Becoming a Better Artist - with Emilie Stabell

In this exciting talk, we have a chat with Media Molecule artist Emilie Stabell, about how to become a better artist. We talk about her experience in the gaming industry, how to become a concept artist, and we talk about Dreams, Media Molecule's ongoing project!
Check out her amazing work!
emiliestabell.com/
www.artstation...
Check out Media Molecules amazing work:
www.mediamolec...
Dreams
dreams.mediamol...
The video in the background is from Creature Concepting in ZBrush
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[@johnnycage9523]

This is my favorite video from flipped normals, you should consider bringing Emilie in again!

[@sgr_sean]

i was doing concept art until a texture artist from blizzard looked at my work and basically told me, "your 3d is much better, you could actually focus on that and get much better" and well thats what ive been doing, i havent been doing small projects, but i have been working on my own big project that ive been extremely passionate about for years, still going strong working on my own, because i just love doing it. not everyone can do it ofcourse, but i just wanted todo it.

[@jeggzzzz]

Being a full time worker and a student 3 years into my online education, my portfolio is all schoolwork... I couldn't admit to myself that I have to really make time to personalize my portfolio with what Emilie calls "spare time projects". I need to do this, like, right now. XD Thanks FlippedNormals and Emilie Stabell for the much needed wake up call.

[@Gorion103]

Tl;Dw: - Don't be a zrush cowboy - DOn't be too good at somthing you dont wana do - Be the grand canyon - Don't play on easy mode - Its not about the horse - Artists are bunch of nerds ;) and - Make your own portfolio

[@FlippedNormals]

Hell yea!

[@bohdan_lvov]

Oh man, I wish they'd conclude with this Jon Hardesty's song kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXmlZ4mJedKSoK8

[@donutguy1281]

Grand Canyon?

[@SaltedMallows]

I understand, none of this

[@justVontadeh]

I have the tendency to start a lot of projects and never finish because I lose motivation or just find more motivating projects. A "How to finish stuff" video with some tips would be awesome

[@Roosters-3D]

its happen to me when ı start blocking and after some sculpt ı feel ı dont know what ı will do after ı know but ı cant(maybe like this). (sory for bad eng)

[@Gam3B0y23r0]

It happens to me when I'm really in 70/80% usually... but I'm always finishing it, just last time I started new character :|

[@Matt-fm1wo]

I've done this all my LIFE! I have only NOW (at 39 years old) started to try and finish FINISH projects. I think you just have to work through it. Get criticism, keep getting more reference to create new ideas to take it to the next level...I don't know the result yet...but as I'm applying this to previous aspects of development with promising results...I think it's the way to go. Practice EVERY stage of creation so you can get better at EVERY aspect of development. The later parts of a project get easier with more practice...but that's why it's so difficult....MOST people don't practice to completion...just the bits that are enjoyable/useful/new/cool. So most get into this position of 'I lose motivation cos I don't know how to do it...you don't know how to do it...cos you don't actually know how to do it :) It applies to EVERY stage...you have to do it, to learn it :) It's not easy though! You just have to push through...or at worst. Take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes.

[@justVontadeh]

Matt Marshall thanks so much for this reply

[@幽霊船-o4h]

Rooster-Sama revisit after 1 day end put some good music on while finishing the last details the hardest part is the beginning and blocking out after that its just detailing if you have trouble with detailing make a 2d concept before how you want it to look finished so you wont get this fear of not knowing what to do

[@samkoskrabalek2609]

I havent been watching/listening to art podcast for a long time and i dont mean to be weird but its really nice to hear a female voice in this setting.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you! This is also why we brought Emilie in, as it's really refreshing to hear her perspective on this :)

[@MoreThanFuel]

hell yeah I second this

[@ChaosWolfNinja]

Thank you soo much for this. I have followed you Emilie for a while and I love your work and its soo awesome hearing you. Thanks!

[@emiliestabell]

Thank you Domenico - that's fantastic to hear :) All the best!

[@ChaosWolfNinja]

My pleasure! You rock!!! Keep on making awesome stuff and inspiring others :-)

[@reddish_orange]

I'm so happy to learn you guys are UK-based, and also trippy to hear Guildford mentioned because I was there a few days ago. Great town.

