The Official SMITE Magazine Issue 8 | Page 53

G ameOn: What position do you hold at Hi-Rez Studios? Thomas: I’m part of the SMITE team where I am specifically focused on leading and directing the environment art team in the creation and editing of all the game’s levels. And what does an Art Director do? For instance, what is an average day in your working life? As SMITE’s Art Director for environments, I am responsible for developing and maintaining my team and represent our questions, and review portfolios/ the artistic vision for the game’s department when communicating hiring tasks. It also gives me a levels and scenes and working with other disciplines, chance to get a jump start on with the overall art team to ensure partners, and the publisher. my personal art responsibilities the general aesthetic and integrity My average day on SMITE is (I’ve been doing a lot of our editor of the game. Throughout each pretty eclectic as I try to balance based tasks, layout artwork, the phase of the game development all of those responsibilities for login screens, and lighting in the process, I work with the team the environment/levels team in levels), before touching base with to develop creative solutions so the fast moving (and changing) each artist throughout the day to “I WORK WITH THE TEAM TO DEVELOP CREATIVE SOLUTIONS SO THAT THE VISUALS ENHANCE AND SUPPORT OUR GAMEPLAY AND TECH REQUIREMENTS WHILE STILL MEETING OR EXCEEDING QUALITY EXPECTATIONS.