Jordan D Waka
Jordan D Waka
3D Environmental Artist
Brisbane, Australia

Summary

I am a Story Teller and world builder. My passion is creating immersive worlds and environments that are woven with story to make the world feel alive enough that you forget you are playing a game. I have a dream to start my own studio were I can create the worlds I have in my mind that are just waiting to be explored and every day i work towards this goal by learning, growing and loving life.

Resume PDF

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Skills

3D ModelingProp ModelingHard Surface ModelingCreature ModelingCharacter ModelingEnvironment ModelingEnvironment DesignVehicle ModelingWeapon ModelingLow-poly ModelingRetopologyCharacter RiggingMechanical RiggingHigh-poly ModelingFacial Rigging & AnimationTexturingTexture BakingPBR TexturingPhotogrammetryShadingGame DesignGame DevelopmentPhotographyGraphic DesignPhoto-manipulationSound DesignCompositingConcept ArtConcept DesignUnreal BlueprintsUnity C#LightingPhysically Based RenderingRendering

Software proficiency

Blender
Blender
Unity
Unity
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
Quixel Suite
Quixel Suite
DDO
DDO
NDO
NDO
Megascans
Megascans
Mixer
Mixer
Bridge
Bridge
Illustrator
Illustrator
Flash
Flash
Animate
Animate
InDesign
InDesign
Premiere
Premiere
After Effects
After Effects
Photoshop
Photoshop
Audition
Audition
Substance 3D Designer
Substance 3D Designer
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Painter
SpeedTree
SpeedTree
Knald
Knald
MightyBake
MightyBake
xNormal
xNormal
CrazyBump
CrazyBump
Maya
Maya
3ds Max
3ds Max
Krita
Krita
GIMP
GIMP
Marmoset Toolbag
Marmoset Toolbag
Pix Plant
Pix Plant
Shader Map 4
Shader Map 4
RenderMan
RenderMan
Mixamo
Mixamo
Fuse
Fuse

Productions

    • Video Game
      Mission of Mercy V2
    • Year
      2023
    • Role
      3D Generalist, Modeller, Environmental Artist, Surfacing Artist, Lighting Artist
    • Company
      The Wizards Tower
    • Video Game
      The Evolving Forest
    • Year
      2023
    • Role
      3D Generalist, Texture Artist, VFX Artist, Technial Artist, Lighting Artist, UI Artist
    • Company
      Humble Sage Games
    • Movie
      One Small Step
    • Year
      2016
    • Role
      Concept Artist, Technial Director
    • Company
      Brass Monkey Studios
    • Movie
      Twin Beaks
    • Year
      2016
    • Role
      3D Modeller, Texture Artist and Technical Director
    • Company
      Brass Monkey Studios
    • Video Game
      Scroll of the Fallen - Prototype
    • Year
      2014
    • Role
      Project Lead, 3D Modeller, World Builder, Writer, Texturing Artist, Concept Artist
    • Company
      Turfs Up Entertainment
    • Video Game
      Mission of Mercy (Proof of Concept)
    • Year
      2013
    • Role
      3D Modelling, Level Design, World Building, UI/UX, Lighting, Texutring, Rigging, Animation
    • Company
      QUT Bluebox

Experience

  • 3D Environment Artist, 3D Generalist, VFX Artist, Concept Artist, Texture Artist, 3D Modeller at The Wizards Tower
    Brisbane, AU
    June 2019 - November 2023

    I'm currently working on a personal project called Mission of Mercy V2. It is a revisit to an old client project I worked on back when I studied at TAFE. Back then, I took the reins as the lead environmental artist for the original project. Now, with this revisit, I've decided to start fresh and rebuild the entire project from square one. This time around I have been working with a more ambitious brief, providing myself with a broader challenge to not only test myself and see how far I have come since working on the original project but I also aim to push myself further in order to also learn even more. My main objective for this venture has been to craft every asset from the ground up including creating textures for assets both procedurally and by capturing them myself using photo scanning and photogrammetry methods. Additionally I have also been modeling every asset myself using no pre made or store bought assets to assemble my scenes. Before finally assembling and lighting the environments leveraging baked and realtime lighting techniques along with post processing to unify everything into a cohesive final scene. Particle systems, custom shaders and other visual effects were also created from scratch to provide additional life and movement to the scenes.

    Along this journey, I've created over 200 procedurally created materials and 700+ photo scanned materials. I have also modeled more than 1000 assets, spanning buildings and temples, as well as creating comprehensive modular kits, vehicles, plants and foliage, terrain elements, scene clutter and more. Phase one of this project has recently wrapped up, and you can view a good chunk of my work in my portfolio. I've even whipped up a demo build of the environment for exploration, and there are plans to introduce more environments to the showcase in the upcoming second phase.