[@Nomzziz]

you guys just basically confirmed my belief about grounded designs, through the exploration of history, thank you soo much lol. im a huge history buff, and i always use my knowledge in my designs.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thats awesome, thanks! Having a solid understanding of history can massively improve your designs, where they can really stand out.

[@StrikerBOII]

34:21 The reason for cartilage is underwater pressure, bones large enough to fit a shark would be impractical with the amount of pressure and pressure changes the shark is subject to.

[@FlippedNormals]

There we go! Thanks. Been 3 years now since i read all about sharks, so some things disappear. /H

[@nxtlvl2116]

dude i though i was eating chicken meat it's turn out it's muscles i WAS EATING MUSCLES ALL THE TIME VEGAN MODE ENABLE

[@SkyyWalkerr28]

If it's not fat, it's muscle my dude

[@DigitalSalt]

Coming from people in the industry, I really appreciated a lot of what you 3 had to say and quite enjoyed listening to this podcast-style speed sculpt :D

[@FlippedNormals]

Awesome :D That's really good to hear. Glad our ramblings makes sense.

[@CodyVerret]

Thank you for this one. It was reassuring and inspiring. Emilie's comments at the end, about not fitting in, resonated with me.

[@kashvidz]

"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee

[@kevinvanderpoole293]

ooooh... almost the answer to the happiness of life... the first two you mentions... figuring out what you like... vs. what you are good at... the third that needs to be added is... knowing the value of these things... being really good at... for really loving to do something that other people have no use for... you certainly won't be able to achieve all those other things in life the require some money... and especially for creatives... it is difficult to find that sweet spot of doing work that you like... are good at... and can get paid for... if you are realistic in knowing what these are for you... and the trade-offs you can handle... while managing your expectations... your pursuits as an artist/creative (and life in general) will be much more enjoyable ... and likely more successful as well.

[@HolyGhostGuide]

I love this is a female artist doing this, and I am not fem, I do believe women's rights. But you rarely women in the world of 3d, and I have even watched a video talked about the low number, and it almost pushed me away, but something inside once everything to get into 3D as possible. And get the ideas inside out, and bring forth art, short films, movie, and be able to do something to entertain everyone. BUT I know the number of women in this field is low, but I still want to get i this all and do my ultimate best. I don't have much, but as said before it's all tools, and you are using the tool for what you need.

[@joshuaborner]

That only comes from women being generally less interested in tech related stuff... There's no exclusion going on as far as i can tell ^^

[@xaviae888]

This podcast is priceless!!! i love Flipped normals for this reason!

[@pronoydutta614]

Hey, really honest discussion. I remember listening to content by Bobby Chiu, Chris Oatley and a little Feng Zhu. They're not as honest as this, albeit, Feng Zhu is pretty decent about the content he provides. He has gold nuggets strewn around in his information. Some of the stuff, like not killing yourself and practicing consistently, as well as Emilie saying that you need to be critical about your true strengths and work towards that, instead of just idolizing people in sub sections like concept art all the time. Also no short cuts. I wish there was more info like that out there. I'm considering joining a college or course for 3d or game design, although I have good to modest skill and experience with 2d game production/some concept art. My brain might actually be very suited to structural form creativity, according to psych tests. Painting, i had to work my way up through grinding, mistakes and learning on my own. It was worth it and i paint compulsively anyway. My idea of college is that the instruction and feedback ideally, ought to be so good, it's supposed to complement your consistent, hard daily work and transform you fast if you slog non stop and listen. Is that true? I was counting on that, but y'all have been through college, so y'all know more.

[@DavidAllen_0]

@20:43 - to get creative ideas, write down your dreams every morning if you can. It's been helping me :) but then again, not everybody is the same. Though, it's just one technique that I know for sure helps.

[@christopherjakubowski180]

Do you guys make podcasts? I'd love to hear more stuff like this Apparently I was able to work better and more focused listening to this than any music playlist

[@bearbones7913]

Theres a soundcloud link in the description

[@saikopiratos]

ey thanks for this, very helpful. there were a lot of stuff mentioned i forgot about, for example getting personal with your work.

[@TheSatzy6699]

Love all your talks'. Keep it up. Best wishes.

