Janurary

Upgrading My System

Tencent’s Introductory Lessons:

After cramming the course over two weekends in a row, perseverance finally paid off～

There was an optional final project, but I really didn’t have the time to do it, so I let it go.

Still, I’m really happy to have earned the certificate!

There are also livestreams in other tracks—planning, operations, technical art—that I can watch as an option. I’ll catch up on them when I have time to learn more about other areas. Like my mentor Luca always said: making a game is never a one-person job; it’s a team effort. The more I understand about other roles, the smoother communication will be when I work with colleagues in different disciplines later on.

Getting the certificate is definitely something to be happy about, but what I found even more valuable was that through this process, I got a clear sense of what I needed to let go of, and what I want to learn next.

Skipping the final project wasn’t slacking off(XD), it was about spending my limited time on what mattered more right now. And wanting to learn about planning, operations, and TA isn’t about switching career paths—it’s about being able to better understand what people in other roles are saying, and helping them better understand what I do.

Internship Progress

Here are some screenshots of my work, haha.

A collection of NPCs, later I also made some humanoid NPCs, hehe.

On the left is the material, on the right is the color layer. You can see that the necessary details are clearly visible，even on a single channel like the color layer.

That was one of the key lessons I learned from this project: if the details are clear even on a single channel, the final material layers will look great when stacked together. A solid foundation makes everything come together beautifully.

Speaking of working on this NPC material series, we all agreed that the client didn’t really know what they wanted, which, honestly, is pretty much the norm. The client said: “We want it to feel like stone, but also organic, and also have a metallic quality.”

Us: ???

So for this series, everyone made a basic version first, and after the client saw it, they said, “That’ll do.” Then came the refinement.

And this one actually ended up being my fastest approval—got it done in just two rounds XD.

The wolf I made.

Two funny things about this one. First, the crystal on its back. The client specifically emphasised: “We want a big pit right in the centre.” Like, very specific. My mentor was like: this pit is so ugly.

XD

The other thing: since it’s a mutated monster (the concept is that it’s been affected by radiation), the material needed to have bulging veins on its body. I submitted a version, and the feedback came back: “The shape of the veins is really well done, but the placement is off.”

Me: …Alright then.

The feedback actually felt alive XD. It wasn’t one of those vague “change it a bit” or “something feels off” kinds of comments. They were actually looking at my work and telling me what was working and what wasn’t. Even though it meant I had to redo the placement, at least I knew exactly what the issue was.

Honestly, whether it’s an oddly specific request (like “a big pit right in the center”) or genuinely sincere feedback that’s almost funny (“the veins are great but the placement is wrong”), both are actually kind of a blessing. The first one leaves no room for guesswork; the second one tells you exactly what to fix. Compared to vague feedback like “I don’t think it’s quite there yet,” this kind of alive feedback is way better, haha.

Whenever I work on the material, I put all the reference images and requirements in PureRef. That way, I can have them right next to my workspace as I go, which makes it a lot easier not to miss anything.

Stayed here for four months and I got the internship certificate, so happy!

I’ll try my best to apply around and see if I can find something new… but if not, I’m fine staying here for now. At least the HR person here is really nice, haha. And my work buddy, too.

Sketching Sketching Sketching!

Never stop sketching! Whenever I have time, I draw!

Well, actually, it’s because the Chinese New Year is coming up, so work has quieted down, I can leave on time, and finally have more time for my own things.

I think the meaning of work isn’t just about getting paid; it’s about giving yourself the ability and the time to do what you truly care about. Improving yourself is what really matters.

Cheers to leaving work on time!

Start Updating the Texture for a Better Portfolio

Updating, updating, updating owo

could found out the updated version looks more volumn compare than before.

Use What I’ve Learnt to Help My Family:

My dad recently got himself a 3D printer and has been deep into printing all sorts of little things. His latest goal is to print a scene of our family plus our two cats, sitting together on the sofa.

He used AI to generate a cute version of us, gotta say, my dad is pretty trendy, he got into AI image generation before I did XDDD.

There was just one problem: in the generated models, one figure was sitting without a hat, and another was standing with a hat. So he asked me for help moving the hat onto the sitting model.

Finally a chance for my professional skills to come in handy!

It made me realise that the most heartwarming use of technology often isn’t about creating some grand masterpiece—it’s about helping a family solve a little problem. Like remodelling a hat onto a chibi version of your dad

The outcome: