The last article of May is dedicated to a new category of artists! If you have ever wondered how textures were made in your favorite games, Rick Hoppmann shares with us how he creates such important details.
Currently working as a Stylized Material Artist at Lightforge Games, Rick have had the chance to work on several projects since he started in the industry. Take some time to discover his journey in the interview below!
Nice to meet you, Rick! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi all! I’m Rick, a Stylized Material Artist working at Lightforge Games with a love for nature and cute stuff! When I walk through the city I get excited by dirty walls and cobble floors! Good texture reference. 😀
When was the first time you were introduced to video games?
We were never allowed gaming consoles as kids, but I played on PC from 5 years old or so. Minecraft is the reason why I got professionally into video games originally. It made me realize there’s people actually making games for a living! Way back then I wanted to make my own indie games.
Johanna: Same here! I don’t really remember how I realized working in games could be a possibility, but I know for a fact I would not skip the credits of the games I used to play, back when I was younger. I have always liked seeing in one place all the different people who worked on the same project.
What made you become a Stylized Material Artist?
I just really love working in Substance Designer. My brain is just somehow filled with joy when making textures with nodes? I first tried it out on my own during my Bachelors at Cologne Game Lab & quickly fell in love. I love when art happens in between tech and art, which is why I think I love it so much.
A good mix of being creative and problem-solving!
What are your role and main missions when working on a project?
So right now it’s in between art direction / lookdev, making materials and also making tools and shaders. I’m taking the 2D concepts our lovely art director makes and translate them to a real-time PBR context. Besides making sure the materials read well, I also need to keep level of detail and stylization in mind.
Johanna: For the noobies like me, PBR means Physically Based Rendering. Basically, it’s about making materials that look realistic from what we have in real life. So making sure your bricks look like real bricks under the sun and so on!
Do you have a specific creative process?
For materials my work is usually quite structured yes! I always start by gathering plenty of reference (big shapes, small shapes, benchmark, interaction with light, aging). When I haven’t gathered or analysed enough reference I usually end up wasting time on iterations. So this step is super-duper important!
Then in Substance Designer I start with the height map and work from big to small shapes. It’s important to start with the big shapes as they define the overall read of the material. It also helps to avoid making textures too noisy.
After the height I work on the roughness + metalness (as color is distracting when working on roughness). And lastly I do Base Color, AO and anything else. And I always try to test it in engine early and see it in context.
What are your favorite games when it comes to materials and textures?
Ooh! I’m very inspired by Lary Kummer’s work on Darksburg. The level of stylization is just so tasty, the textures feels so good. Also Immortals: Fenyx Rising is a game I keep referencing for stylized work. Vincent Dérozier is super generous about sharing his process and I learned a lot from his work. And lastly, not a game, but I’m in love with Jimmy Malachier’s material style for SoWork.
What makes you stay creative when making art?
Generally I’d say just living life with an open and curious mind. As a texture artist this means looking at shapes, color, light and those lovely stains on the dirty concrete wall.
And also following artists I like and checking out IRL art once in a while.
Johanna: You heard him! You gotta do what you gotta do… And yes, sometimes that includes looking at the floor outside when you walk.
Any projects you’ve been very proud to work on?
My current project is under NDA but I’m super happy with 2 indie games I worked on!
Both are still in development. In one you can change your size from ant-size to human-size! Was super fun to figure out a solution for materials to work with the size change. It hasn’t been announced yet, so stay tuned.
And the other I’m excited about is DokiToki! It’s a cute puzzle game with a colorful anime-like artstyle. I had so much fun making props for it (my most recent work was on some Sailor Moon-like keys).
How do you disconnect with work and take care of your mental health?
I’m working in an all remote studio with flexible work schedule. That requires strong and clear time & energy boundaries! During the work day I use the Pomodoro method to remind me to take breaks. Mornings are for focus work and afternoons are for easy work + meetings (ideally).
Johanna: This is a good technique actually, especially as we tend to not be productive all day long but at very specific moments! But as you said, it also means having strict limits to prevent overworking.
And I also have a set work schedule, after which I don’t work anymore. However, most of my team is in different timezones, so usually I schedule 1-2 days a week where I work in the evening and take the afternoon off.
What would you like to see change in our industry in the coming years?
It’d be great to move to a 4 day work week in most companies. Game art is high focus, mental work. Working less can mean being more focused and getting more done. It’d mean more focused, happy employees ideally, who have more time to experience life. Also I’m working all remote right now and I hope this becomes an option at more companies going forward.
Anything else you would like to share with us?
Thank you for the interview! Stay tuned for what we’re working on at Lightforge. I can’t say much yet, but if you’re into (real life) roleplaying you’re gonna love it! I also have a Youtube series where I interview cozy 3D artists.
Rick Hoppmann – Stylized Material Artist
ArtStation / Instagram / LinkedIn
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, Rick! It is so cool to see we are doing something similar by putting other artists under the spotlight.
I see you guys in two weeks for another brand new interview, in the meantime take care.
