Chris Copeland: Life as a Technical Artist

Graduate Chris Copeland has embraced change since completing the Game Development: Art BA(Hons) course. After successfully securing a competitive graduate role, the studio he was working at shut down — prompting him to pivot into another game art specialism.

We caught up with Chris to hear more about his time on the course, how things have unfolded since graduating, and how he’s finding life as a Technical Artist at Rebellion – one of Europe’s biggest independent multimedia studios.

Could you tell us about your time at Falmouth?

I chose to study at Falmouth because I was blown away by the location, and it seemed like a great place to live as a student. There are always events going on in the town or on campus, so there’s definitely a lot to experience. I enrolled on the Game Development: Art course as it offered a more hands-on, practical experience compared to the Game Art course (although we share a lot of the same modules).

The best thing for me about the game art courses at Falmouth is that the structure lends itself to building your portfolio. Ultimately, a good portfolio is what employers are looking for, so being able to complete my uni modules and have some portfolio pieces at the end of them was great.

The support from the lecturers was something I really valued — having quick access to constructive feedback and suggestions from them (many of whom are industry veterans) was invaluable and really pushed the quality of my work.

How did you find getting a job when you graduated?

After I graduated, I was lucky enough to land a role as an Intern Environment Artist at Antimatter Games, working on I.G.I. Origins. I definitely think some of the connections I made while studying at Falmouth helped me get the job. That first role is always the most important for students trying to break into the industry, and I was able to work on a live production for just over a year until the studio shut down.

Unfortunately, the games industry is quite tough right now and competition for junior jobs is fierce. I used being made redundant as an opportunity to switch roles — from Environment Artist to Technical Artist — which is quite an in-demand role. I was able to get back on my feet fairly quickly, and I’m now working at Rebellion as a Technical Artist.

I’m really pleased to see that Falmouth’s Games Academy has started to expand its curriculum to include some Tech Art modules, as these skills are in high demand, and I don’t think many universities put enough emphasis on them.

What do you like to draw the most?

I’m not a 2D artist, and most of my current work involves creating procedural tools or scripts for other artists (which unfortunately is all under a NDA). But I’m really proud of my graduate piece from uni — it got me my first industry role, and I entered it into The Rookies (where it won an Excellence Award and was selected in the Draft), and into the Grads in Games competition, where I made it to the finals.