Introduction

My name is Gregor Kopka and I entered 3D game development via the mod scene at the end of the 90s, when I worked with friends on a Quake III mod called “Navy Seals Covert Operations.” Basically, this was my first time gaining experience in creating game assets for an engine. This included characters and weapons—I had no clue what I was doing! But, my friends and I eventually taught ourselves everything we needed to know, and we made this hard work fun by supporting each other on our way to our bigger goal that almost resulted in the creation of our own company. I kept doing 3D art while I was at university studying Design while also dabbling in movie-related artistic work. The quality of my art back then was universe away from what kids are capable of doing nowadays simply because my only source at the time was expensive books that solely focused on creating spheres in 3ds Max. Today, one can go on YouTube or head over to ArtStation to learn how to cut corners by listening to the experience of others or to get inspired by an enormous selection of awesome 3D art.

After I received my diploma in Design, I began looking for a job and my friend Ben Bauer, who was one of the founders of our Quake III mod, suggested I apply to work at Crytek where he was also working. After applying, I underwent several art tests and got a prop artist job, which allowed me to work on weapons and props in Crysis. Initially, it was a very difficult position! I still had no clue what I was doing, but I learned a great deal of information and developed some practical skills that lead me to earn a new role at Crytek. At that point in my career, I oversaw the creation of all weapons (my speciality) for all Crytek projects from Frankfurt, Germany.

I was always in limbo about being a production artist who also designed his work himself. I’m not sure if that’s the right way to go, especially if you love concepting, but game companies really like production artists with design skills—which is a position that can pay off in the long run. But, if you don’t do a lot of concepting in your free time, you will end up falling behind the best—as is true with most things in life. Currently, I’m improving this part of my skill set while I continue to grow at Nvidia. In the end, it reminds me of my beginnings as a noob 3D game developer which is fine because it makes me feel young again and keeps me hungry to learn more.

If you’d like to grasp a better understanding of my work, feel free to visit my ArtStation!

Crysis guns: