Sr. Character Artist Ben Knapp on his love for digital art, his past experiences with gaming, and even some personal art from his collection.

Ben, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I am a Senior Character Artist/Concept Artist at Hi-Rez Studios.  I create in game assets dealing with characters, weapons, and devices.  I also do allot of concepts for the character team, usually to just to give a jump start on a model to get it going in a direction as well as come up with design solutions if people are having trouble with ideas.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I have been in the game industry for about 5 years.  I started doing freelance in 2004 after graduating from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  Eventually I landed a gig in studio at Tripwire Interactive LLC working on Red Orchestra Ostfront.  After doing some WWII I really wanted to put some of creativity and conceptual skills to use so I synched up with Hi Rez and its been magic every since.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I remember getting an NES way back in the day, though I really couldn’t get into Mario Bros., I guess something about playing as a plumber wasn’t a big turn on for me.  But once some good titles started coming out, Mega Man, Contra, Punch Out, Castlevania, Double Dragon, Star Tropics, TMNT II: The Arcade Game…. man… it was on.  I was hooked.  It was more of a leisurely thing at first, I didn’t look at it as a career.  What I wanted to do was be a Comic Book artist.  I’m a big comic and 80’s cartoon nerd.  I eventually realized that the market for comics has dried up substantially, so I figured next best thing to get into would be the game industry.  So I applied at AIP and learned the game artisan craft.

What is your favorite class/character to play in Global Agenda?

Assault. Period.  I like to get in the mix and get my adrenaline pumping when I play.  For me assault is the obvious choice, plus its the most similar to other shooter, aim and shoot.  I rock the Sticky Launcher though, and pretty much support the team and fight on the objective utilizing AOE damage.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

Well I cant wait for it to be released.  Other than that, I love the characters and robots.  There are so many cool designs, great eye candy.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I get inspiration from pretty much everything, especially Movies, Comics, and Games.  Also I check allot of other game artists work to get the creative juices flowing.  Polycount, Zbrush Central, and Game Artisans FTW.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into gaming?

Hard Work and Dedication.  Nothing will get you a better shot at breaking into the industry.  Check allot of game art forums and study others work, wireframes, textures, color theory, design.  Also knowledge of anatomy, especially as a character artist saves the day.  Aside from the knowledge you got to have passion.  This industry is ever changing, and you got to be ready to change with it.  The mentality I had when I was starting out was that I had to be good enough to get a job that other professionals could be applying for that have had many more years of experience than me.  Always power up and keep getting better.

Favorite game(s)?

RESIDENT EVIL, FINAL FANTASY VII, METAL GEAR SOLID, DEAD SPACE, ASSASSINS CREED, WARCRAFT, MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2

I look at games as a story telling medium.  Its like a book or a movie, but interactive.  I love games with great stories and these games always had neat stuff to offer story wise for me.  Marvel vs Capcom 2 is just a classic, and it has all those comic characters.. mmmmmmmm.

What do you do in your free time?

I fight crime. After, I do allot studying about game art.  Trying to always get better.  I also do a good amount of freelance, for the same reason. That and I find it keeps me fresh. Dealing with different subject matters lets you try out new stuff and makes you more flexible, being able to do a variety of things.  I also love playing basketball, exercising, and hanging with peeps.  Oh yea and video games… lots and lots of video games.  Beer too.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Rise Against, Atmosphere, Zebrahead, Asher Roth,  Aesop Rock, Cobra Starship, Muse, Binary Star, Fort Minor, Talib Kweli, Common, Gym Class Heroes, Cartel, Weezer, Counting Crows, Tom Petty, Rocky Soundtracks, AFI, Deltron, and allot of classic rock and game music.

Personal art from Ben Knapp: