Artist Spotlight: Amanda Kessler

Do not allow your idea to be so precious that others can't make it grow too.

Our first artist spotlight is with Amanda Kessler, the character modeler for Effacement. Not only did Amanda give life to the drawings from our original concept art, she also had ideas and suggestions that made them evolve.

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After having done a few character models for Taylor in the past, there was no hesitation in my response to her and Caitlin reaching out to me about the project. Of course I said yes! Not only was it a great opportunity to be a part of something I believe in (having values aligned with the studio's and project's story), but it was also another opportunity to work with these wonderful creatives who I look up to. It's been a wild ride these past couple years with the pandemic, economic crises, and all "the usual" in our modern times. The refreshing part of it was hearing from a friendly voice again and feeling needed for the work I love doing.

As a freelancer for the past 5 years, it's been rough. I hadn't found many opportunities specifically as a 3D character artist--mainly 3D assets for games, 2D illustrations, and 2D character designs when I got lucky with a gig. Being a generalist has its disadvantages--you're not growing in that one area of your craft that you can only truly start excelling in when you're challenged and expected to perform on the job. It was hard to keep at it over the years, since being a freelancer means keeping busy with whatever the next job is that comes your way... even if it's not ideal and doesn't leave you much time for learning and progressing in what you'd like. Taylor and Caitlin emailed me out of the blue, but it felt godsent (I guess in this case, it'd be goddess-sent!) Such a creative idea for a film, with lots of thought and love put into it. How could you say no to that?

Ciara's model was a slight challenge--I had never modeled a pregnant body. And she is a firbolg--something I hadn't really heard of before, haha. As much as I love sculpting in Z-Brush, what was REALLY fun was the hand painting done in Substance Painter. I went ahead and read up on tips and techniques for producing such textures. Paint stylization was not my strong suit, but I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to pursue it further on models I'm currently working on in my spare time. This project has helped me realize that, with the right team, you grow better as an artist and a person. Their consistent and intellectual feedback was a breath of fresh air to me. They were incredibly helpful and made deliberate decisions--nothing was left to float up in the air, it was all solid ideas and solutions.

The Nightmare of the Forest was my very second creature sculpt. I had made one back in school, as it was a necessary asset for a game I worked on with my classmates. But a first attempt is never your best! I think I somewhat redeemed myself this time around in creating a model that looks nearly identical to the drawn design I was given. That's a good feeling! The subtle changes we later on did to his paint job and antlers brought the design together beautifully. Makes me want to sculpt more creeps. :}

Amanda had the amazing idea to have "hantlers" for the Nightmare of the Forest. Her designs were so beautifully creepy and so unique! The first image she sent of the sculpt gave me an audible gasp of delight and horror!

About working with Taylor and Caitlin... Well, all I can say is that these ladies know what they want and need. That's the greatest thing to feel as a freelancer--finally hearing what the projects needs so you can do your job right. Good directorship and guidance made the character models' process an absolute joy. They even gave me some freedom of style, which was a huge deal to me.

Their references, overall goals for the film, and estimated deadlines for the model's milestones were manageable. The more they talked about the film with me, the more I began to see how far this was going to go. The project itself and the goals of the studio are, to say the least, ambitious when you're just starting out. Thus, the success of the film depends on how much you keep your spirits up, how serious you are about its completion, and following through with your own mantras of how things should be run. I say they've met those marks. It's now a matter of production and time.

This studio stands for something big and important. It has begun with a small team of bright creative minds, and they will do whatever they can to ensure the success of their goals. I believe that this first film is the best start of something truly great for Shattered Glass.

~ Amanda Kessler

If you're interested in seeing more amazing work done by Amanda you can visit her website here: https://akessler.artstation.com/

Below is a speed modeling video done and recorded by Amanda to share and show the process behind making these characters.