My name is Matt Rhodes. I am an art director at the game developer Bioware in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. **Where did you go to school and what did you study?** -I received my Bachelor of Design from the Alberta College of Art and Design. **How did you get your start in games?** -I joined Bioware first as an intern, then after graduation as a full time Concept Artist. Some ACAD Alumni worked for Bioware and they came to the school to recruit artists to help on Jade Empire. **Should I go to art school? How do I know which one?** -I don't know. Everyone is different. You're going to get out of ANY school what you put in. Keep in mind that having a degree makes the immigration process smoother. **What about my portfolio? What do studios want to see?** -I would suggest making your portfolio as relevant to the studio as possible. You can imagine that a submission to Blizzard would look different than a submission to Bungie. Show that you can handle a variety of subjects and genres. Also, show that you can deliver story. **What about style? How do I develop one, and will it get in the way of job opportunities?** -Style is just the smoke. The fire is your hard work. Your perspective, preferences, and your physical hand will all conspire to take care of the style issue for you. Don't waste calories worrying or honing it. Just work. Additionally, it's good for you to be able to render in multiple styles. You will like be required to create photo-real material at some point in your career, and the ability will only enhance your preferred style. [Here's a good video about style](https://youtu.be/LeA4EB-FFIc) **What kind of brush do you use?** A very boring, default Photoshop brush with opacity and size set to "pressure". The only difference between mine and the default is that I prefer a triangle to a circle. [Here's a good video about brushes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxIF4FC_HA) **What inspired you to create Tellurion?** -I've been wanting to do something like this for most of my life. Finally, a combination of events including a speaking engagement in Montreal and a conversation with ILM Art Directors that made me think: it's time. **Do the Tellurion characters have names? ** -To me they do, but I don't think I'll ever reveal them. For the sake of communication, people tend to refer to them as "Guy", "Robot", and "Girl"