Interview: per haagensen
Concept artist Per Haagensen reveals how moving to Zbrush and Maya helped his career
DICE’S experienced concept artist shares his insights
Concept artist and illustrator Per Haagensen has made the leap from traditional art to 2D digital art, and now embraces 3D modelling to bring his work to life. The Norwegian artist sees links between all disciplines, embracing different software and workflows to bring the most to a project. “I don’t really separate the experiences as I see 3D merely as an extension of my 2D toolbox – having an understanding of style and design, composition, light/shadows and anatomy is applicable and crucial to any discipline of art,” the artist explains.
“Working at a studio with so many other artists, be they 2D, 3D, lighting or VFX, has really been beneficial. It gives me a wider beacon to search for a solution to solving a concept task,” continues Per, who says that working in a games studio where the final result is a 3D asset means adapting to 3D is vital.
Per began his 3D journey in Lightwave, but nowadays, to keep the workflow quick and intuitive with his 2D concepting, Per keeps the entire process inside one package – Zbrush.” “As a digital painter I feel I can work very similarly in Zbrush, not getting hindered by technicalities… Other than that I do use Maya at the studio as well, since most of our 3D assets are in this format.”
the role
Per’s adaptation to 3D software has been driven by his day job as a concept artist for DICE, with speed and clarity of ideas being a key factor in favouring Zbrush over Photoshop alone. Per shares a typical workflow… A short brief from the narrative director [ND] is turned into a moodboard of references and inspiration that will provide a base for discussion, which is then presented to the art director [AD]. More revisions and discussions continue before Per begins in earnest on creating a highlydetailed 3D model, while also refreshing the 2D paintings to hone the two side-by-side.
“At DICE the role of the concept artist is not only to produce pretty pictures, but to be an extension of the art directors,” reveals Per, adding he must “assist them in helping the project achieve the art style and tone they have set. This entails producing concepts, references and moodboards, paint-overs and guidance to out our fellow artists and designers.” It’s now also more common for the concept artist to work directly with the 3D artists and give them 3D concept meshes to work from, or we can take over a model and tweak details directly in a 3D environment rather than do a paintover,” he explains.
Adapt and develop
In this context the merging of 3D into a traditionally 2D role meant Per had to push himself to adapt. “It is challenging sometimes to know how far to take the finish of the 3D model before rendering and finishing the concept with painting. Deadlines will dictate this to a certain extent but usually it is quicker to do certain things just with paint. Of course, the more detailed the 3D concept mesh, the less is needed to be explained in the concept painting.”
Per is clear that adapting to 3D has been pivotal to his workflow and role as a concept artist, and urges anyone wanting to join the industry to focus on the learning: “I would say finding your place so you can focus on a skill which you can excel at and become a valuable asset to a studio,” says Per as he adds: “I do also think it is important for you to want to become part of something bigger, be a team player and contribute whatever you can to achieve this goal. Ego really has no place in a good game development team.” Find out more about Per’s work by visiting www.bit.ly/per-haagensen
I don’t really separate the experiences… I see 3D merely as an extension of my 2D toolbox