About Me.

Hey! My name is Aysa Atalay – a games designer & 3D artist passionate about building emotionally hitting experiences. I am in my third and final year of a BA Games Design & Art course here at WSA. I have gained a wide range of skills within the game development pipeline.

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Being born and raised as a half-second-generation immigrant woman to a Turkish family, I was conditioned to believe that involving myself in the medical field was my only acceptable option. However, I always naturally gravitated towards gaming. I applied to a games design course contra my family's judgement to continue my ambition to work in the games industry. I started involving myself in games around the age of 10 through the Sims franchise. I ended up trying to mod my save file of The Sims 4 to fit my storytelling, making recolours of the base game create-a-sim items, dabbling in the software Marvellous Designer after researching into the pipelines of the well-known modders, not getting very far as I didn't have the paid version, but still experimenting with what I had access to. Only having a basic PC as a child, I would always watch my brothers play video games as a connecting activity. Watching them play titles such as God of War III on their PlayStation 3 was the highlight of my week, sometimes even getting a turn of my own. Presently, I still use games as a bonding activity, playing cooperative games with my friends almost daily to wind down after a busy college day. In primary school, I applied to the local art club where I learned the fundamentals of creating basic artwork, wanting to fill up my free time as an eager child with something worth it. This continued into secondary school, where I found DT in GCSE one of my most enjoyable and strong subjects, being able to investigate a given proposal to create an object meeting the clients' wants and needs. When creating pieces which I find difficult to get right, I instead model them first to get the perception and perspective of the screen correct in my 2D illustration.

 

Over time, my 3D modelling skills became more efficient, knowing which shortcut keys did what and what I needed to do to achieve the end product I wanted. Even though I am confident in my skills in creating and modelling, there is always room for improvement. During my time at Aylesbury College, I did work experience for Jagex, creating characters, UI, models and concepts in response to a given brief. Over my college experience, I gained proficiency in software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, ZBrush, Autodesk Maya and Procreate. Using these programs, I created concepts, thumbnails, turnarounds, beauty renders, models and textures. I also helped classmates with most problems they encountered with their work as well. I ended up getting a certification for Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator through my efforts. Through helping others and learning from tutors, I gained a deeper understanding of the work and materials used to achieve the end product. In the future of my career, I want to be able to create characters which tell the story of many, to create a role model for people of many ages to love. Being able to turn a 2D drawing into a 3D life-like model with a personality of its own. I intend to bring concepts to life through creation. By enrolling on this university course, I utilised the teaching to enhance my abilities and skills to become a successful 3D artist and games designer.

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