How to get a job at Blizzard, with Michael Vicente

In this interview Michael Vicente - a Senior 3D Environment artist - explains what it takes to get a job at one of the biggest game companies in the world: Blizzard.
Michael Vicente's Portfolio: www.artstation.com/orb
Join Poliigon: www.poliigon.com
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ArtStation: artstation.com/artist/andrewprice
Blender Guru: www.blenderguru.com

[@marcinszubryt2088]

This series of interviews is amazing. After watch it you want work harder.

[@blenderguru]

Thanks! That was my intention. Bring some of that studio life inspiration to the world :)

[@jackovitz2362]

Yeah I’m literally practising for art as I have decided after dropping physics that art is what I want to do for living and I’m already motivated a lot but this interview has given me a boost and I really want to keep practising to hopefully one day to work for a company like blizzard just sounds so fun being able to share artwork with each other everyday and being free to do whatever work you want whilst being trusted doing it

[@junejohnson8409]

Iknowright? I got about 6/7 of the way through the interview before I was too motivated to continue

[@BIOSHOCKFOXX]

Because he tells you how real it is, and what is required, it is not what we or you thought before, but after listening to this you start to think that it is possible, but it just takes time. It's the mutual understanding, he came from same place like most of us artists, he wasn't pro skilled at start, but he got through, and now shares his facts and ideas, and some tips. We just need to hear more of the stories about how realistically it is possible, how badly it went at start, but later you can get through if you keep doing it and evolve.

[@user-yt3fx8kl9s]

not at all. Like he said "pasion" is the point. But working in bad companies makes you lose your pasion and just doing things that "alright" for your company in it's deadlines. And after you realized that your portfolio look like garbage, just because you do the stuff for company, not for yourself. So no pasion for years...and how can you "work harder" after that?

[@3dmodelingtools187]

1:07 Brief summary of video. 2:07 Have you always been creative ? 2:40 Do you remember the first piece of artwork you were proud of ? 3:46 Do you remember what it was that got you interested in art as opposed to sports or...? 7:08 You weren't born in Portugal ? 7:42 What would your advice be if someone 18 year old came up to you and said should i go to a 3D school ? 10:08 Talking about finding a job after finishing 3D school. 12:00 Pro and Con's of going to university or self-thought learning. 16:54 What would you look for in a school. Key things of a good school-bad school. 21:32 What were the steps that let you getting a job at Blizzard? 23:39 Talking about Zbrush 24:16 Talks about how Blizzard found him. 25:36 Do they ( Blizzard or other companies) care if an artist can speak English? 26:46 How did it feel walking into the doors of Blizzard for the first time ? 28:13 Do you have game nights at Blizzard? 28:52 Do you guy guys heard that Elon Musk is a huge fan of Overwatch ? 29:17 You've beeen there how long ? ( Blizzard ) 29:27 Talking about switching projects ( Games you work on ) at Blizzard if the artist desires. 31:02 Seems like BLizzard gives you a lot of Flexibility to keep you interested, is that normal for a gaming studio or is that something Blizzard is good at ? 32:44 How important is it to have experience working with a team before getting hired by a studio ? 35:56 What software and tools do they use at Blizzard? 38:10 Can you recall a time when somebody has pointed out something like a problem with your work that you previously would never have thought of it ? 41:57 What's the workflow process for a new character in overwatch ? 45:21 A game artist vs a visual effects artist-talking about transiting between them. 47:40 Talking about the motivation of a 3D artist. 50:27 Talking about Michael replying to e-mails. 1:01:27 A training regime for someone who wants to become a 3D artist over a time of one year. 1:04:13 Why wouldn't a vehicle artist get a job on world of warcraft ? 1:13:16 How much time should you spend on an art. 1:16:33 How do you know when you spend long enough on a project and it's time to move on ? 1:17:51 Explain why remaking an old project from skratch is better than working on it from where you left. 1:20:22 Will A.I. replace some jobs in the 3D industry ?

[@shivtiwari2303]

I am afraid of ai technology....