[@Elanthiel64]

Hey, thanks again for doing this on such a good level, insightful and entertaining discussion to listen to! Maybe in future it could be cool to sum up some points you went over at the end of the video if someone listens to it in multiple pieces ! Can't wait for next weekend though !

[@FlippedNormals]

That's a really good idea! Thanks. Glad you like it :)

[@khokh699]

The best time to crunch is when you're a student... thanks, i feel 90% more anxious now :)

[@nathandrake9816]

You guys are really amazing.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@grayjackgaming1746]

i looked away from the screen for about 10 minutes and when I looked back it was a completely different character!

[@elpidakyriakou1722]

One thing I learnt from this is that if I want a job in cg, I better also work on them baking skills. 17:45

[@FlippedNormals]

We've heard that making crepes is a vital skill in VFX, actually

[@elpidakyriakou1722]

@@FlippedNormals I have nothing to worry about then!

[@alessandromangaXD]

Why didn't i know about this video. I love Mm and Emily's work.

[@FlippedNormals]

They are so good!

[@circenngomezgascon2139]

Your videos are awesome and very motivating! thanks you very much, really.

[@FlippedNormals]

Thank you!

[@circenngomezgascon2139]

Is there any email where I can send you the current project I'm working on? :)

[@CrunchyrollUK]

I saw lbp in the thumbnail and that was all i needed to see 😄

[@douka3993]

Great video as always🎅🐱‍👤

[@nxtlvl2116]

guys new arnold has two denoiser can u guys cover this topic

[@Remi97]

I'm still a student. Thanks for the video:-)

[@FlippedNormals]

No worries!

[@Sul_Shadw]

Media Molecule I heared I liked

[@AbdoAchtioui]

Good work!

[@CANONSMOKECHINCHIN]

Please leave a comment even if it's negative

[@shivashivneetdeo6175]

what software she was talking about??

[@FlippedNormals]

Dreams - it's in production at Media Molecule right now for the PS4.

[@emiliestabell]

In the video I am talking about Dreams, a software suite for creatives developed by Media Molecule. If you're interested in the tools, here are 4 short videos that'll tell you everything you need to know about it: play.st/2C3rAVn cheers!

[@CANONSMOKECHINCHIN]

Check out sackfamily Christmas on the ps4 Dreams or right here on KZbin its my attempt to re introduce Sackgirl to the Dreamiverce as far as I know she's no where to be found in Dreams

[@jonathanamadorart]

I've heard you say Zbrush Cowboy a bunch of times, and I still don't know what that means! Care to explain?

[@FlippedNormals]

Haha sure! We see this a fair bit in the studios, that you have some people who are great sculptors and knows ZBrush really well, but who doesn't have a core foundation in general 3d art and modelling, such as UVs, textures, basic rendering etc. The way I approach a task is to make it as good as I can for the final frame, which sometimes means making a simpler model and doing more in texturing or vice versa. However, if you're a proper cowboy, you'll do 100% of the work in ZBrush, where you try to sculpt, retopo, uv, texture etc, which is a pretty bad way of doing it - if you're in a production. It's really all about knowing what tool is right for the job instead of being a ZBrush maximalist. Does this answer your question? :)

[@jonathanamadorart]

It does. Thanks!

[@culibarri7]

So does that mean that in order to be in the industry you can't really have a life aside from work?

[@FlippedNormals]

No, not at all! You can definitely have a work-life balance like all other fields. A regular working day is 8 hours long, which is perfectly normal. That said, it IS a hard industry to get into and you need to work really hard in order to get your skills up. Just having a diploma isn't worth much; it's all about your hard skills. Like we say in the video, the hardest thing is to get your first job, as then you really have to prove your skills. Once you're in, you're using your contacts and your CV a lot more to get jobs, plus you naturally improve in your job as you progress. /H

[@culibarri7]

FlippedNormals thanks for the reply!

[@alienpioneer]

The honest and straight answer with no bullshit is that in the first years you won't even have a normal life. And if you are not competitive and not willing to sacrifice a lot of free time for work it is very probable to have a career change.

[@Peteru69]

Emilie Stabil :'D

[@speedfreakpsycho]

I am baker and i think i know 3d? Does that counts? ;0

[@Thealexcgart]

am i deaf or was there no intro sound? :{

[@FlippedNormals]

Noooo! Seems like that was cut from out. Let me see if I can make it better by writing it in text: BWWWWZZZZZZ!

