Rain Supple ’20 building whole new worlds with Obsidian

Pulling inspiration from real life and from nature, Rain Supple has stepped into the chance to design immersive environments we’ve never seen before.

Earlier this year, the 2020 Animation & Game Art BFA graduate joined Irvine, Calif.-based Obsidian Entertainment as an Assistant World Builder — a position that has stretched her skills and made use of everything she learned at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design and afterward. 

What’s been crucial for her in landing this role? A willingness to keep learning, and a determination to build her portfolio to the exacting standards of an industry leader: 

“Forest”, courtesy Rain Supple

Can you explain the title of Assistant World Builder?

Rain Supple: (It’s) a position that mixes both level design and environment art to create smaller POIs (points of interest) between larger, more narrative-driven POIs. 

How did you work on your skills between graduating and landing the position with Obsidian?

RS: I continued to pursue my education through online courses from a company called CG Master Academy, and was able to learn and practice what I needed to eventually land my job at Obsidian. 

What were the classes you took to expand your knowledge?

RS: I took four online classes over the course of roughly a year to learn modular environment creation, organic world-building, foliage/vegetation pipeline, and lighting for games. These were all immensely helpful in helping me build my portfolio to the quality I needed. 

“Prison”, courtesy Rain Supple.

What programs/game editors/skills are required on a daily basis for your job?

RS: The programs I use daily are Autodesk Maya for creating 3D art assets, and the Unreal Engine editor. However, it is also important for me to be familiar with the Substance Suite, Photoshop, and Zbrush. 

Was a job like this your goal when you were earning your BFA at PCA&D?

RS: When I initially started at PCA&D I had actually wanted to work in 2D animation as a character animator. But as I started working with 3D art I quickly decided I wanted to pursue a career in the video game industry. 

How do you feel PCA&D prepared you for what you do today? 

RS: PCA&D was a good stepping stone to help direct me in the direction I needed to pursue my future career. 

“Bus Stop”, courtesy Rain Supple.

Who or what are your favorite art influences today?

RS: I don’t have a specific individual that I draw influence from, but with the kind of work I do I honestly draw a lot of influence from real life, and to that extent, nature. Any time I plan a new project I always make a reference board from pre-existing items or places and use them to help me figure out the kind of direction I want my work to go in.

How can you describe what you’re working on now (at Obsidian) without violating your (Non-Disclosure Agreement)?

RS: As for the game I’m working on, it has already been announced so I am very happy to tell you I am working with an amazing development team to create The Outer Worlds 2, a sequel to the original game of the same name. I can’t give any more details other than I am very proud of what my team and I are creating. 

“Forest”, courtesy Rain Supple.

Check out more of Rain Supple’s work at her portfolio website here, and visit her Instagram, @rainsupple3d, here. 

Top image: “Bus Stop”, courtesy Rain Supple ’20, Animation & Game Art