Jake Davey and I have been wearing many hats for the past year. Everything from producing to design, narrative and art has fallen under us. But today, we can announce veteran VFX & Concept artist Jake Hempson will be taking the reigns of Art Director. Here's what he had to say.
Soooo… an industry veteran ehy? (yes, yes, I have been around the block). I'm a bit of a mixed bag. I originally studied graphic design in South Africa, then moved to the UK, aiming to get into comics illustration/concept art. I wound up teaching myself 3D/animation, working on the “Aliens vs Predator” game for Rebellion. Several games later, I came to OZ and worked for Krome Studios in Brisbane. Eventually, I transitioned into a 3D generalist for VFX/TVC working at Cutting Edge where I first met Jay. A few years and several films later, I reconnected with Jay and was excited to learn he'd been working on a multiplayer horror game (Macabre). I wanted in as I love horror and creature design as well as some of the nerd-core sci-tech aesthetics we have in mind (more on that later).
Soooo… The several games/films later part includes (aside from my stealing sponge bob quotes):
Aliens Versus Predator (2000) - game Concept design and character modelling.
Starsky & Hutch (2003) - Game Lead artist.
Ty3 the Tasmanian Tiger: Night of the Quinkan (2005) - Game Cutscene Animations.
Megamind: Mega Team Unite (2010) - Game Character design Character Lead.
Red Billabong (2014) - Film Creature Design.
Thor Ragnarok (2016, Marvel) - Film Concept design, prop/set design.
Shang Chi (2020, Marvel) - Film Concept design, prop/set design
Occupation Rainfall (2021) - Film Concept design/Art Direction Modeling and look dev
The Portable Door ( 2021 unreleased) - Film Creature sculpt
Allen (2021, Netflix, unreleased) - Film Creature design/ sculpt
I'm really excited to join WeForge on this project, as I want to push myself and move more into Art Direction. Macabre offers me an opportunity to express my passion for horror, design and games, and the role ties in with my previous experience in multiple other areas of digital art production. —Jake Hempson
We're equally as excited to have Jake H officially join our team. His background and expertise are truly going to elevate Macabre, helping us realise our vision of taking the horror genre to new places. You can view Jake's recent work on his portfolio and his "random doodles" on his insta.
