Bio
Hi! My name is Russell Williams and I’m a technical artist with experience in Unreal, animation, rigging, modeling, and cinematography.
I’m the sort of person who plays a game or watches a film…without traditionally playing the game or watching the film. I ask lots of questions. When I look through my own digital lens, I ask questions about my perceived experience and how I might convey those intentions to the viewer. In a game, a connection between the player and asset must be reinforced to sell the interaction to the person who is experiencing it. Am I accomplishing this goal? How well does the movement of the asset sell the shot? How can I animate/model/rig this production to sell immersion to the end user? I love engaging within the user’s exploration by pushing my animations, rigs, models, and camera work to their limits. I enjoy creating possibilities that account for the smallest level of detail and if I’ve done my job correctly, nobody will ever know! Nothing will be out of place.
Conceptualizing the mental motivations of a character, helps design the technical limitations for the physical aspects of what the character will be doing. And in this regard, I believe Immersion should exist in every detail, no matter how small. I approach all my character projects through a lens of immersive story creation. With a background in animation, rigging, modeling, and cinematography I believe it’s essential to go through this process for solid character creation. Will I need to animate the character a certain way for it to be viable in Unreal blueprint construction? Will the rig need to have specific controls? How well does the model deform? And so, this process is how I approached the Chair Ball game construction in my demo reel. But this is just my process. I am excited to learn the processes of the industry, listen to those who are veterans in the field, and pass on the knowledge I’ve accumulated.
A little about me. I’m changing my career into my passion. I’m currently finishing my MFA at the University of Texas at Dallas. Growing up I found every available minute I could spare to focus on creating worlds through games and animation. When I was 6, I designed my first board game and programmed my first video game by age 11. I have a background in logistics and accounting and I’m currently working in DFW. I spent some time in the military and as a Captain I had the privilege of meeting people from all over the world. We are all different, we all learn in various ways and have our own perceived notions. Which brings me to my point. I try my best to get along with everyone I work with. I learn from my mistakes, hold myself accountable, and move on. I do not hold grudges and pride is a non-factor.
Having experience in the university games environment, I know there is so much more I must learn about the real studio context. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to evaluating my personal work and I can take and give constructive criticism with the best of ‘em. I’m excited to learn from professionals within the industry and bolster my skills. I can’t wait to enter the field and become a contributing part of a creative team.