Time to celebrate! Three members of the Ripstone Art Team were recently promoted in recognition of their outstanding work, dedication to their projects, and the positive influence they have on their colleagues.
To mark the occasion, we caught up with Jake Parrott, now a Senior 3D Artist at Ripstone’s Rockwater Studio in Liverpool, for his perspective on his own progression as well as that of the wider art team!
Jake’s Journey in the Ripstone Art Team (So Far!)
Jake joined us as a Junior Artist in 2017, in what was his first role in the games industry. Then a Game Art and Design post-grad, he’s since flourished as a 3D Artist and last year he was recognised as one of MCV/DEVELOP’s 30 Under 30 for 2022.
“I was working in a pub and feeling frustrated that I wasn’t putting my degree to use. One night, I went home and applied to what felt like every studio in the North West! Ripstone was the only company that got back to me. They told me upfront that they had no junior positions, but were impressed with my portfolio so asked if I’d like to do an art test. I put a lot of effort into it and, after a chat at the studio, I managed to win Matt (Beech) over! They actually made a junior position for me.” – Jake Parrott
As a Junior, Jake honed his skills working on titles such as Chess Ultra and The Spectrum Retreat; a Ripstone-published game by Dan Smith, an up-and-coming developer who won the Young BAFTA game design award for its prototype in 2016. For Jake, this project remains a great source of pride.
“It was a really interesting and rewarding experience to work with Dan to help bring The Penrose Hotel to life. It’s still one of the things I’m most proud of. We were such a small team yet the quality of the art still holds up today. The Spectrum Retreat’s narrative called for this unnerving, uncanny vibe. I think we nailed it.”
Soon after, Jake made the step up from Junior Artist to work as a 3D Artist on Poker Club.
“Poker Club was the first project I was involved in from the very beginning. Mark Radcliffe (Head of Art) joined us and gave me a lot of insight into how art directors work. He helped shape the high-level stuff and broke it down into its key artistic elements. He noticed the work I was doing and felt I’d progressed past being a Junior Artist. It was a huge boost to my self-esteem coming from someone so experienced and well-regarded.”
In 2022, Ripstone took on two new Junior Artists and Jake has been integral in helping them develop, going full circle; from mentee to mentor.
“I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve worked with at Ripstone these last 5 years, I’m proud that I’m now in a position where I can start to pass that on. I was trusted from the start, and that’s exactly what I want our juniors to feel now too. If they’ve got an idea, I trust them to see that idea through but I also want to encourage them to push back whenever they feel something might not be right.”
As for the future, Jake’s priorities are straighforward: keep on learning, sharing knowledge, and pushing games forward.
“I’m excited for us to grow, and I’m enjoying working with juniors already so I’d love to get to a point where I’m helping guide a team. I don’t usually think that far ahead about my own career, but I want to approach things similarly to how Mark (Radcliffe) does. He never restricts creativity, he’s always giving us artistic freedom while pruning away at the edges, refining things, and keeping us on track. Right now, I’m just enjoying my time here, and doing everything I can to help push our games to that next level of visual fidelity.”
Levelling Up!
In addition to Jake, several other members of Ripstone’s Art Team levelled up last month, including;
Matt Beech, promoted to Senior 3D Artist
Matt joined us in 2016, having previously worked as an Environment Artist at Studios such as Rebellion and Playground Games. Now a Senior 3D Artist, in addition to his other responsibilities Matthew is helping to mentor our team of talented artists.
Jake, who has worked closely with him since starting, said “Matt has a tonne of experience and some amazing credits to his name. I’m made up he’s been made senior! He mentored me from the beginning, and I’m so grateful he gave me the opportunity to join way back when. As Ripstone grow, I’m excited to continue guiding the juniors on the art team with him.”
Niki Daly, promoted to Art Director
Niki joined the Ripstone team in 2022. Initially a Lead Artist, her immense experience and the positive impact she’s had on the department has been notable. She’s now a Ripstone Art Director, leading various upcoming projects.
Jake said of Niki, “Her artistic brain is absolutely second to none, she’s incredibly talented! I’m inspired by her approach to the work and the way she thinks about everything. On top of that, she’s lightning quick and her technical ability is immense. She’s got this amazing ability to spot potential pitfalls before we even start work. She’s been brilliant since she joined and her promotion cements that.”