First magazine article published!

It's finally here! 

After several delays on the publisher side, the magazine containing my first official article is finally in stores. It is featured in the "Game Development" special issue of iX-magazin one of Germany's biggest IT magazines. 

The article follows the workflow for a hero-asset I did for Ryse from start to finish and explains the steps involved in the creation process including a bunch of workflow tips. I'm really happy with how it turned out and it was an interesting experience writing one of these. I wouldn't mind writing more in the future!

Big thanks to all the people proofreading the article, providing valuable feedback (both on the English and German version) and helping out with the necessary things to make this happen!

p.s. i'm not really sure what the pixel art is about.. :D

Nikita scene work-in-progress

I just wanted to share some quick work-in-progress shots of a scene I've been working on in my spare time.

It's based on the tv show "Nikita" and the command centre of the black ops organisation "Division".
I'm a fan of the show and especially this area, which I think has a very interesting design.

The modeling/texturing for the main area is all done although I will need to tweak some texture values and lighting. For now I'm playing with setting up some shots. And once it's really done I'll do a proper write-up/breakdown.

Earlier stage of this scene can be found on my polycount thread here:
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131379

More coming soon!

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Portfolio Updated!

Today I finally updated my portfolio! And I admit it was long overdue. A lot of the stuff on there has been there since I started in 2009 and no longer represented my best work. I also took the time to finally take screenshots of the work I did on Crysis 3 and the Crysis 3 DLC. It's nice to give it a spot and create space in my head for all the new things that are coming in the future. It was an absolute blast to work on the Crysis franchise and looking back at all the art & levels in the game, I feel very proud to have been part of this project.

Once Ryse is officially in stores I will add some the things I did for that game as well. I'm also pretty far along with a personal piece that I will put up once its done. but until then please enjoy the update.
To see the updated version just follow the link: www.michelkooper.com

Reboot! A new country and a new job!

Looking at the last entry date of this blog I realized little more than 2 years passed since I last posted. In the past 2 years I got nowhere near the amount of content I imagined I'd put up here. But that doesn't mean the pasts years have been unproductive...

Before I truly restart this blog I feel I need to give a quick update of what I've been doing in the past few years. 

Somewhere 4 years ago I decided to fully commit myself to becoming a 3d/environment artist with the goal to one day work on awesome games. Ever since I've been working really hard, learning, practicing and absorbing every little piece of information I could find.

After the competitions over at Eat3D (older post in this blog) and the surprising results, I got a lot of positive responses to my work, and this really helped me getting noticed.

As a result I got the offer to work for Interceptor Entertainment as an environment artist, working on
Duke Nukem: Reloaded. Although the project got put on hold indefinitely in September 2011 there was a lot of passion in the team and it was a great experience working on what would have been a great remake of a classic. I moved on after the project stopped but it is awesome to see how Interceptor Entertainment and its team has grown and is kicking ass with the Duke Nukem platformer pack and Rise Of The Triad, which should release later this month!

The biggest change in my life was shortly after, when I joined the team at Crytek Frankfurt, in December 2011. I got an offer to do environment art on Crysis 3 and I took it.

Moving to Germany and leaving my hometown was probably the hardest thing I ever did in my life. And certainly the biggest step I ever took. At the same time it was also the easiest decision I ever made. Luckily Frankfurt is only 3-4 hours away from Arnhem and hometown friends visit on a regular basis. I achieved the goal I set for myself 4 years ago and the ride up until now has been great! In the past 1,5 years that I have been here I've met and worked with great people and on exciting things but the best is yet to come.

With this recap out of the way, last restart this blog! Although I'm not going to promise a constant stream of new posts I have a few drafts lined up to work on so keep an eye on this page!