Archive for May, 2006 Page 2 of 7



jobs at amaze

Amaze Entertainment

Attention all you 3D artists and animators (working, aspiring, and otherwise)! Amaze Entertainment is looking for talented people to fill two open positions on our art teams.

The first is a general 3D artist position with a leaning towards effects work. Think water splashes, exploding boxes, breaking columns, motion trails, etc. Technical proficiency in Maya is desirable. Solid modeling and texturing skills are also good to have for potential non-effects tasks.

The second position is an animator. A strong grasp of and the ability to demonstrate the principles of animation is at the top of the list. Also important is the ability to hit different styles, i.e. cartoony, realistic, and some combination of the two. Experience with character animation in Maya is a plus. I won’t bother listing more requirements, because a demo reel means more than a resume.

These are entry- to mid-level positions. We are not looking for senior people at this time. I believe the 3D artist position is on a contract basis, and the animator is a regular full-time position, but that could change depending on who applies. Recent or soon-to-be graduates could qualify if their work is up to snuff.

For both positions, a strong portfolio and/or demo reel is of the utmost importance. Web sites are preferable, since more people can easily look at them. Game experience is a plus but not absolutely required. Other important job things include being a team player, being able to take direction/critique, being able to work with minimal direction, being able to manage your time, and, of course, being genuinely interested in making great games.

If you’re interested in either of these positions, please feel free to email me with your information and a link to your portfolio/reel. We’re trying to fill these positions ASAP, so don’t wait too long.

tuesday tidbits

looking

A few Tuesday night tidbits:

  • I got a chance to play with Apple’s new MacBook over the weekend. I really like the compactness of the new machines as well as the raw performance of the Core Duo processors. The new keyboards are also quite nice, sitting flush with the surface of the computer and not poking into the screen. The glossy displays are a mixed blessing. On one hand, images are much brighter and more vivid that on matte displays. On the other hand, they pick up finger smudges far too easily, and glare is a huge problem. The MacBooks also seem to run really hot. I picked up several of the display models at the Apple Store, and the bottom sides felt uncomfortably warm – and that’s after I was holding my hot Tully’s Americano for a few minutes. This is a revision A machine, so I’m sure there are kinks to work out. Overall, I still like the machines. Now, if only a separate video card was an upgradable option…
  • Last Friday I went to see Over The Hedge with a bunch of folks from work (team outing). Cute movie, so-so story, which wasn’t too surprising. I haven’t been particularly pleased with Dreamworks’ recent story-writing efforts. It just lacks the wide appeal that most of Pixar’s films have. The animation was top-notch, though. I kept wanting to pause and rewind the movie to re-watch sequences. Guess I’ll be getting the DVD when it comes out.
  • On Saturday night, a bunch of us got together at Scott’s place to watch Crash. We all wanted to find out why this movie won Best Picture at the last Academy Awards. The dialog was a bit heavy-handed at the beginning, but I got used to it pretty quickly. Prejudice and miscommunication seemed to be the overriding theme of the film, which got somewhat tedious in the middle of the story. I did like how all the seemingly unrelated stories ended up crossing over each other towards the end. It was a nice payoff for all exaggerated, unnatural dialog. Despite getting an overdose of racial prejudice and stereotypes, I still enjoyed the movie. It was just something different from everything else I had been watching lately and oddly refreshing.
  • Photos from Sunday’s photostroll in Seattle are mostly online in my Flickr photostream. I’ve got a few more photos that I’ll be uploading on Wednesday. I had a lot of fun using my 10-20mm lens for most of the shoot, getting some nice wide-angle shots. It’s definitely a lot tougher than working with a mid-range zoom, though. I really have to either get up close and personal or really pay attention to everything in frame. I need to go on more shoots with the lens before I really get comfortable with it.

And that’s all for tonight.

return of the rain

reach

After a week of absolutely gorgeous weather, the clouds and rain returned on Friday and today. I knew it had to happen at some point, but I was just hoping it would be in the middle of the week as opposed to the weekend. It’s frustrating having to sit indoors and work while the it’s sunny and warm outside.

Yesterday, however, was surprisingly nice, despite the doom and gloom weather forecasts. I was able to get outside and enjoy the weather a bit and get in some outdoor photography. Even today was decent for the most part. It was cloudy but dry most of the day, giving me a chance to go shooting in downtown Seattle for a couple of hours with Scott. Just as we were finishing up, though, it started raining. Nice subtle hint to stop shooting and go home.

I won’t complain about the rain too much though. Cloudy and rainy days just make the clear and sunny days feel that much better.. The rain clears the pollen out of the air (there’s a layer on my car every morning). And, frankly, I love the smell of spring showers. It just feels nice.

As far as photography goes, I did come out of the weekend with one nice photo, which is the one pictured above. It was one of many different hand-related images I was shooting for this weekend’s Utata Hands project, and it turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. It’s also turning out to a pretty popular image on Flickr (for the time-being). Since I posted the image about 18 hours ago, it has received almost 100 views with 14 comments and 10 favorites. Most of those comments come from a couple of comment-related groups, but, even then, commenting is not guaranteed.

As I’m typing this, lighting and thunder just exploded above my apartment. Car alarms are going off, building alarms are blaring, and I can hear sirens in the distance. The rain is also pouring down. The photo above suddenly has more meaning. :)

photo friday: the road

far away will be my home

Photo Friday 5/19/2006: The Road