[@vagabondmasllani1982]

our saviour..

[@ash.__]

Thank you, this was really helpful

[@arturm7]

Tnks 🙌🏼

[@arturm7]

1:27:20 Linchpin book, Seth Goden

[@konraddobson]

"Your diploma is your portfolio". Love that. I've felt the same way ever since I was at school, even before I could articulate it. I only really discovered the fun of learning when I left school. Clearly wasn't for me.

[@Synyster641]

"If you're not passionate like that, what's the point?" Really powerful speaking there (50:03)

[@beerus_sama10]

These interviews are really helpful.. Not only these interviews helps us to guide our future, they motivates us a lot. Thanks for these series...

[@Seviexe]

"How to get a job at Blizzard" That question aged like fine milk.

[@blackspear217]

most inspiring series on KZbin, Thanks Andrew! Nothing pushes me to be better and stricter than these mini series you've established.

[@visual_chris]

„Do you want a job at blizzard“ should be the question now

[@cat.3124]

Please add the timestamps, it really helps me get an overview when i get lost while listening

[@IceWolve]

+1 to this please

[@SunnyApples]

Either make it shorter or give us timestamps. Can't sit hear watching for hour and a half, but I would like to know what this guy has to say.

[@ghostpotatoes]

@@SunnyApples absolutely please never cut these down

[@nerdsomnia]

Sat through every minute of this. Unbelievably insightful. If you can't sit for an hour an a half to listen, please move on.

[@monstar5746]

No need to be that guy, the request is justified

[@ChriFawk]

I can't thank you enough for this interview. I came here by accident as i finished a few tutorials of yours and i wanted to take a break, and i can't believe my ears this is exactly what i wanted to hear. This interview solved so many questions and insecurities of mine. Thank you, thank you.

[@fooglez]

I'm not a 3D artist, but this interview was a joy to listen to, podcast ready. You did a fantastic job, better than most interviews/reporters who claim to be "pros" great responses from Michael as well.

[@izaya65]

Can't express how helpful these videos are his perspective alone is so insightful.

[@austinlelonek3193]

Thank you for taking the time to prepare for and go through with these interviews. This was helpful for me and I am sure, others.

[@cwidd1929]

Definitely the most informative interview from this channel for beginner artists. Very clear answers to common questions from an industry professional.

[@Skyfall_10M]

wow! love these interviews

[@MothlingMusic]

These interviews are insanely insightful for someone like me who is going into my senior year at university. I'm much more focused on maya, and with blender in your chanel name I've avoided your videos, only watching a few. After having these interviews popping up in my recommended I finally subscribed. This is because you have the absolute best guests and you are such a perfect interviewer. Really impressed with the questions you ask. It's what we all want to know. Pls keep producing content like this :)

[@vekien]

This was an absolute fantastic interview, really huge insight and what a great speaker. Love this series.

[@Beretto1991]

Such a great interview. Michael seems like a very humble and intelligent guy. Very entertaining and in a way also educational. Googled at least 3 new softwares during this video. Thanks to both of You for this!

[@NitishShiggaon]

Thank you for all these interviews. Keeps us inspired and informed!

[@jstyles1993]

thank you for sharing this interview ! as others say, you just want to work harder after this ! it's nice to see a senior artist give a feedback on his work and how he got to the place he is now !

[@N0gtail]

Holy crap, I've been following this guy's work for years, great to see an interview with him!

[@alaindeklerk9265]

Thanks so much for these interview videos! They help all of us artists who are trying to perfect their craft.

[@aidencoyle8227]

been learning blender from your tutorials in hopes of someday getting into the gaming industry. Finding videos like these are like gold for me.

[@pixelasm]

Awesome that he shared his relationship to his father so openly and is able to track down that particular moment in his life to be the catalyst to start his pursuit in art

[@alejandrovallejo4330]

Watching this almost 4 years after, still awesome stuff dud, it really encouraged me even further to keep working on my art.

