This is my very first article for They Make Games, and I had to start with someone special. Someone who I admire a lot and with whom I had the chance to work with.
I started working in the industry not so long ago after leaving university – in January 2019, I was hired as a Social Media and Community Manager at Lightbulb Crew, a French indie game studio. Back then, they were working on Othercide, a tactical RPG that got released one year and a half later after I joined the team. Among these talented folks, there was Alexandre Chaudret, Art Director on the project. A crazy mind who changed how I view my work while we have very different jobs.
First things first… Who are you, Alexandre Chaudret?
I am a French Art Director and Illustrator, working mainly in the video game industry. I started my career in 2011 as a Cinematic Artist for the French video game company Spiders, and shifted to concept art in 2015 when I joined Gameloft. In parallel of my day job, I developed my freelance activity during my evenings and weekends, creating concept arts, book covers and board games illustrations, for big companies as well as independants.
In 2017, I got the opportunity to do my first steps in art direction at the studio Lightbulb Crew: three years later, the dark tactical RPG Othercide was out. A project entirely in black, white and red, full of tormented monsters and hidden lore, where I poured a lot of love, hours, artworks (and sweat) with a great and passionate team. I am proud of the vision we could achieve with this game, a little spark of light in an ocean of darkness.
I am now the Art Director of Hexworks, a new studio crafting The Lords of the Fallen, a dark fantasy action RPG coming out in 2023: the occasion for me to add more skulls, candles, swords and hectoliters of blood all over the place… A dream job!
What does your day look like as an Art Director? What are the main challenges you’re facing, but also the ones that bring the most fun?
My role as an Art Director at Hexworks has two main aspects: we coud say I am both a ‘creative compass’ and a ‘solution provider’.
On one hand I must build a direction, give a cap for the visuals of the game, respecting the needs of the universe and the constraints of our gameplay. This cap will be diffused at all stages of production, and I try to maintain the vision on all artistic aspects as much as possible. But on the other side, I am used as a fireman each time something lacks, breaks, shifts or changes in production, impacting the art direction…and boy that happens often!
Basically my day to day job is full of reviews, paintovers, annotations and discussions. I have a huge advantage in the organization we installed at Hexworks: I have less direct management to provide, giving me time to paint – either for launching new ideas for the artists, or to create missing assets for the game. Even if the role of an Art Director doesn’t allow me to paint as much as a concept artist, I have the chance to draw and paint almost every day.
I think this is the biggest challenge for Art Directors: knowing that you will not do everything yourself, that you just can’t be a control freak and that you must learn to fight the right battles at the right moment (and, often, not alone). One of my mantras, that actually came from my mentor and first Art Director Pascal Barret, and that I repeat to the team when I can:
We are here to make a video game, not an art book.
Crafting a game is a curious alchemy, a balance between a lot of different poles and profiles, and I think it is important for an Art Director to understand that you are constantly working for the game, and not for the beauty of a future portfolio.
The best part of my job today is when I see the different pieces of the puzzle clicking together: from the first sketch to the last paintover on a character, environment, VFX, UI design, or even the most humble sword, I love to look back and see that it improved and looks good in the latest build of the game.
You’re currently working on Lords of the Fallen, an action-RPG AAA game set to be released on 2023. How was it different to work on this title? Is there anything you can reveal/show?
I think the biggest change for me on this project is… the scale!
Let me explain: I have mostly worked on independant and AA projects, so getting on a AAA souls-like was both exciting and impressive. I mean, it’s been more than ten years that I have been doing knights, monsters, demons, dragons and skeletons, but the size of the game, the talent of the team and the pressure of the project is a bit head spinning… Will I be good enough? Am I doing my best…? Am I making the right choices? What will the players think, once the pad is in their hands?
Johanna: I think this is a very common thing, and while it does bring a lot of pressure and bad thoughts that could be destructive in the long term, I also believe it can help reconsider choices and find new ways to do what we want to achieve. I know many people who live with impostor syndrome, and guess what, I am one of them. This is where being supported by friends, family and/or coworkers can help see the bigger picture. If they know you well, they will definitely make you remember what you achieved in the past. This was a self care note, please keep reading!
On my previous project, Othercide, the smaller scale of the project (both on scope and budget) allowed a broader and more engaged creativity. But if I take a step back, I think I work the same way: I like telling stories, and finding the best way to give emotions to our players.
I can’t reveal much on The Lords of the Fallen – that’s probably one of the implied rules of bigger projects haha – but you can check the trailers that came out and the revealed screenshots. More to come very soon, before the final countdown (heart pounding)!
Where do your inspirations come from?
Mostly from… my childhood! Or, to be more specific: the same thing I loved when I was a child and that I still love today… Mangas, animes, horror movies and Stephen King-like novels, everything that gave me my beautiful nightmares and inspires me still today.
The great thing about Art, is that more or less anything that passes through your brain becomes a part of your future inspiration ; it’s like gaining XP in a RPG just by living and having fun! I have a few ‘bibles’ that I come back to constantly: the manga Berserk from Miura, the work of Nihei (BLAME, Biomega, Aposimz) and some grand masters like H.R. Giger or Beksinski. They crafted my imagination and I feel comfortable in their dark, gruesome, fabulous worlds.
