Talent Tree: Principal Layout Artist, Story and Franchise Development

Talent Tree is a blog series about the talented people behind everything we create. Ben, a principal layout artist, takes us through his creative process building scenes in cinematics and shepherding them from concept to final frame.

Tell us about your background. Where did you get your start?

I've known I wanted to be in animation since I was five years old. I come from an extremely artistic family full of painters and musicians, and my brothers are both in the animation visual effects industry, so creativity has always been a part of my life. But even with all that, I didn't really believe in myself…so in college, I majored in business. I ended up as a licensed electrician: the complete opposite of what I really wanted to do. After eight years, I reached an inflection point: I could either continue what I was doing, or I could try for my dream. I decided right then to pack up all my stuff, go to art school in California, and try to make a go of it. So, I did just that!

That's amazing! What eventually led you to Blizzard?

World of Warcraft was my gateway into Blizzard games. My oldest brother got me a laptop when I went back to school, and we've been playing WoW ever since. Before I joined Blizzard, the cinematics for each major release were almost just as anticipated, if not more so, than the actual expansions because of the artistry and craftsmanship put into each one. After art school, I became a production assistant at a visual effects house, working on some big blockbusters and award-winning movies, before switching to marketing communications at a tech company, but animation was always in the back of my mind. A former colleague from my VFX days started working in Story and Franchise Development (SFD) here at Blizzard in 2015, building a layout department. I went to BlizzCon that year, reconnected with them, and when they continued to expand the layout department, I was able to join the team. I've been here ever since-10 years now!

Congrats on earning your shield! Can you tell us more about your role as a layout artist?

In SFD at Blizzard, the layout department are like shepherds for shots and sequences in the production of a cinematic-that includes the huge cinematics released with the announcements of our new games as well as in-game cut scenes. We're one of the few departments that touch everything in a cinematic, from the beginning of the pipeline to the end. We'll work with modeling, surfacing, and texturing artists to make sure their elements work before getting into final lighting. We work with the environment modeling department to literally lay out scenes with set dressing in the actual environment-placing buildings, scattering debris, making rooms and spaces feel lived in and natural. Once the storyboards or previs get approved, we process them into actual shots for the animation team so all they have to worry about is animating the characters. We also work with the quality control department along the way to identify issues, like continuity errors, before these shots become final frames. And once final frames come through for review, we check the renders with QC to ensure everything looks perfect.

How do you approach a new cinematic? What sort of challenges do you face?

Starting a new project involves the whole team. Our goal is to maintain the structure and preserve the visual integrity of the cinematic piece by piece. We come together, look at the needs of the shots and sequences, and discuss where we think there might be technical issues.

I worked on a Soldier: 76 cinematic years ago where he fires his weapon and knocks out a bunch of thugs on the street. Continuity-wise, those fallen enemies need to stay where they've fallen and be visible from different angles if the camera points back toward them. It sounds like that would be simple, but posing those guys in different frames would actually spend a lot of animation time and resources. To avoid that, we came up with a simplified way to reference where they fell without having to recreate their posing each and every time.

Water is also very challenging any time it's rendered. We had a cinematic with D.Va flying a long way over a huge expanse of water, leaving a wake behind her. In a render, the further away a character gets from their origin point, the more issues that can cause as the distance is processed and more and more data accumulates until it causes rendering issues. Our team actually came up with a way to break down the sequence in previsualization and "offset" her flight distance in each shot back to zero while maintaining continuity for the cameras, so that you could still see evidence of her traveling from shot to shot. With that solve, we were able to eliminate any of those processing issues before they ever popped up.

Is there a project in your history you're most proud of?

The "Zero Hour" cinematic that we debuted at BlizzCon 2019. It was a huge undertaking to build out the streets of Paris so that the Omnic could destroy it. Composing the streets with abandoned cars and little shopping carts outside the stores to make it feel like an actual world was a lot of work, but it was so satisfying to see it revealed at Opening Ceremony and to hear the crowd's reaction. It's one of my favorite moments.

What advice would you give to someone interested in being a layout artist?

First and foremost, trust yourself! Don't discount your own abilities or your worth within your craft. Looking back, my time as an electrician is part of my story and I wouldn't trade that experience, but part of me still wonders what would have happened had I trusted myself and gone into the art industry right off the bat.

Second, be flexible. Things don't always go as planned or work the way you think they're going to, so be ready to pivot and try to adjust the circumstances to find ways around obstacles.

And lastly, always be willing to learn. The industry changes at a breakneck speed with new programs, new techniques, and new workflows that can improve your ability to do your job. Always be aware of what's changing, and be willing to learn from anyone, whether they're more senior or more junior than you are.

Last question! Is it true you also play drums in a band with other Blizzard employees?

Yes! It's been such a blast coming together with the other members of the band. I'll be forever grateful that I saw the internal post that started it all in time to be the first drummer to respond. Being a member of the band has been so fun, rewarding, and humbling, collaborating with my extremely talented colleagues. It gives us all a chance to stretch different creative muscles than the ones we use in our day-to-day, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!