[@jackovitz2362]

I wish I could see this guys portfolio that he used to get into blizzard would be really awesome to see the type of quality and what style he was using at the time

[@jackovitz2362]

Leo Norman - Elev Törnströmska Gymnasiet ESESTS3B awesome thanks a lot

[@BookofTerra]

I think his work sucks and just pleased some weirdo director

[@ghostpotatoes]

@@BookofTerra "weirdo." You're one to talk with that channel and description

[@BookofTerra]

Are you "normal" or just a codependent herd mentality fan?

[@forestpump3]

What a great guy! Thank you for this interview Blender Guru!

[@IGarrettI]

Michael thank you for creating the orb brushes, my favourite set ever

[@Adnel]

I am loving these interviews. They are so relatable and inspiring.

[@Yoopsen213]

Hearing him describe a good program and realizing mine fits a lot of his points makes me feel so relieved and happy

[@asherat1]

That interview is amazing. 1h30mins. Great job. Really interesting. Thanks a lot both of you.

[@PrashanSubasinghe]

Great work Andrew & Team! Excellent quality and great questions!

[@mikkelmelby]

More interviews!!! i can sit and qoute all of them now :D Thanks alot ORB & Andrew!

[@Krogue1]

Very nice interviews and the dude gave some good advice

[@maxhabenicht9343]

these interviews are gold! I watch them, video by video

[@levyschultz6589]

Love these interviews! By far one of my favorite 3D artists on youtube + amazing guests! Just a tip on how intelligent Michael Vicente is, not only did he learn 3D, he learned english, and relearned 3D in english. That is an amazing amount of willpower, discipline, and grit. Much respects to both artists. I love blizzard, and I've always wanted to work on the Diablo series, the lore, ambiance, and soundtrack are stellar!

[@Lukas7360]

I thank you Andrew for making this interview. It was very motivational and helpfull at the same time, what to do as well as what not to do. I honestly didn't think I'd finish the whole thing, but I did and I'm happy with the fact.

[@rafaobrebski3885]

I'm programmer, and I get very inspired with every video in this series... I love it!

[@gavineastwood7012]

Thank you so much for doing this interview. I luv luv luv Michael (Orb's) style.

[@tannedbatman5597]

People complaining that he's not made a tutorial in a few days. Chill. If you really want to learn don't rely on his uploads, there's loads of others. Lots of people have been asking for more interviews and this is his response.

[@AnonymoudKid]

Agreed, this is beneficial in other ways that tutorials can't be. Discussing different ways of developing your skills. I really like the part where he mentions to redo art instead of touching up old projects. Repetition and practice makes perfection.

[@chriscranston6117]

Really enjoying this series, should definitely be more like them! Can't believe i haven't come across them earlier.

[@KH2FanLover]

Also you need to be handsome to enter blizzard.

[@mull4065]

not a chance for me then...

[@Doomon15]

Pfft bruh have you not seen Ion Hazzicostas? the game director for WoW? dudes average.

[@Bonbon-C]

Michael Vicente is a daydream SIGH =D

[@whuspr]

handsome like Jeff Kaplan

[@olgwoodart4996]

Thanks to you and your guest. That was an awesome interview. Informative and entertaining.

[@TheBabro93]

Man, I really mean it ! I love you from the bottom of my heart ! ur the greatest teacher can someone ever have !

[@alexeytarasovart]

Awesome artist! Thanks for interviewing him!

[@sadsushiroll6395]

I think this has been the MOST helpful video about the industry in general and all the nitty gritty that you might not be able to find anywhere else. I really enjoyed watching this and learning. I've been interesting in animation for video games. And although he specialized in environmental design, it truly helped so I can change my art goals and what I should be using. Thank you for putting this out for your community to see and to learn from!

[@ZipSnipe]

I love these interviews you do, even though I have no interest in working for someone else, its very interesting to hear the path these young artists took to get where they are today....good stuff man !!!!

[@speedwaylabsdev]

Just what I needed to hear. Thank you so much for the motivation! I got ideas as I was watching this!

