3D AR T INSPIRES

“In my day, Grammar had programs going to TAFE colleges where you could go and learn game development and stuff, and I got my foundations through that,” he said.

“I first started teaching myself at 14, I’m now 20 and a lot has changed, there’s been a lot of growth, a lot of new trends.

“I think at the moment it’s going into a bit of a golden age in this sort of industry.”

Mr Szandro said he received a warm reception from the Coding@ Grammar Club, who could potentially follow in his footsteps.

“I wanted to go and pay it back, and get the students interested,” he said.

“They’re going to be the next generation coming through the door and could be future employees or business partners.

“I had a lot of questions which was really good, the students were really engaged and I was really impressed with the turnout.

“It seems to be a really big interest for this industry in Townsville.”

Mr Szandro said while the concept of freelancing may be daunting for some, it was the best way for him to break into the industry and get his foot in the door.

“My first job out of school was with Telstra as an IT support technician, and I was freelancing and running my own business at the same time,” he said.

“Now I’m freelancing full time, I’ve managed to work with a variety of companies. “Patience and hard work is the number one variable. “If you just put your head down and focus on what you’re doing, you’ll get there.

“Most people freak out about freelancing, but it’s going to become more and more common — you look at business models like Uber, Uber drivers are just freelance taxi drivers.”

Mr Szandro has worked with big- name clients including Video Co- Pilot, Die Cast Magic Games, Shapefarm AB, Zero Latency and Dekogon, and is also working with Texas- based GAD Studios on a militarystyle virtual reality simulator game.

Mr Szandro said he hoped to take his artistry further and start a company structure one day, and is currently working with local training agencies to run workshops and training sessions.

“I’ll be definitely trying to find opportunities to collaborate with businesses. I think freelancing is really just the first step,” he said.

“I’m looking at ( local workshops) as a way to handtrain future staff.

“That’s very important, if I run them through the same way as I was when I first got started in this, I want to try and give that same sort of training. “I’m a big believer in hiring local if you can.” Townsville Grammar School Head of ICT and eTraining Simon Ward said the chance to network with Mr Szandro was a wonderful opportunity for all students to get an insight into getting started with 3D modelling from an industry specialist.

“It’s also really meaningful to our current students as Bryce is a past student and his achievements provide our current students with credible goals,” Mr Ward said.

PICTURED BELOW: Bryce Szandro.