GW: Can you tell us how it all started for you, and share with us what your current role entails at Naughty Dog?

RO: It has been a long time for sure. I still remember the days I would make levels for games like Doom and Quake. Really, my first experiences started from those early games. I always loved to draw when I was a kid and would replicate the visuals in some cases from my favorite games.

Making level designs and art for games in the modding community is where everything started for me. Having the ability to edit these games was a huge thing. I remember spending countless hours and even having some of my family members questioning my immediate future since I was completely engrossed with playing and modding video games.

When I started to take it seriously was when Unreal Tournament came out, and after more than a few levels I got mentioned on a site run by Cliff Bleszinski; he would take time to review level designs from the community and recognize them for the quality of levels. I ended up getting two levels mentioned on his site on separate occasions – I can still remember how crazy-happy I was.

The Unreal and also Quake engine communities were amazing. It really felt like we were doing something special. These communities actually made careers! I have many friends who are still in the industry that came from these communities. It was through that interaction with developers that really connected communities together. Imagine having any top developers nowadays having the time to personally guide people in the community? The community and developers coming together just does not happen as often anymore.

I continued working on mods and making my own levels, and through the right connections I was part of a mod that won the ‘Make Something Unreal’ contest, which was a contest run by Epic Games and judged by industry veterans. That contest alone made careers. The mod was turned into a game and released as Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror. The game was kind of like a counterstrike type game, with more action and arcade movements.

A lot of stuff has happened since then, and now I am here at Naughty Dog, which is an amazing company with one of the most talented teams I have had the pleasure to work with. My current role at Naughty Dog is as a Texture Artist. Like many at Naughty Dog, our titles say little to what we all contribute; we all come with various backgrounds and do so much more than our titles explain.

GW: What is a typical day at Naughty Dog like for a Texture Artist?

RO: We do not have typical days at Naughty Dog. Each day is different and brings new challenges. It is chaotic, but also an extremely rewarding environment. The few typical things are checking emails in the morning and replying if I need to. Next, if we are in production, I make sure to check my outsourcing assets and comment on what needs tweaking. The rest of the day is kind of random, but most days I am left to create art. That is what is so great about Naughty Dog! Sometimes we have days on end where we are just making art with almost zero meetings. But, in general, each day brings new challenges and interesting dialogues between the crew.

GW: Naughty Dog is well-known for pushing the boundaries with each and every release. What pressure does this put on the texturing crew to keep raising the bar?

RO: I don’t think we have an insane amount of pressure to keep pushing the bar. What I think we do have is an extremely dedicated crew that all have a very keen eye to know what has been done and what we need to do to get the results to be the best for a sequence of a level. We have Art Directors who help us push in the right direction, but I feel – and this is through years of experience – that the true art direction choices are left to the individual artists. Without having a team of true professionals at Naughty Dog we would not keep pushing the boundaries. So it does cause pressure – but, perhaps pressure is not the right word... It’s through excitement that the boundaries are pushed.

GW: What has been some of the best player feedback you’ve heard about the environments, and how is that inspiring you to up the game again in the next title?

RO: The best player feedback has been through many avenues. We get letters from soldiers overseas that have played our games, and that puts our lives into perspective. One letter that made me tear up was from a young lady after playing The Last of Us: Left Behind. I am not sure I can share what was on the letter, so I won’t, but it was heartfelt and made everyone take a moment at work to reflect that what we do as artists is seen by many, and we have a moral responsibility to express our art. On a more personal note, I receive many emails thanking me for the tutorials and content that I put out for free. I try to answer them all, but sometimes that can be hard to do.

GW: How important is it for texture artists to get out into the world and observe nature and real-life patterns? Where are your favorite go-to locations for topping up on references and inspiration?

RO: I would say it is one of the most important aspects to go outside and see the world. I honestly do not do enough of it. Do not make it a mission to search for reference, just be open when you are out and recognize the endless variety.

I wish I had more time to go to other places. I recently went to Japan and the reference details that are now embedded in my subconscious are more important than just taking photo reference. If I was to give a suggestion to future texture artists it would be: Do not see the texture, but feel it. As funny as that sounds, I believe it to be true. You have to give life to something that has no life, and when creating textures, more than anything you are creating variations on a surface.

GW: How do you personally stay at the cutting edge of techniques and keep your skills sharp? What advice do you have for others?

