Afternoon with Ben “BelgianBoolean” Nicholas — Part One
On art, inspiration, depression, and more art.
In this first part of a four part series, Ben “BelgianBoolean” Nicholas and Tanner Kalstrom, director of GameTextures, chat a little bit about everything. Blurring the line between game artist and fine artist, Ben is an artist with Ubisoft who creates beautiful concept art that mixes brutalist architecture and sci-fi machinery with the energy of pop art and the imagination of a storyteller.
Tanner and Ben spend the afternoon talking a little bit about everything from what they look for in portfolios to struggling with depression to the best of current inspirations. In this part we look a little at his history, how it’s shaped him, and the sort of work they look for in an artist.
It’s funny when I was in college, I thought I was gonna be a hard surface modeler. Like that’s all I thought I was gonna do. And then I got a job working for Adidas right out of college.
Ben: I freelanced in college doing advertising work for companies like Apple and Nike. And then about a few months before I graduated Adidas was like “Do you wanna come work for us?”
And I was like, “I have student loans… so yes.”
GameTextures: So working with shoes , huh? Tell us a little more about what that was like.
Ben: The position was relatively new. It was me and two other guys building pipeline tools for their apparel designers. They had been using 2D, and so the goal was to give them tools to work in 3D. I did that the first year, but I’m not a strong pipeline guy — rather, I don’t have a strong technical mindset. Alex (a mutual colleague of Ben and Tanner) is amazing as a technical artist, but I’m just not.
GT: Oh yeah, right? It’s funny — you guys are such good friends, and he’s total crazy tech artist and you’re the exact opposite. Just total crazy — ARTIST. Okay, so that was your first year — what was the second year like?
Ben: The second year was pivotal for me. That’s when I switched from 2D concept design to 3D. No one was really doing that yet. I was working with their main footwear and apparel designer — understanding patterns, colors — basic product design. I didn’t really realize how much resonated with me until years later.
I was ready to get out after two years but then I realize in hindsight how much that influenced me. You talk about my style and how that’s changed over the last two years. I really just wanted to get into games. But I look back on my years with Adidas, and I realize how much I learned about product design from doing that job.
Tanner: Oh yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it’s true your style has really changed in the last few years.
Ben: My style has changed a LOT the last two years. Part of that process has essentially been me internalizing my experiences a little and figuring out where my inspiration comes from — and really embracing that a little more.
Tanner: Right — so tell us a little about what some of those have been.
Ben: Well, my dad is a pilot so I grew up around mechanics and planes so when I first got into hard surface modeling it was that. I have a lot of clear mechanical influences as well as a lot of sci fi a la Aasimov that my brother and dad really got me into.
My dad is a painter, and he did a lot of abstract stuff. You know, the older I’ve gotten, the more that I realize how much his paint work inspired me and let me play with abstraction.
I had an art director once who preached — if you need color inspiration go to Zappos and check out what colors they’re using. Adidas, Nike, all of those companies have really inspired me in terms of the framing and compositions inside of their products.
GT: Oh, definitely — it’s clear you’re not afraid to mix color.
Ben: I didn’t like all the work, but it helped with my inhibitions. A lot of my work boils down to creatively — breaking down inhibitions with how I use color and what I choose to make. Artists in games get in this mindset of “This is the kind of artwork i need to make it in games.”
So you see the trends. When I was starting, every portfolio had to have a barrel and a crate. Then it was the AK47.
it’s not to put down that work — I see some amazing stuff but then what happens is those artists get in this mindset of “You have to make exactly this.”
I have to review a lot of portfolios, and it’s really draining to see the same thing over and over again. Especially when I know you can do a lot more. I want to see more of you in your work and what your inspirations come from. I want to see your taste and what inspires you.
Personally, I’m interested in working artists who can discuss and collaborate on the work, not just do it and get it done.
I don’t know if you listen to This American Life at all…
GT: Yeah, sometimes. I was listening for it for a while, but then I had to take a break. Sometimes, it’ll lift me up, but then other times it really puts me down.
Ben: Haha, that’s fair. There’s this interview with Ira Glass where he talks about how you develop taste. You start by making lots of bad art. But as you get better and as you create more you lock into what you like. You start to develop confidence and owning your style.
GT: Definitely, and that seems clear in your work. Tell us more about how you feel like you’ve developed your “own” style.
Ben: Personally, I like playing a lot with different styles. I never want to be pidgeon-holed, and I like problem solving within different visuals. I might try mixing something brightly colored with something brutalist and abstract. I’d like to do that sort of thing forever. Whether you realize you have a style or not — there’s an overall style that everyone has.
GT: So I also see how much fun you have with silhouette and texture and composition. Here at GameTextures we see a lot of portfolios and hiring a texture artist is something that’s weirdly personal. It takes a unique mindset to exclusively create and tell stories just through texture. I’m essentially asking, “Hey, tell me a story just through bricks. Let me guess where this is from. Dig into the details of where these bricks have been.”
Ben: Well and that shows how passionate you are about it. That’s so fundamental, but it’s true at the end of the day — I don’t make a lot of personal work for anybody else. I use Twitter because — whatever, that’s what you do to get your work out there. I won’t make any personal work unless I want to.
I have a job to make work for other people — that’s fine, don’t get me wrong. But when I come home, the art I make is for me. If the pressure of expectation comes [with my personal art], I have to take a step back, take some deep breaths, and re-center. I hope that doesn’t sound too abstract.
GT: No, not at all. Why do you think that’s important to sort of — relax with your personal art?
Ben: Well you take that back to your professional life right. I’m sure a lot of artists feel like they’re just line artists. “I’m just a technician — I don’t really get to be creative — This is what I have to do.” A lot of people feel completely underutilized. How do you take that into your professional life — into your day to day?
I think for me going into Ubisoft was about going into work with people I really like and trust. Who do you work with? Is there a level of trust there?
GT: So, now you aren’t necessarily a “line artist”. What was your journey of how you got there and what do you do now?
Ben: For me, I started as an environment artist, and the truth was I wasn’t a good environment artist. I lacked the technical skills required to do environment art, and I’ve since realized I’m much better doing concept art. I was doing concept work on the side, but it took a few years to realize this is what I like and what I want to be doing.
That removed me a bit from the “assembly line”. I was able to work on high level stuff and work with the art director — working with people who know you, who you trust and who you collaborate with help you break out of an assembly line. It’s breaking out of the feeling that you’re just a technician. There’s a huge amount of creativity where I’m at now. I think a lot of it is how we structure teams in AAA and that’s where that mentality comes out of.
There have been a lot of times in my career where I made personal art on the side to deal with the fact that I felt underutilized during my day job.
Tanner: It seems that your personal art really took off about four years ago. I still remember I was sitting at one of my favorite Mexican food restaurants and reading your Twitter about four years ago. And you started talking about how you were struggling with depression. And one thing I remember was that at that time your portfolio had kind of stalled because you were working on this one piece for a really long time. This one ship that was from outland and you had worked on it for months. You kinda went dark for a little while while, and I remembered because I was eating Mexican food…
What came of Ben’s depression
How did he grow out of it?
Why does Tanner think of Ben while eating Mexican food?
Answers to all this and more in part two of An Afternoon with BelgianBoolean!
