))
CG Chatter 022: Senior UI Artist Meaghan Glynn
Archived series ("Inactive feed" status)
When?
This feed was archived on July 31, 2018 01:53 (
Why? Inactive feed status. Our servers were unable to retrieve a valid podcast feed for a sustained period.
What now? You might be able to find a more up-to-date version using the search function. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Manage episode 163785765 series 1282976
Content provided by Eric Carlsen and CG Artist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Eric Carlsen and CG Artist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Welcome to the CG Chatter Podcast episode #22! In this episode I chat with Meaghan Glynn, Senior User Interface Artist.
Meaghan has eight years of UI/UX design experience under her belt and has worked on prominent Turbine titles including Infinite Crisis, Lord of the Rings, and Dungeons & Dragons Online. She done design work both at the start of a game’s development and at the very end including updates to titles that are already live, and she breaks down the differences between the two. We also dig into her workflow, how UI/UX design fits into the game pipeline, the importance of regular testing and QA (Quality Assurance), and how to maintain a healthy work/life balance.
Plus, Meaghan is an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and we have a discussion about D&D and why it’s awesome 
Episode Guide:
- 1:05 – What does it mean to be a Senior UI Artist?
- 3:03 – Meaghan talks about growing up on Cape Cod and how important videogames and books were to her
- 3:29 – Creating websites about games and shows she liked
- 3:44 – The great graphic design program in her high school
- 3:59 – Her professor at Mt. Ida College that connected her to an internship at Turbine
- 4:25 – Her internship turned into a contract position, then into a full-time position
- 4:47 – Meaghan’s favorite games when growing up
- 5:09 – The risks of addictive MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games)
- 6:18 – Meaghan’s high school design class
- 6:54 – How much easier it is to use a tablet than a mouse
- 7:06 – What it’s like using a Cintiq where you draw directly on what you’re seeing
- 7:40 – The general path of computer graphics production getting closer to classic non-digital production like drawing and sculpting
- 8:29 – Meaghan’s decision to enroll in Mt. Ida College’s design program
- 10:12 – The web projects she took on when growing up
- 11:06 – Why Meaghan particularly enjoyed her fundamental art classes in college
- 12:15 – Recommendations for how college students can get the most out of their education
- 12:45 – Keep up with the latest tech outside of the class curriculum, while paying close attention to the principles you’re learning in school
- 13:50 – Meaghan’s internship experience and how important good recommendations were from her teachers
- 14:56 – “There’s no broccoli in Middle Earth!”
- 15:23 – Keeping on top of lore when working on a project like Lord of the Rings Online
- 16:24 – Meaghan’s design workflow and software she used
- 17:21 – Learning Illustrator after learning Photoshop, and why Illustrator is great for iteration
- 18:50 – Meaghan’s Etsy shop where she makes vector decals
- 19:46 – What “hobby cutters” are and how she makes use of them for her Etsy shop
- 20:39 – A typical day working at Turbine
- 22:20 – Contrasting the prototyping phase vs. publishing/shipping, and what the workflow is like for each
- 24:12 – Creating content for a game that is already live
- 25:52 – Meaghan’s work on the “End of Match” screen for Infinite Crisis (see image below)
- 27:00 – The important role of a QA (Quality Assurance) team and why they should be valued more
- 29:37 – The value of QA specializations like User Testing and Qualitative QA
- 29:26 – Meaghan’s work on the coaching UI for Infinite Crisis (see image below)
- 32:26 – Meaghan’s work on the skill icons for Infinite Crisis (see image below)
- 34:56 – The challenge of shifting from making PC games to making mobile games
- 36:10 – Meaghan’s most fun and exciting project
- 37:34 – Her thoughts and tips on work/life balance
- 39:05 – How to keep from playing videogames too much on the side
- 39:58 – We talk about Dungeons & Dragons (the tabletop role-playing game) and Meaghan’s own D&D group
- 41:27 – How much improvization there is in D&D
- 42:00 – What a “Dungeon Master” (DM) is
- 43:49 – The high level of freedom in D&D and the high bar it sets for modern videogames
- 44:46 – How D&D gets players away from a screen
- 45:57 – How to get into D&D
- 48:12 – Meaghan’s advice for those wanting to get into UI/UX Design
- 48:42 – The value of learning how to code
- 49:23 – How game engines like Unity have made it easier to get into game design
- 50:07 – What Meaghan’s been up to lately and where to find her online
- 50:57 – Recommendations of online resources
Episode links:
- meaghanglynn.com
- Meaghan’s Etsy Store
- Turbine (part of Warner Brothers
- Falmouth High School
- Mt. Ida College
- Projects Meaghan has worked on
- Games and Shows Mentioned
- Software & Hardware Mentioned
- Programming
- Other mentions
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Other CG Chatter guests affiliated with Mt. Ida College
- Elsewhere on cgchatter.com
Featured Projects:
Join the CG Chatter email list to receive the latest updates!
The post CG Chatter 022: Senior UI Artist Meaghan Glynn appeared first on CG Chatter : The Art, Business, and Lifestyle of Creating Computer Graphics.
33 episodes
Share
