Hi Don, thanks for taking your time for this interview. Could you present yourself to the community?

My pleasure, my name is Don Arceta and I grew up in Edmonton, Canada. I have recently moved to Royal Leamington Spa in the UK with my wife Tara.

What is your background?

I’ve been in the games industry for just over 12 years now. In 2005, Bioware hired me on as a Junior Environment Artist where I started to work on the first Mass Effect. In 2013, as we wrapped up Mass Effect 3, I became the Lead Environment Artist and transitioned to lead the environment art team for Bioware’s new IP, Anthem.

After several years on Anthem, I decided to try something new and begin a new adventure! This led me to Playground Games in the UK where I am the Lead Environment Artist.

What are your specialties?

I really enjoy texturing, materials, and shaders as that’s what I started off doing at Bioware. Recreating surfaces under the constraints of a real time renderer is definitely something I gravitate towards and take extra care in.

What are your sources of inspiration?

Overall, my main sources of inspiration are modern architecture, contemporary furniture, industrial design, and nature. Artstation is also a source of inspiration specifically for Substance Designer pieces. I also get a lot of inspiration from all of the talented artists I get to work with every day.

How did you discover the Allegorithmic tools?

When we began pre-production on Anthem, the Technical Art Director at the time introduced me to Substance Designer. I remember being very excited about it, but it didn’t ‘click’ with me right away. It wasn’t until I started doing personal work at home, within the last year and a half or so, that I felt I was starting to understand the strengths and workflows of Substance Designer.