RO: Tools can only take you so far. Great art comes from hours and hours of honing. I think many artists forget to be artists. What I mean by this is that if you want to really push – and this is not a suggestion – you must also do traditional art. Grab a pencil or clay and start doing some stuff that does not involve computers. It doesn’t even have to be related to your profession. Also, just doodle! And this applies to digital work also. Sketch or doodle quick things and don’t care so much about what the outcome is. The biggest reason I keep up with the industry is because I doodle lots. The work I share out to the world is only five-to-ten percent of what I actually create – the rest is just random attempts that had nothing of value besides just general study. But, it is the studying that gets you the job! Not every work has to be a masterpiece. I see too many artists get stuck like this…

GW: Did Substance Designer change your world? Do you still use Photoshop for texturing, or are you a complete Substance convert?

RO: I know this is going to sound a bit controversial, but it did not change my world. Granted, I don’t use Photoshop or other tools as much for texturing. This is to say that it did not change it, it merely modified it – or quickened it! The same process of texturing I used to employ a long time ago still applies now; I am still doing the same steps, except now I have the ability to record my steps and have tools to make my life easier.

Allegorithmic’s toolset does not make great artists; it just makes great artists even better! This can be said for many other tools, of course. I choose Substance and the Allegorithmic tools since, at this time, I feel I get the most from them. I predict I’ll keep using Allegorithmic tools for a long time – so yes, I am pretty much a full convert!

GW: When you’re not creating jaw-dropping visuals for games, what is the traditional art that you’re creating that helps keep your foundations strong?

RO: Traditional work is something that all artists – especially digital artists – should do from time to time. I believe it to be a must. You gain so much more by handling a physical object while sculpting with clay or drawing that you could not otherwise gain from working with a digital medium. It’s a relationship between these tactile methods that give it value. It focuses your senses that can rarely come from doing digital art.

While painting, for example – and this might sound over the top, but stay with me – you get a sense of rhythm from the movements of your body, arms, and hands. Also, deeper inside your body: your heart and breathing start going into a rhythm. Within all these moments of focus you are building a relationship with the physical medium that you are using. It’s different for everyone, though, but I would say from my personal experience it can be very therapeutic.

GW: What traditional studies would you recommend aspiring environment artists start doing now?

RO: I would recommend any artist get a good book on color theory, composition, and sculpture. If you are going for environment art, get in deep with architectural knowledge. I would say do not bother too much with knowing the technicalities of exact things, but learn the functions of those things. I couldn’t care less if you know what a keystone is, but if you know the function of it, then that is vastly more important to me!

GW: You talked recently at the first ever Substance Days event at Gnomon in Hollywood. What was your experience of the event, and how did it inspire you in your own work?

RO: The experience was amazing! I got to meet many people from the industry. I have always liked teaching, but recently I have been doing it in a more public way. I think few know this, but I dread doing public talks, and a year or so ago I would have been terrified. It has taken a lot of effort on my part to just be able to put myself up on a stage in different places throughout this year. I challenged myself to do this and, well, the last one was with Gnomon and Substance Days. The experience was rewarding and to be a speaker at such a prestigious school would have only been a dream a few years back. Interestingly enough, it inspired me to teach more and to be more active with the community. So I will keep on doing talks and workshops and opportunities that come up.

GW: Who motivates you daily in the digital art community, and why?

RO: This is an easy one: Sharlene Lin, my wife, and an amazing artist that works at The Mill here in LA. She inspires me daily and has helped me in many ways to get through life’s events.

GW: Tell us about your latest Gnomon Workshop training, Substance Designer: Texture Creation. What lessons can viewers expect to learn and what new skills will they come away with after completion of the five-plus hour video training?

RO: It is a start-all-the-way-to-finish of a texture that goes in-depth with the possibilities that Substance Designer brings to the table for texture artists. I expect artists to learn techniques and usage of the tool. I hope that students come out with a deeper understanding of texturing as a whole, and the process I go through when creating these materials.

I’ve had great feedback from artists across the world and have seen many samples of artists that I call my students. It has been a while since the release of the tutorial and I still see artists post work on ArtStation based on the tutorial. It must be my time to make a new one!

GW: Finally, what was your favorite level in Uncharted 4 to work on as a Texture Artist, and why?

RO: I worked on many and all have a special place in my heart; especially with the people I worked with side-by-side to make those levels amazing. The one I had time to really hone in the look of what I wanted was the orphanage, which is the second level prologue of young Sam and Nathan Drake. The amount of attention to detail to this level was really fun to work on and I really enjoyed every single time I was working on it. I have many little details across this level. One of my favorite details in this level is the wall with all the children’s drawings. The drawings were drawn by kids of Naughty Dog staff, and it is perfect that it’s set in this level since this is a level with no violence, and one of the levels that children can actually play – or watch their parents play.