3D Work Experience

At Draw & Code, one of our ambitions is to support people who are looking to develop on their XR immersive skills by offering a placement with us to work alongside our talented team. 

Joseph joined our 3D team on a week-long placement to practise his 3D skills alongside our team before continuing with his studies at University. Find out what he got up to during his time with us.

Q. How did you come to work with Draw & Code?

I stumbled across Draw & Code on Twitter while I was looking at 3D art companies in Liverpool and saw that they take on people to do work experience, I thought I’ll send an email about if they are willing to take me on over the summer break and got a quick reply about the position!

Q. How was your experience working with us?

This is my first time working as a 3D artist as a career, so I was quite intimidated with the amount of talented people around me but soon found my bearings very quickly and the team took me under their wing and made me feel like I was a part of the company. 

I really enjoyed working in the offices in person too! All of the team where really kind and helpful making me feel at ease as I was quite nervous when I arrived, the environment felt like working in one big team unlike other places I’ve previously work in past placements and jobs. 

Q. What did you work on?

I was tasked with creating a handful of beach props to test in the Shelta VR project. At first, I thought I had a good understanding about creating models for games but was completely taken back! I learned so much on my first day about Ngons and retopology, for example. The wonderful 3D artist who were working on the project always spent time out of their day showing me things and critiquing any issues I might have.

One of the biggest hurdles I faced was trying to create props with the similar theme as the other artists on the team. My personal style was completely different from what was shown to me at the beginning, so I had a lot of fun trying to replicate their styles into my own designs.

Q. What did you learn from the experience?

I learned so much while working with Draw & Code but the most important thing I’ve taken away from this experience is don’t be afraid to ask questions. Everyone was so kind and will take time out of their day to help you out! 

Another thing I’ve learned too was what actually goes into making a game. I didn’t realise how much planning and prep work goes into a project and seeing everyone working together was really fascinating. 

Q. What’s next for you?

I’m going to continue my studies at university and keep practicing my 3D skills to hopefully become an environment artist in the gaming industry!

I’ve got a handful of personal projects I want to finish over the summer break as I enjoy creating little environments in my spare time and start learning new software to help aid in my future career.   

You can follow Joseph on twitter, here: https://twitter.com/JosephMcGrae

And check out his fantastic Artstation account here:

https://www.artstation.com/josephmcgrae

Below is a series of assets Joseph worked on during his time with us, as part of the Shelta VR project. You can read more about the project in our case study, here.