[@johnleung1154]

Can't wait for Die-ablo 4.

[@warnercheng5564]

maybe its pronunciation is similar to dia-betes lol

[@lasaveloy]

That’s how we say it in Australia

[@JackLe1127]

I mean it's not like you don't die a lot in diablo

[@lasaveloy]

Jack Le lmao too real

[@johnleung1154]

hahahaha

[@jackliu8991]

I really appreciate you guys making this, very inspiring and insightful.

[@km90003]

Awesome video! I just graduated from a game design program and it was great. All my instructors were full time artists from ubisoft ( in Toronto) and gave us great tips and techniques to modelling. I personally want to become an environment/prop and texture artist. I'm glad school wasn't a waste personally cause i made connections, gained inspiration, had a great experience(made friends) and got student license for programs like 3ds max. I think anyone who has the opportunity to go to school should. Especially if the teachers are from the game industry.

[@SuperDuperWTFteam]

This was an awesome interview. Thank you both.

[@Tryfieldanimas]

Awesome awesome awesome I was like glued to the screen with both eyes and both ears.

[@magicalcyrus]

i wish these interviews existed back when i started learning 3d, i would've known how much of a big deal 2d (anatomy, color, and all things pretty much) was and oh how i regret neglecting them.

[@DEVINESz]

Very informational and very specific for understanding what it takes to get a job, loved the interview!

[@fahtfakcarl7695]

Thank you so much for these awesome interviews! God bless!

[@tuschan60]

these interviews are seriously so good. just thanks

[@williambackus2849]

I love that there are other people who relate to how it feels when your software crashes and it ends up making the final product better.

[@1080pAdrenalinGaming]

Big fan of these interviews, Andrew.

[@xXbananaXxist]

Just a feedback, you should show their work during the interview to make it a bit more interesting :)

[@TrueTydin]

natthawut boonsan we’re here to focus on his advice and industry experience. If you wanna see pictures go to his art station. He also has a few tutorials on KZbin as well.

[@iclaimthisname9767]

Yeah that would be cool but I understand that it's a lot of work. But sometimes when he's talking about a specific artwork or character, I would love to not have to look them up xD But I don't really mind doing it, since I remember the work better if I look it up myself.

[@centuriondev]

Michael Vicente really opened my mind! Cheers!

[@mochi4613]

Great interview! Loved every minute of it, very intellectual. Thank you for this

[@inthesonesaypanya5275]

This is great! Thank you. I'm not a 3D Designer but a Audio Engineer/Sound Designer who's looking to work for a gaming/animation company.

[@DiogoSantosvfx]

Amazing as always Andrew thanks! It's kinda my end goal to get to Blizzard and I still have a lot of work to do. Got some nice input here!! Thanks again!

[@sneadle7]

This was SUPER helpful. You guys are the best

[@mashonoid]

This cleared a lot of things, Thank you soo much for this interview.

[@nickr9160]

This aged brilliantly

[@stephorkmork3284]

Andrew should've asked him if he was also part of the misogynistic and sexist group since blizzard is quite well known for circle jerking personalities. Opportunity wasted.

[@enalya_art]

This is such a high quality interview! I love your personalities, keep it up :)

[@DanielMo0]

This is a great interview. Thank you! @33:25 Made me smile when Michael said "Rocks are actually a struggle to make". So extremly true :D

[@yevheniishyshko7961]

"You know, I think that's definitely one thing that self-taught people struggle with is knowing which videos to watch in which order. Because it like, *there's a tutorial on how to make a chair* [...] and it's like always, where does that fit on the timeline? *[laughter]*" - Andrew, the person who made 4 tutorials on how to make an anvil.

[@niick_3523]

that was super usefull, thank you so much for all the tips and information Michael. Great interview questions Andrew.

[@crumblegold]

Any chance you might upload these as podcasts? They seem perfect for the format. Thank you for these interviews! Incredibly well-made and informative.

