Jane NgVerified account

Different frameworks will let me approach design problems with more than "how I feel" opinions (which I'm already good at), and find solutions that are more applicable in addressing diverse range of both user intent + behavior

I spend most of my days making artistic decisions, which is by nature very mixed with subjective feelings. It is refreshing to have conversations about intent, the separations of motivation versus behavior, the balance between interests and rights, and how to codify them

When I was in SF the last couple of days I spent a lot of time with my good friend who has a law background. I love talking with her because while it's easy to make fun of lawyers, I find "legal frameworks" very fascinating because law is about specificity AND interpretation

I would like to think I’m an empathetic person, and it’s taken me a long time to figure out how to BEGIN to listen to someone’s pain, listen to righteous anger, listen to justified disgust without collapsing in despair. One day maybe I’ll learn to convert all that into strength

I’m a pragmatist, and it’s taken me a long time to accept that just because the results of one’s effort is not immediate obvious it does not mean it is meaningless. It only seems so if one is in fact only seeking self-centered validation that one “fixed” something

To top off my SF experience I witnessed a cyclist being hit by a car (she is ok) and then the car drove away. I made sure she had my info and had family coming before I walked by more poops to dine with a friend at a wonderful restaurant

Also I flew south for 2 hours and am glad I remembered it’s “SF Summer” and brought my down jacket bc it’s cold

I have walked by at least two smears of feces from BART to this cafe

Aww there is a cute-babies-and-puppy powwow in the aisle next to me and they are all less grumpy than I am

Why do I even bother flying into SFO in the mornings one gets fucked by the fog and if not the wind will also be happy to shut it to ONE RUNWAY for ya

Anyone tried the new Quixel Mixer? Looking at the video it seems very easy (if you are making photoreal that is) esp with a Megascan library

it'll also be nice to have a bit of breathing room so I can devote some regular time to actual skill training / long form tutorials. Last time I did that I incorporated Substance Painter into my workflow and it's really paid dividends since

so whenever ppl ask "oh is ITVOG going to change a lot now that it's a VALVE GAME?!" I'm like, yes and no? For me the changes are like (so far). Plus I'm pretty sure I won't HAVE to be the sr env artist making rocks so "jane's sanity" won't be THE limiting constraint

we used to have to think like, "ok let's make ALL the fabric-y props we can think of in ONE MONTH so we can maximize this one month Marvelous Designer trial" because gosh you'd need to drape a lot of fabric to justify $4000 license when it's a desert game

One specific example of workflow improvement at Valve is I use Maya now, instead of Maya LT, which means I can use GoZ with Zbrush. Back in scrappy indie days it was hard for me to justify an extra $1300 a year for the 3x a year I want that button real bad