Solar Farm
Project Details
This scene depicts a field of fictional "solar windmills" modeled from a digital illustration.
I chose this scene because of the unique form and concept of the solar windmills, and it looked like a really peaceful scene regardless of the hulking metal giants in the foreground and background.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2010
- Photoshop CS3
- Crazybump
- X-Normal
Reference Image
Abandoned Village
Project Details
This scene is a model of an actual abandoned village in Taipei. Many stories circulate about why this village never came to be: questionable building practices, property disputes, and the most interesting one, the government's refusal to tear it down since it is rumored to be haunted, and it is forbidden to tamper with places where spirits still roam. I picked this scene because it tries to deceive with its colorful and playful look and almost toy-like appearance, yet deep down it is a depressing image of abandonment and decay, which gave me the chance to play with some interesting textures.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
- Mudbox 2009
- Crazybump
Reference Image
Train Station
Project Details
This scene is a focus study of an underground train station tunnel.
The whole scene was built from a photographic reference, chosen as an exercise in creating and replicating metallic and reflective surfaces and illumination from a real life image.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
- Mudbox 2009
- Crazybump
Reference Image
Reactor Core
Project Details
This project allowed me to interpret a scene directly from a sketch, without any color or texture reference. It was based on a drawing from the excellent concept artist Feng Zhu.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
- Mudbox 2009
- Crazybump
Reference Image
Underwater Restaurant
Project Details
This scene was modeled after a real underwater restaurant located in the Maldive Islands, called "Ithaa". Made in 3DS Max and textured in Photoshop.
This environment was picked because of its texture variety, which gave me the chance to work with metal, glass, wood, plastic and their respective transparency and reflection.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
Reference Image
Team Project: Primae Noctis
Project Details
Primae Noctis is an Unreal Engine 3 single player conversion, a medieval stealth game loosely based on Paramount's "Braveheart" I.P. I am currently working as an environment artist and character modeler with a team of 17 people, creating two of the main character's alternate forms, as well as several assets for the castle where this game takes place.
This is our final Capstone game, which is still under development.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
- Mudbox 2009
- Crazybump
Team Project: Harvest
Project Details
Harvest is an Unreal Tournament 3 multiplayer conversion with a Steampunk theme. I worked as an environment artist and character modeler with a team of 9 people, creating one of the main characters and the game's antagonist, the Lurker, as well as several modular environment meshes for exterior levels and their textures.
This modification served as a great learning experience that familiarized us with the Unreal 3 Engine workflow and got us ready to take on our final capstone project.
Tools Used
- 3DS Max 2009
- Photoshop CS3
- Mudbox 2009
- Crazybump
Team Project: The Galatea Effect
Tools Used
The Galatea Effect is a 2D action game made with the Torque X 2D engine. It was developed by a 4 man team where I served as art lead and animator. Winner of the "Best Overall Game" in the fall 2008 Guildhall game exhibition.
As the only artist in the team I was in charge of creating all character, background and animation sprites, pickups, splash screens, particle effects and box art. It is the first video game I had the pleasure of working on and I consider myself lucky by having been assigned such a great team.
Tools Used
- Photoshop CS3
- Torque X 2D Game Builder
Game Trailer
Illustration
Project Details
This section is a showcase of some of the 2D art I am capable of creating, both digitally and traditionally.
Tools Used
- Photoshop CS3
- Cintiq Tablet
- Graphite Pencil
About Me
Need a video game environment?
Well then you're in the right place.
Hi there. my name is César and this is a showcase of the work I've done in The Guildhall, where I'm completing a Masters of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development.
My passion is to create environments. To extract a scene from a 2D image and bring it into the third dimension as accurately as possible. I have had the chance to pursue this passion with the different projects I've been a part of, which have given me the opportunity to work with settings as varied as futuristic science-fiction and medieval fantasy. Additionally, I am also able to conceptualize and model characters, which is another interest of mine.
I enjoy working with low polygon, high polygon and hard surface models. I also have traditional drawing skills which have helped me greatly in generating concept art as well as hand-painted textures. As a Master's Thesis, I am currently researching methods to produce organic or "living levels" inside the Unreal Engine 3.
Hope you enjoy what you see here. Feel free to click on the resume section if you wish to know more about my background and skills, or head over to the Contact section if you wish to reach me.
Resume
Skills
- Low/High polygon and hard surface modeling
- 3D sculpting and normal map creation
- Unwrapping and texturing
- Importing art assets into Unreal Engine 3
- Knowledge of the Unreal 3 Material Editor
- 2D sprite and HUD creation and animation
- Traditional and digital drawing skills
- Fully bilingual (English-Spanish)
Tools
- Autodesk 3DS Max 2009 & 2010
- Autodesk Maya 2009
- Autodesk Mudbox 2009
- Adobe Photoshop CS3
Known Engines
- Unreal 3 Editor
- Unity Engine
- TorqueX Game Builder
Experience
Game Related
- Primae Noctis
- Conceptualized, modeled and textured environment assets and two characters.
- Harvest
- Created exterior environmental assets, a weapon and two characters.
- The Galatea Effect
- Single artist in charge of all the visuals and animations for a four man team for this 2D action game.
Work Experience
- Graphic Designer
- Worked for four years in Primera Hora, one of Puerto Rico's most popular newspapers.
- English Tutor
- Helped freshmen with their English assignments at the University of Puerto Rico, Bayamón Campus.
Education
The Guildhall @ SMU, Texas
- Master's of Interactive Technology in Video Game Development
- Specialization in Digital Game Art Creation
- Graduating in December 2009
Atlantic College, Puerto Rico
- BA in Graphic Design
- Specialization in digital print and web design
- Minor focus on 3D modeling and video editing
- PLEASE NOTE: This is an abridged version of my resume. For the full version, click below:
- PDF Version
- MS Word version
Get In Touch
GO TO TOPContact Form
Location
Cesar Altagracia
Plano, Texas
- E-mail:
- kaiser [at] cesaraltagracia.com
- MSN Messenger:
- brigander [at] hotmail.com