EYE ON DESIGN STUDIO INTERVIEW
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TIM WILSON
4(% (%!$ /& /0%2!4)/.3 4!,+3 53 4(2/5'(! *!-˶0!#+%$ $!9Recently, Atomhawk also had the opportunity to
work on the sequel to the huge 2012 success that
was The Avengers. “Avengers: Age of Ultron for
Marvel was a challenging project,” says Ashtiani.
“We’d rolled straight off Guardians of the Galaxy
onto Avengers: Age of Ultron, and they were very
different beasts. Guardians of the Galaxy was a
blank canvas due to there being no previous
movies and the comics were fairly low profile, so
we were creatively very free to reimagine a
universe. The Avengers was one of the biggest-
grossing movies of all time, so there was a lot to
live up to and a lot of design work was already
done. There was inevitably some pressure in
building on that and taking it to the next level – I
think we managed it though!”
These projects wouldn’t come together so
seamlessly without the strength of a close-knit
team behind them, so how do they work together
to meet client expectations? “Communication is
key,” says Tim Wilson. “We find that clients gain
huge amounts of confidence in us when we create
a clear dialogue and set of expectations around
deliverables and timescales. The production and art10:00
MEETING TIME
Each week the production team
and principal artists get together to discuss what’s
on, how the week is panning out and any
challenges on the horizon. By having an open
forum early in the week, we make sure we’re
prepared for whatever lies ahead!11:00
ARTIS4Ĉ/.%Ɏ4/Ɏ/.%
Every member of the team has a
regular meeting with a principal artist and
member of the production team. This is a great
time for two-way feedback and to discuss areas
like training and career development.13:00
LEARNING LUNCH
Once a month, one of our artists
takes the team through a tutorial of how they work
on a specific technique. This week, we learned how
Charlie Bowater creates realistic digital skin when
she paints.teams work closely with clients at the beginning of a
project to set it up on the correct footing. We share
progress internally through Basecamp, then with
clients on a regular basis at key artwork stages (eg,
thumbnail sketches, refined black and white, colour
pass, final renders, etc). Within the team we also
have a lot of industry experience, which helps a lot,
especially if a project changes scope and we need to
think fast to keep things on track!”
It is obviously a workflow system that works and
delivers the goods, and seems that the clients agree,
as Dan Gilmore explains: “We’ve worked on some of
the most amazing games and films of the last few
years – that’s a testament to our devotion to quality.
We’ve been working with some of our clients for
over five years; what really sets us apart is that we’re
viewed by those clients as an indispensable part oftheir team. We’re not only providing great images,
we’re providing design thinking and creative
leadership too.”
In just six years the Atomhawk team has come so
far, agrees Wilson: “We’re currently recognised as
one of the top studios in the world for producing art
and design for the games industry. For example, we
designed a number of the characters and
environments for Mortal Kombat X, a game that has
been a huge critical and commercial success.” Given
such success all ready, how high is the studio setting
its sights going forward? “We’d like to continue to
work in the games space, but also to develop further
relationships in the film, digital and advertising
sectors, building on those that we already have with
the likes of Marvel and Adam&Eve DDB (www.
adamandeveddb.com).”The Avengers was one of
the biggest-grossingmovies of all time, so there was
a lot to live up to. There wasinevitably some pressure in
building on that and taking it tothe next level – I think we
managed it though!2013, Atomhawk produced the key Dead Island: Riptide: Released in
marketing artwork that adorned magazine covers and shop floors
during the game’s release