in her final pose.

What plans do you have for your future?

Simple. Get really good, until I'm employable enough to become a character artist. I actually don't care where. Just as long as I get to make 3D art. Until then, you can probably expect me to be entering these competitions..

Would you do it all again next year if you could?

Obviously! I've met so many great artists through online events like this and my improvement has been drastic because of it. Every time I finish a comp. I look back at an old piece and am astounded by the improvement. Even now I look back at this piece and it's nice to know I could do better were I to do it again. It would be counterproductive for me to not enter. Plus Comicon is helpful in putting a nice piece in your portfolio. Nobody cares how much passion you “claim” to have for games. Your passion should shine through portfolio, so it makes sense to do it all again.