[@sean8306]

Cool video. The dig at LBP 3 dev, sumo digital was lame tho

[@FlippedNormals]

Hey, no offense meant :) LBP3 is a great game.

[@sean8306]

;-)

[@thepickicool97]

I may be the only one who thinks that, but the Dreams game is something that could threaten our jobs. If it becomes so easy to create a game, we will not be irreplaceable.

[@NotStirred9]

Lets say it does become easy to make a game. (Unity and Unreal already do this to some extent) Where are you going to get your 3d models? An artist... Where are you going to get your textures? An artist... Most people dont know the first of the principles of any form of art. Where are you going to get your models animated? An animator... I could go on, but I think you get my point. Edit: I believe the more people creating games, the more people who are going to need some form of design in their games. Whether it be just a title screen for their 2d platformer. Or all of the assets in their 3d openworld rpg. People are going to need assets and the art industry can only benefit from this. However if you mean programmers and the like... yea they're in a little trouble, not much tbh, but a little. I think most studios will stick to their own engines just because they will be far more optimised for the tasks they are doing, but the smaller indie companies may use this.

[@m_ruddi1277]

Rød grød med fløde🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰

[@WLVFX]

Define "good". The one issue I had with this video, is that there's no examples of what a "good" portfolio piece looks like. What level of good are you looking for exactly. I mean, people trying to get into the industry can't understand to what level you are pointing to.

[@FlippedNormals]

Here's Emilie's portfolio which she used to get her job :) Good is of course always relative. vimeo.com/121396280

[@emiliestabell]

I agree with you. It's tricky to describe what good art looks like through spoken words. Since we're talking mostly about how to get into the industry in this video, I thought I'd share my own 3rd year student reel with you here. This is what landed me my first job in games, so it serves as a good example of what quality bar to be aiming for: vimeo.com/121396280 I hope that clarifies what level we're pointing towards :)

[@WLVFX]

Thanks a lot, sorry for the late response, as I haven't checked back in a while and just saw these comments. Thanks for the link, it really helps to put into perspective and context of what you are talking about.

[@theloniuspoon]

totally sponsored to talk shit haha

[@pixelwash9707]

The girl is so naive about why she was probably hired, lol. 22 year old Danish girl wants job at game company run by a bunch of British socially awkward nerd males. Let me do the math.... ha. (I've worked as a commercial artist for years in games and media production BTW.) Before that I was a journalist, and as a young male journalist, I found myself surrounded by attractive young women journalists hired by the primarily older male bosses. It might not be fashionable to talk about it, but the fact is young women have a huge advantage over young men in many job markets for creatives in "male dominated" industries.......

[@emiliestabell]

Pixelwash perhaps, but I'd like to think that my female studio director who made the decision combined with my showreel is what did the trick. Thanks to her, Media Molecule has one of the highest percentages of females in a game studio and equality between all people regardless of sex is a top priority. I worked there for nearly 4 years being responsible for developing and managing the entire sci-fi theme of Dreams story mode, so maybe it's not all looks :)

[@pixelwash9707]

@@emiliestabell Thanks for your thoughtful reply, and I want to make it very clear I am not questioning your competence AT ALL, just why you were probably hired in the first place. The pretty women I've been surrounded with over the years as a creative professional were (practically all) very competent, except one stunning looking woman who looked like Rachel from Blade Runner at an advertising agency I once worked at (and the poor girl was constantly teased about her beauty), but I think males often face sex based discrimination in entry level hiring, like women more often than they should face sex discrimination higher up ie the glass ceiling. It is a loaded subject, and simply discussing it openly within organisations here in California where I am at the moment can lead to you being fired, so the relationship between the sexes in the workplace, and outside it, is still an open wound in our society.

[@mongobongo1147]

"Tell me the intricate backstory of this knight you sculpted..." - Yeah cuz studios are super interested in the terrible, overly elaborate, Mary-Sue background I thought up for a character. They totally don't hire writers for that sort of thing. Wouldn't better advice be - your artwork should convey emotion and tell a story by itself? Shouldn't the artwork be eliciting and answering questions at the same time? If the artist has to explain it, did the artwork even do it's job?

