Experienced general artist looking to join team Thread

You can see some of my work at:

www . sheaspina . com - (sorry you'll have to type it in, apparently being a new member I'm not allowed to post links or urls :/)

Several videos & my resume etc. are there also
also you can find me on zbc (same username), or on 3dtotal under 'spindraft'

What I can do:
I'm very comfortable with both h.s. & organic modelling, texturing, etc.,
Can also do some 2d concepting. While I've not kept practice enough to say I could do 2d concepting at a professional level, I do have the fundamental understandings/skills to 'get by' in a crunch if neccessary.
What I can't do:
Couldn't rig or animate my way out of a wet paper bag.

What I'm looking for:

I've spent many years dabbling away on my personal works (& more on professional), & have gotten to the point with it where I feel like I'm kind of just doing the same stuff again & again. I'm looking to join a team of artists on a project to get some specific focus/direction, & to have the opportunity to meet & share knowledge with other artists.

On the technical end, I'd like to get some experience working more directly in a low poly / real time pipeline. I'm very comfortable with general modeling & uv/texturing, retopo'ing & baking maps etc. etc., but I'd like to be in a more purposeful/specific environment where I have clear budgets etc. to adhere to. Ideally, for the sake of learning the most current techniques I can, I would prefer to work on a project utilizing dx11 / tessellation etc., & other current techniques. Point being, if I'm going to donate my time, I'd like to get the most technical learning value out of it as possible.

On the artistic end, Ideally I'm into scifi/horror &/or apocalyptic kind of stuff. I'm open to & capable of working on both character & enviro. & if possible would like a good dose of both organic+hard surface. Unless there's something astheticly unique about it that catches my fancy, I'm not really into the whole elves & dragons thing. Don't shy away if your project doesn't slide right in there, I'm just saying given the option that's the direction I lean in.

Me professionally:
Been in the architecture business for roughly 12 years. Started doing viz work about 8 years ago, started doing it full time (no drafting) about 5 years ago, and freelance & teaching 1 year ago. Throughout most of those years I've also spent much of my spare time doing more general cg work (char. env. etc.).

Me personally:
Laid back, sense of humor....it generally takes a lot to offend me or get under my skin. I'm pretty easy going, but I also know when it's time to play & time to work.

What I'd like to see in a team:
Basically, I want to see that you're a serious team. All the typical trappings to suggest such apply, if you fit the bill you almost certainly know what all those are, don't see much need get specific. I understand these things can be difficult to see through to fruition, all I'm saying is if you come at me with the 'ol "I have this awesome idea", you're very likely wasting your breath.

What you can expect from me:
I've been doing what I do on my own time for years, and I've taken risks & made sacrifices to continue pursuing it. As such, I'm not the guy that flakes out in a week because of this or that. If I ditch out on a project, it's either because I found something more awesome to work on or I got hit by a bus. If I can't do something/have something come up etc., I at least have the common courtesy to simply say so (you don't make it 12 years through a career by being a d.b.). I generally roll max/zb/ps...ocasionally still use mud for a few things. If you'd like a more specific list of app's I'm familiar w/ please view my resume at my site.

I currently work freelance, so sometimes my availability might be severely limited for a few days, while most times I'm entirely available for weeks at a time. Atm business is slow, but you never know. I am also currently looking for a full time gig somewhere, so chances are when/if that happens I'll have to m.i.a. for a week or so to move.

Feel free to pm/reply here/point to your thread/email me (info @ above url) ....etc. ...I'm easy.

Thanks for your time,
Shea o/

;TLDR
Look at my website - sheaspina dot com
I know what I'm doing, & want to work with some people that know what they're doing more than I know what I'm doing so I can eat their brains.
I like zombies in spaceships
I'm not a douchebag, but I also have a life.........which consists primarily of doing 3d stuff.....but..........yeah :/
You can contact me any way you like, short of showing up at my house in a creepy getup.