Oh, and of course Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya. It’s always about Dragon Ball and Seiya, just accept it as a matter of fact. Voilà.
Why do you tend to create darker worlds? Did your style change over the years?
Tough question…
One day, a long time ago, my girlfriend (and now wife and mother of my two adorable children) told me after reading one of my stories:
Why is there so much darkness in you..?
And it’s true that it was a legit question: I am a very normal average dude, normal life, a few bumps and hiccups here and there, but if you cross me in the street you wouldn’t even notice me.
I think I just developed a fascination for strange worlds and tormented characters. But it hasn’t always been like this, you know: I worked on a bunch of projects aimed for children, and still have some personal projects that are ‘brighter’ than blood skeletons and cosmic horror creatures. And I sometimes go back to a more kitch/badass/punk style, more rock’n’roll and pop, when I need to take a breath out of my dark shores.
Some of your personal projects include triangle shapes. Is this the Chaudret’s touch?
Hahahaha what can I say, I am the Triangle Man!
More seriously, let’s say it is more a ‘phase’ than a definitive style, but it is true it’s an exercise that I love. Here is the logic it comes from: I come from a school of thoughts where ‘composition’ is one (if not THE) most important aspect of an image. For years, I trained my eye to abstract images into simple shapes and see the beauty and strength of simple geometric shapes. Like my dear triangle.
So one day, I constrained myself to build my detailed images through this powerful shape. I loved doing so. And I got addicted for a time, and still am. Actually, it brought me a long time kid dream: I was contacted and able to work for Magic the Gathering on a few cards especially for this art style with geometric shapes. A blast and a great experience!
But don’t worry…
… one day there will be squares.
How is art as a whole used in video games? Is designing monsters for a game different than doing so for other formats such as cards or books?
I guess there is not ‘one’ good answer to this question, it is very dependent on the artist (or Art Director). In my very personal opinion, Art acts at so many levels that I just can’t consider a video game without thinking it is a piece of art. Of course there are the visuals, but also the writing, the music, the sound design, the interactivity… Everything that touches the emotions of the player is part of an artistic sensation.
So, yes, of course, I act the most on the visual standpoint, the aspect that has the most direct interaction with the player through his eyes. But in addition to the harmony and pleasing aspect of the esthetics, I think the most important is to ‘vehiculate’ and ‘recall’ memories, sensations, emotions to the player through the visuals.
The biggest difference between different formats is the finality of the product: designing a monster for an illustration differs from inventing a monster that will be made in 3D, rigged, animated, interacted with through gameplay. In an illustration, it is the image itself that must strike the emotions alone, through composition, colors, storytelling, lighting, media… For a concept art or a character design, the image is nothing more than a step to achieve something bigger, or part of a bigger whole.
Same tools, different finality!
What keeps you creating and making art?
Hmmmm… You want the most honest answer?
I really think I just don’t know what I would do if I stopped. I think it’s just part of who I am, like the Force of the Jedis – something invisible but that sticks through my veins…
I love telling stories. Breaking the rules of our reality and mashing up concepts and ideas, from the most deep profound traumatisms down to the juicy confrontation of a knight against a dragon. Painting, drawing, or even ‘art directing’ are just the tools I use to tell stories (mine or the one of others). And if I can make a few people escape from their world for a little time, for whatever the reasons they need to evade in the first place, I am just… happy.
Long time after the release of Othercide, I received very touching messages from some players that entered in deep ‘resonance’ with the story of the game. Not just the lore of the game, but the hidden signification underneath, based on part of my past traumas and personal health condition. Those messages were a blessing, and brought me to tears.
Johanna: I can clearly remember how players felt about the game, even before it got released. I guess that is what happens when you pour your soul into something. Sharing it to the world may not be an easy task because you need to become vulnerable to do so, but as Alexandre said – if this can help people escape from their reality and resonate with their own experiences, that might be worth doing it.
After showing those messages to my family, my wife said:
I think I understand now what you REALLY do for a living.
This kind of stuff makes me create even more every day.
Any last words?!
I guess there is one aspect of my life I can’t, and shouldn’t hide anymore… A long secret that I kept for myself, and that is part of the ‘secret sauce’ of my inspiration and long time training in the art field…
I deeply love pepperoni pizzas.
That’s it. That will be my conclusion.
Thank you a lot my dear Jojo for this nice interview, and I wish you all a long and beautiful journey in the joyful world of art and video games!
Alexandre Chaudret – Art Director
ArtStation / Twitter / Instagram
I am so happy to start this project with a dear friend of mine! As I said at the very beginning, Alexandre changed how I view my job in communications. I realized I could do a lot more with my work than talk about the game ; I wanted to talk about the artists as well.
This is when I started a series of articles focused on our team and their job on Othercide. Games are made by so many hands, with tons of pieces assembled with each other to make the final products we are able to play. Being able to learn about topics that are SO far from what I am doing on a daily basis was very precious as it brought ideas to our communication plan that paid off in the long run.
We could also say that it brought me where I am today with They Make Games. I feel like I found another path in the industry, more personal but still related to what I love doing, and I am very excited to share with you new artists in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please find above Alexandre’s information in case you would like to see more of his work. Feel free to leave any comments you may have and I see you again very soon!