[@DigitalSalt]

Thats what they said, essentially.. They mention, with the knight example for instance, that you don't necessarily have to show an illustration of the knight losing his wife to convey their story but if you approach designing a knight with a story in mind for how they got there, then it will shine through your design, at least a little bit. Regardless, I fully agree with you. Compelling artwork is compelling because it elicits emotions and stops the viewer in their tracks to ask questions about it.

[@alexandrepv]

55:24 "Yeah sure, you had some good guys in the 1400s and 1500s but the best guys are alive today!" LOL, let's compare oranges with oranges and give Michelangelo a zBrush, shall we? Or perhaps give you a 4 ton block of marble and a set of chisels. We have artistic tools today that would be considered black magic back then :D and thanks to that, you can iterate through your work at a lightning speed and hone your skills in a fraction of the time it took them working with a piece of stone or clay. You have no idea what they could have accomplished back then with the tools we have today (and neither do I). Specially when art was made for art's sake, and not for an industry.

[@SpheraculGames]

Vincent pretty sure art that day was paid for and only nobles could afford it, artists were not superstars and the tools/materials were not cheap enough to be a hobbyist.

[@skychall]

okay, how did she get the "CurveTube" to mold onto the body shape?? She does it so quickly I can't tell!

[@walleater]

Unmask, Dynamesh (she had it on already, so just ctrl+drag on empty space), Smooth. That's pretty much all

[@SuLAnimations]

I just want to say that these are my favorite type of videos from you guys. I'm a pretty new sub because of them. I aspire to be a 3D Character artist for video games, and your podcast-style videos are so inspirational as well as informative and I'd love to see more of this stuff in the future. love you guys !

[@FlippedNormals]

Fantastic, thank you so much! We are definitely going to keep the podcast format up, as we also really enjoy doing them!

[@VicVegaTW]

"Now I am a concept artist" Brap brap brap brap!

[@Farrukh3D]

Great video and nice discussion :)

[@nobu9705]

…and insanely inspiring! The best part of these talks is how they all point you to a better work ethic.

[@EDITMODE]

cool now teach us how to not freak out after we get hired :P i feel like id fall immediately into cardiac arrest. XD

[@oliveiraluis3540]

Thumbnails... of the pieces... Man... dont underestimate their might, and power. Also, there should be a monument to Wrapit in Russia.

[@themlgcrafter]

XD literally just put these guys on whilst sculpting, good motivation + good entertainment

[@DavieMcGuire1990]

What is the name of the career for a person who sculptures game characters and monster from super sculpy and chavant clay to make molds for mass production???

[@wasdmovement4685]

I really have the habit of not making a lot of sketches and just getting obsessed with one, thank you for the pro-tip i'll try to correct myself and efficiently improve my productivity.

[@minuscolochao1557]

thank you guys I'm doing zbrush while listening to your advises.

[@tomlecl17]

this video was in a lot of ways a hard pill to swallow, but it is exactly what i needed to hear. thanks!

[@FlippedNormals]

Glad you liked it! What 'harsh truth' did you get from it? /H

[@tomlecl17]

how tough the competition is when it comes to concept art/design, it's something I know in the back of my head, but often try to forget. Also, the importance of doing research and learning your subject to get more invested. Those little details, like the ribcage of a shark, to follow your example . So many thoughts during this talk really. Good stuff!

[@FlippedNormals]

Glad it helped! I really feel those topics are super important, as people really tend to underestimate how tricky it is. /H

[@ayer10y]

Haha love this video, I can feel the hygge. Gracias gente, Thanks people!

[@TheBurnedGamers]

Great podcast! I am currently a student, this helped me alot!

[@FlippedNormals]

Thanks! Glad it helped :D

[@TheBurnedGamers]

And a quick podcast suggestion: It would be awesome if you had a series where people could send in their work and get you to give criticism. I think seeing other people's work get feedback from industry-people like yourself would help a lot of people. Especially students like me trying to get into the industry. Anyways, you're doing great work!

[@FlippedNormals]

That's a great idea! I'd love to do something like this.

[@closeenoughproductions318]

I’m so happy I found you guys! You’re my new go-to while I work. Thanks for putting your content out there, your experience is invaluable to a student like me. 👍🏻

[@FlippedNormals]

Really glad you like our content, thanks! :D Let us know if you have any ideas for new videos/pod casts.