I had the wonderful opportunity to interview two very talented employees of Massive Black, a next generation game development studio. Yasmin Khudari (3D Modeler) and Jessica Hook (3D Texture Lead) share their talents and offer tips while giving us insight into their world.

WG: Could you please introduce and tell us a bit about yourself? What is your title at Massive Black and how long have you worked in the gaming industry? What are a few projects that you've worked on in the past and what are you currently working on?

Yasmin: Hi Jessica & WomenGamers, I'm Yasmin Khudari. I'm a modeler for Massive Black. I've been working in the industry for the past 1 and a half years or so. Before that I was going to art college where I was studying illustration and sculpture. In my junior year, MB gave me a chance and I started out with an internship there. They taught me everything I needed to know about making games as a modeler and then some. I went from making batteries for Flagship's Hellgate: London to, eventually, complete creature characters for the same game. I've also worked on projects for clients such as Guerrilla Games, Blitz Games, and currently Blue Fang. With my background in illustration my main interest is figurative drawing, so that transitioned me to enjoying organic character modeling most of all.

	Jessica Hook

Jessica: I am currently Lead Texture Artist for Massive Black, and I’ve been working in games for about 2 years. I started in games as a 2D artist working for Konami, painting backgrounds and cinematics for “Frogger.” Since being with Massive Black I’ve had the pleasure of working on titles like Hellgate: London, Battlefield 2142 & Killzone 2.

WG: How would you describe your style? What are your main sources of inspiration?

Yasmin: As a modeler, my style can be largely determined by what the client is looking for in each particular project. It's my job to create the best quality 3D asset from the 2D concept and the client's direction. Outside of work, drawing is still a passion. Though I don't feel my style is fully developed yet, I do tend to enjoy contour line drawings as well as letting things feel sketchy. Currently I'm doing a lot of fashion design sketching, and I'm looking at a lot of fashion magazines that catalogue runway collections. I like to study them for what they are, as well as where the ideas can lead in regards to inventing character costume designs.

For inspiration, I love Alphonse Mucha, Claire Wendling, and Shunpei, just to name a few. But I don't have to go very far to find amazing art. There is never a lack of inspiring work coming out of the Massive Black artists; my mind is constantly being blown.

Jessica: Well, there are two sides to that question. I take great pride in being a 3D texture artist by day and delivering work consistent with the style that a client wants. Everything from photo-real to loose & painterly. But my personal work changes as I grow as an artist, and is largely 2D digital painting these days. I’m big on illustration and fine art. My personal style tends to gravitate towards figurative subjects and moody colors. I am constantly inspired by multiple genres & artists, and absorbing the parts that give me tingles! The line work of Arthur Rackum, the color & edge qualities of William Bouguereau, the design of Alphonse Mucha, the gesture of Craig Mullins, the mystery of Beksinski, the sex appeal of Masamune Shirow, I could go on forever! I have an immortal love of comics, both American & foreign that act as an endless source of inspiration. Titles like Battle Angel Alita, Kabuki, and Batman, (though I’ll pick up anything with a good story) and a slew of favorite comic book artists to go with it.

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