Worlds Challenge Winner- Justine Hamer

Justine Hamer won 2nd place in the 3D category of the Worlds Challenge. 

She is currently residing in Florida although she's lived all over the world. She's interested in environment design, visual effects, hand-painted textures, and the little details in creation that really can sell a concept. Here she gives us the inside scoop on her background! 

Inspiration: My friends and coworkers artworks, Ansel Adams' photography, illustrators like Sachin Teng and Gigi D.G., Fanny Vergne's textures, my walk home from work during Autumn when the sun sets behind the trees, swimming in the ocean, doggos
Average Number of Layers When You Paint: As many layers as necessary (sometimes upwards of 30, depending if the texture I'm working on has multiple materials in it).
Coffee or Tea: I feel like as British citizen I'm contractually obliged to say "tea." 
Good Habits: Cafe drawings, carrying a portable water color set at all times, weight training every other day, wrist exercises, drinking a glass of water when possible
Favorite Movies: Wristcutters: A Love Story; Howl's Moving Castle; Kiki's Delivery Service; The BBC's production of Pride & Prejudice; Westworld; Star Wars: The Force Awakens; How to Train Your Dragon, Bounen no Xam'd
Favorite Games: Journey, World of Warcraft, Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, 
Music While Doing Art: I don't know if there's enough time for me to go through my >3000 song playlist on Spotify... I've been listening to a lot of future funk recently, though, and slow jams from the 1980's. Mariya Takeuchi's Plastic Love is a bop.
How to Bounce Back from a Bad Day: I often vent to my friends-- just being able to put into words what I'm feeling helps me come to terms with whatever's keeping me down. Then maybe take a nap, take a shower, eat something delicious, and just keep myself away from whatever was causing stress. If it's art, it's really not so bad to take a step away from the project for a while; I often shift gears to some other kind of art, whether it's playing guitar, physical sketching, or dancing. 
What is a Good Day: Any one that involves sleeping in.
Favorite Quote: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." - Isaac Newton
Future Goals: To keep making art! I've got a whole backlog of projects I've been meaning to start.

Can you introduce yourself? 

Hi! My name's Justine Warburton Hamer and I'm a 3D artist working and living in Raleigh, North Carolina. I do environment art for my daily job, but I also do environment art on the side for fun. I guess I’m insatiable, not sure.

What got you into 3D art, when did it all start? 

I first opened Maya during a summer art course at the Rhode Island School of Design. My brain couldn't process thinking in 3D for art and I immediately started crying. After that auspicious start, though, I was off to the races.

How did you get to the level you are at today? 

Did you study in any particular way you would recommend? I studied Game Art and Design at Ringling College of Art and Design for 4 years-- I wouldn't be anywhere near the level I am now without the faculty and my peers tutelage. I know art school isn't for anyone, but I would highly recommend at least establishing connections with other artists of a similar calling. You can learn a lot just by observing how other people approach creative problem solving.

How did you begin the process of creating Uneasy Bedfellows? What was your inspiration? 

My first idea for Uneasy Bedfellows was a series of thrones in various states of disrepair, showing how nature had taken back the hubris of mankind. Upon re-reading the brief I realized it didn’t fit the requirements, so I went to go play World of Warcraft in a huff. Playing in one of their newer zones, I was struck with the idea of an environment with a huge rock arch as a framing device. I quit WoW, opened up Photoshop, and went to town. The shapes of the tents and the temple design came to me a bit later.

What was your biggest hurdle during the process? What did you do to overcome it? 

Definitely the rocks. I've never done an environment with semi-realistic rocks before, so that was quite a challenge. I looked up a bunch of tutorials on how to start (Polycount has a wiki page devoted entirely to rocks) and stared at pages of reference during the whole thing. In the end I still made some really ugly rocks and redid a bunch, but I'm much happier with them now.

If you had to do it over would you do it differently? Why? 

I would have definitely not put off doing the temple for as long as I did. Every time I look at it I cringe.

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring artists out there who might be looking to get to your level one day? What's your recipe for success? 

It took a lot of really ugly art for me to start making pretty art. Don't be afraid of this. Let yourself love what you're doing, even if you hate it some of the time. Work through not liking something until you like it, and most importantly don't give up!! 

What got you into environment art in particular?

It was always what I had trouble drawing.

What do you think the Worlds Challenge experience taught you, and would you participate again next year if you could? 

This challenge definitely taught me a lot about time management and finding a style that worked. I wanted to challenge myself to make a large environment and I think I was successful. I would totally participate again if I could!

Any final thoughts? 

Thanks so much to Cubebrush and to the judges for this great opportunity! I still can't believe this happened.

More of Justine's work can be found on her website.