Halo, SWAT and More Than You Can Chew

So I'm mass deleting emails one morning, and I run across the daily Artstation jobs notification. I start scrolling through them, and catch my breath. There is an environment artist opening at 343. I had just recently updated my resume, and quickly typed out a cover letter. Application away! I am sure it is just going to be a "no," but wouldn't it be cool if it wasn't?

The very next day I get an email, from a recruiter, for 343. In a nutshell, show me some Halo stuff. There is none in your portfolio. It's true. I had been focusing on gearing my port for Bethesda. Plus, all the work I have done since graduation is protected under NDA. I will have to generate something new to be considered for this position.

A little background: why am I so excited about 343? Well, it starts back with Halo 2. Yeah, that was Bungie, but 343 carries the torch now. After getting accustomed to dual toggle fps, Halo 2 quickly became one of my all-time favorite games. My youngest son and I played SWAT every day,...and dominated. I am a staunch gamer. And my Halo memories are some of my fondest. I don't like what happened to Cortana, but I will continue to play every entry. 5 was awesome btw.

Anyway, I have to make a Halo environment. I figured I would make this blog to chronicle my process. I have an education from FIEA. Time to prove to 343 I got what it takes.

So where do I start? Research! Research! Research! I started combing through hundreds of Google pics looking for something particular. Realistically, I know that this will probably be another "no." The competition is phenomenal. So I need my time investment in this to be optimized. Therefore, I will be combining an exterior environment with and interior. I want to combine old with new - show something familiar but update it with current gen graphics. I want to show what I have learned about lighting. And lastly, I can't help but remember some of my favorite sequences from previous Halos. So I choose some pics with all that criteria in mind. Time to take the pics into Photoshop and arrange for a single reference pic for modeling.

Nice! What is next? No time to waste. Gotta start modeling. I'll start by blocking out the space. I have an Unreal scale figure. I'll block it out around him.