    On top of that, I've made sure to fine-tune each asset I've created for seamless integration and use in both Unreal and Unity game engines including LODs, and handmade colliders, all with Atlased and/or trim sheet materials to achieve a high quality result while maintaining smooth and optimized performance. Soon enough, I'll be making these assets available in my store. This all-encompassing approach has not only amped up my skill set but has also deepened my understanding of the ins and outs of the Environmental Artist Pipeline.

  • Technical Artist, 3D Generalist, UI Artist, Concept Artist, Lighting Artist, 3D Modeller at Humble Sage Games
    Brisbane, AU
    March 2022 - July 2023

    Contributed to the development of an NFT based game called "The Evolving Forest" as a part of the Arts team as well as taking on the Technical Artist roll as needed. Primarily focused on designing and building a responsive user interface (UI) for the game's various modes while dealing with a project that was always changing in vision and scope. With my wide range of knowledge across the arts pipeline i was able to jump easily from working on the UI to creating Particle Effects, 3D modelling, Texturing, Lighting and Concept art. The Project provided a lot of great challanges both dealing with an extremely confusing clients and managing time for tight dealines that I learn so much invaluable knowledge I can carry with me moving forward.

  • Freelance Foliage Artist at Room 8 Studio
    Brisbane, AU
    August 2021 - March 2022

    Collaborated with Room 8 Studios on multiple contracts involving foliage creation. Designed and modeled flowers, plants, and alien vegetation for mobile gardening games and a sci-fi game targeting consoles and PC platforms. Utilized tools like Speedtree and Blender to achieve visually appealing results while adhering to strict performance constraints of the platforms.

  • Freelance Artist at Jordan D Waka
    Brisbane
    January 2013 - June 2018

    I've taken on a few different freelance jobs over the years the majority of them all being Graphics Design work such as Logos, Motion graphics, and Advertisements. These jobs have given me tones of experience with working in Photoshop and After Effects as well as plenty of experience working with demanding and at times frustrating clients, All in all however the frustrating clients were the ones that helped me improve the most from creating better lines of communications and writing up proper briefs and contracts with clear information on what they are paying for. Beyond admin work all projects have pushed me to develop smarter and more efficiency work processes too this area is ever-growing

  • 3D Visual Modeller, 3D Generalist, Technical Artist, Landscape Artist, UI Artist at Boeing Phantom Works
    Brisbane
    September 2018 - April 2019

    Using Unity's HD render pipeline our team worked to develop a tool that would take simulation data and present it to the user (in our case an analyst) with an easy to understand Interface that would allow the user  to make video and still renders of the simulation. The intent was to streamline the creation process of high quality visuals for clients and other such purposes. The tool we developed took real world sensor data from various vehicles and platforms, mapped this data to an identical geo specific virtual environment for use in analytics and producing real time renders for marketing and advertising.



    As the sole Visual Artist on the project I had responsibilities in many areas from UX design and implementation (for scalability across various screen resolutions) The UI had to be very easy to use as the users were not from a 3D or artistic background, I was also responsible for building the visuals for the Virtual environments, This involved optimising CAD models for a game engine, working with Terrain Data, Rendering, Shaders, Post Processing and making this all to work in extremely large scenes.



    Working on this project I got to learn so many new things from learning about aircraft, improved my knowledge of programming and working to a last minute surprise we need this done now deadline. The work was demanding at times but extremely satisfying when we would pull it off.

  • Sessional Tutor at Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
    Birsbane
    November 2015 - September 2018

    As a sessional tutor, I assumed various responsibilities akin to those of a regular tutor, providing invaluable assistance in the classroom. I effectively served as a second instructor, taking charge of classes on occasion, particularly towards the end of semesters when primary teachers were occupied with assessment marking. During this period, I established myself as the preferred and often sole point of contact between students and the curriculum, ensuring their comprehension and addressing any concerns they raised.

    While not directly responsible for curriculum development, I actively contributed input during reviews, drawing from students' feedback and observations to advocate for their needs and address past challenges. Being a student myself at the time, I possessed a deep understanding of their perspective, which greatly facilitated my ability to address their queries effectively. Students frequently commended my assistance and expressed gratitude for my role in inspiring them and preventing course attrition. This experience was immensely rewarding and is now something that I apply to my work with a focus on helping team members as well as leaning even more into my passion for making games and art to contagously inspire and motivate others around me.