Edited by: sheaspina

Your 3d is pretty reasonable, as is your texturing - but I think I'd like to see some assets in a game environment before I'd consider taking someone such as yourself on for a project; there are a number of important differences between game assets and non-game assets that can cause them to render very differently from within an engine.

Edit: Also, posting wireframes of game assets is always good for constructive criticism

Edited by: ambershee

Hey Shea

I'm one of the project leaders from the open Outcast project and we are currently looking for new 3D artists! Your profile looks very promising and we would like to get in touch with you.

Please send me a mail on madcybi@openoutcast.org if you are interested too

If you are interested in some more information, just see on our homepage / blog HERE

Thanks & hope to hear from you soon
Reto "madcybi" Schmid

amershee: I hear what you're saying, part of why I want to do this tbh, as obviously most employers are going so say exactly that. Suppose I could do a quick retopo/bake of something if that helps here.

I've got wires posted around some places (3dt/cgtalk) in wip forums, there should be a bit there in my blog as well. Until I can post links and what not here, if someone wants to see something specific just let me know & I'll put something together for you.

madcybi: Thanks man, I'll have a look through o/

And again, thanks for you time guys, I know that's an earful....I appreciate it.

sheaspina wrote: amershee: I hear what you're saying, part of why I want to do this tbh, as obviously most employers are going so say exactly that. Suppose I could do a quick retopo/bake of something if that helps here.

My recommendation would be to do a quick environment (modular assets!) in an existing game or engine. A playable level in a game is even better. If you're into characters, being able to rig them in a basic sense even if you can't animate them tends to be very useful, as it means you'll understand more about the concerns of the mesh for animation.

Topology's not really an issue for me. That's not to say there aren't things for me to learn (there always is), but I'm not going to hand anyone triarmpits and spiral loops down your limbs either. In any event, so long as you haven't passed too far down the pipe already, it's easy enough to make any needed revisions on that stuff. My biggest issues w/ rigging has always been actually building the rig (not so much anymore w/ things like cat, it's far easier than it used to be), and skinning (painting weights) generally drives me mad. I can do it (and have), it's just not an area I'd consider myself to be remotely proffecient in. Anyway, wether it's a character or a level, part of my problem with doing personal work on my own, is that I tend to design & design & design. Anyone in relevant fields should know that can be a death adder (I've seen it numerous times in architecture), you have to know when to stop designing...& start getting the rest of the work done. If you wonder why 90% of my personal stuff isn't finished, that's why.

I've thought about taking a set from a film or something and making that a mini-level/enviro. (some of the interior of the Event Horizon was one idea) to restrict myself from getting sucked into designing. But again, that's just another reason why I've decided joining a team would be a good thing for me to do right now...it fits very well several of the things I need to get done for myself, and I may as well help out some other folks with their project & make a friend or 2 in the process.

In any event, I'll see about putting something together in an engine here in the next day or 2.

Hey Shea,
Perhaps Siege of Inaolia is for you?
Do check us out at Indiedb.com or Siegeofinaolia.com
Ive sent you a message via your contact forum as well, hope to hear from you soon.

Hello Shea,

I am from Las Cruces to I even went to NMSU and DABCC several years ago. I am the 3D art lead for Siege of Inaolia. It would be great to sit down and talk with you sometime.

Greetings Comrade,

If you're interested the Dawn of Victory Team would love to have you. We're a Sci-Fi RTS currently in need of various spaceship and space station models between 2000-6000 polys.

Website: Dawnofvictory.com
Moddb Page: Moddb.com
Forums: Dawnofvictory.com
Hope to hear back from you!

Are you still available?

Yep, I was planning on giving it a couple more days.

Hey if your still avalible please see ---> Indiedb.com

Sent you a PM.

PM sent to you shea

Well, I think I've prob. got a good interwebs home to hang out w/ for a while. Sincere thanks to everyone. Wether you heard from me or not, I did go through everything that was sent my way & have been pleasantly suprised, impressed, & humbled with alot of the work I've seen the past few days. So, In any event, just wanted to say, I really appreciate everyones time & enjoyed looking through your stuff.

Thanks,
Shea