[@mohamedala750]

I love this interviews! please keep them coming

[@tonyfredrick3695]

Loved this interview, thank you!

[@Blastphemer]

it is refreshing to hear from a blizzard artist that 3D Coat is amazing for UV and Retopo. This is what I learned the exact same way and use it daily for UV and Retopo. Amazing tools.

[@007walk]

These interview are very insightful, and allow us to see how others think, which should in fact help us to refactor how we think. It is not to say we should follow 100%, but take what is off value to us. As some might have conflicting ideas, as many different roads can be taken to reach our goal.

[@green.weekends]

Very nice interview + very good advice. Keep up the good work Andrew.

[@bearwolffish]

Best of the best when it comes to stylized environment sculpting. He literally makes a plank of wood look appealing.

[@godinnick2081]

that was super usefull, thank you so much for all the tips and information Michael. Great interview questions.

[@randyg463]

I love these interviews

[@lucasperesknives]

Inspiring, thank you for presenting this incredible content! Cheers

[@monovisiontv]

what a great interview, thank you guys.

[@uuuuu1111]

Thank you for doing this, very helpful.

[@franman51]

Interesting interview. I was one of those majority of students who graduated from a 3D gaming course years ago but failed to get a career in the gaming industry. I was on long hiatus, but what brought me back into 3D modeling was Substance Painter with their way of painting PBR textures onto models.

[@rajfrancis4165]

It was a very informative interview Andrew, I mean that's the point of you doing this. And I'm loving your choice of people to do it with too. Keep it coming Andrew. Also, a lot of people including me learned Blender only because of your amazing tutorials and we really miss it. I would love to hear from you about this Blender 2.8 Beta and Alpha releases. Hoping that you'd consider doing at least a 40mins tutorial every month or at the very least once in 2 months. I need my Guru back :)

[@LCTphantasm1]

I like that looking on some images again and again and store it to your subconscious memory. I've been doing that since I am busy and less time to practice but still time to time, I am checking design and concepts and styles and renders and somehow, some other day, when I make a new art, I improved a lot more than the work I had some days ago.

[@officialmobilerohanonline5986]

I like this interview same with the other videos. We have now knowledge on how they got into their field. I love also those tips the're sharing.

[@MikeEvans94]

Loving the interviews! Definitely taking away some great tips :)

[@prasoondhapola2875]

What an awesome interview session bro! extremely helpful and insightful ' tackling all the important issues and topics. my favorite one being the pressing AI topic., apart from the other very insightful portfolio advice and stuff. The Ai thing is something each one of us needs to look out for and stay updated so that we're sure we are investing in the right skills and areas in terms of software and workflows and tools. Gotta know where we are headed with this thing we are doing!

[@Mathieu-OBrien]

Awesome interview. Learned a lot and am very inspired to work on my art!

[@ghostpotatoes]

wanted to say thanks for this, im a 2d artist but i still love these interviews. makes me sad how many people are being rude in the comments, never saw this in videos on niche 2d, it's disappointing and surprising to see here.

[@FrenzyGoblin]

Amazing interview, inspire me to get better and better. And i want to draw more and more now. I remember when i was young i draw a comics with WarCraft characters. Thankyou for reminding me this, inspire me again!

[@freddyfranchise]

amazing insight!!! thanks a lot. just love the blizz universe

[@vazak11]

Fantastic, thanks for sharing!

[@nitishbakhla1903]

thanks a lots blender guru i watch some video that u upload its really fantastic and mind blowing u teach me like a teacher with fun i am very happy keep uploading my blender u are aewsome sir

[@paulb4334]

Funny what the youtube algorithm digs up sometimes 🤷‍♂️

[@marcoflorian1908]

awesome words. thank you!

[@damiandevic1015]

man I love this amazing interview!!

[@arkaloeugenius2134]

Thank you Andrew if it wasn't for you, i've dropped everything i was on... And to michael, now i might consider a future inside 3D modelling

[@remon563]

ORB! fantastic artist and the creator of, one of, the best brushsets for Zbrush :)