Starting a new job @ Ubisoft Quebec!

Here's an announcement from my Facebook and Instagram that I thought I'd post here as well.

Big news alert! As many of you already know, In about 2 weeks I'll be moving to Quebec City, Canada, and starting work at Ubisoft Quebec!

For years I've had the idea in the back of my mind that if the right opportunity presented itself I would be thrilled to work abroad for a bit, and last year it finally did. It's been a lot of work to get to this point ( turns out, moving halfway across the world is pretty complicated ) and now as the final pieces are coming together, I thought it was high time to make the announcement.

If you are not familiar with Ubisoft Quebec, they are the folks responsible for Assassin's Creed Odyssey among other great titles. I'll be joining their concept design team and will spend the next few years helping them on whatever they do next. Needless to say that I'm extremely excited to work with and learn from such stellar talent.

However, as excited as I am about this opportunity it's difficult to leave Ubisoft Redlynx, a studio that I've been so happy at for the past 6 years. It's been a rollercoaster ride of new experiences and I'm super grateful for all the great friends I've made and for the studio for believing in me and giving me opportunities to grow both as an artist and as a person. Special thanks goes to Julius for pushing me a bit on taking the leap and helping along the way :)
I'm looking forward to working with all of my Redlynx colleagues again sometime in the future!

All that said, I doubt any of this would have happened without the constant support and love of my wonderful girlfriend Vilma, who always believed in me and supported me while I worked long hours trying to improve my skillset and portfolio. For that I will always be grateful for. Luckily she will be joining me in Canada for an extended period of time in the not too distant future :) 

Long story short, I'm going to miss Finland, my family, my friends and Helsinki for sure but I'll be back eventually and will visit as often as I can :)Until then, au revoir!

5 Best Books ( For Creatives ) I Read In 2018

As the year is drawing to a close ( and while I'm waiting for my render queue to finish ) I wanted to share the 5 best non-fiction books I read this year that I think are useful, interesting or both for creative people- or just about anyone. 

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

I think the best way to describe this book is that it dispels the myth of ''talent'' when it comes to people that manage to find success in business, sports or art. Instead it describes a compelling hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. If like me you've ever had to argue with people about the concept of ''talent'' and need some new ammo- you should read this book.

SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

This book had probably the biggest impact on my personal life out of these five. I've always liked exercise in it's different forms but  thought that aerobic exercise is mostly  good for your body, heart, lungs etc. Using latest scientific research this book opened my eyes to the fact that instead it's our brains and minds that benefit the most from exercise. This book really helped me take my running regimen to the next level and I think it is worth a read for anyone. 

Sapiens: The Brief History of Human Kind

I've always had a huge interest in history and consume tons of literature about history each year. That said,  I think this one was the best non-fiction history book I've read in many years. Like the title describes this book spans the entire history of human kind starting at the dawn of our species and ends looking forward where we might be going. Compellingly written and endlessly fascinating it's easy to recommend this one for anyone.

The Power of Habit

Timely especially now at the start of the new year when many of us are trying to kick bad habits and start new good ones this book is an invaluable tool. Based on an impressive mass of research this book is an entertaining and fascinating look at how habits are formed and how to change them. If you've ever struggled to kick a bad habit this is worthy read. 

The Creative Curve: How to Develop the Right Idea, at the Right Time

Out of all these probably the most geared towards creative people this book addresses a lot of the same topics as the first book on this list but from a different angle. Throwing out the myth of the lone creative genius that creates masterpieces out of thin air by harnessing divine inspiration, this book shows that that simply isn't true. Recent research has shown that there is a predictable science behind achieving commercial success in any creative endeavor and as such I think this is worth a read for any creative person.

First Blog Post + New Website + Process Video

First Blog Post

I recently upgraded to Artstation Pro and figured I'd start blogging a bit more often there and on here and try to come up with topics that I think would add value to you. I'll cover topics ranging from process breakdowns, my different workflows and experiments, specific tips and tricks, resources and other useful things during the next year. If you have any requests or questions that you'd like me to cover get in touch! 

New Website

I had some time on my summer holiday to finally update the design and organisation of my website. There's still a bunch of stuff to do but I'm much happier with it already! Check it out here and let me know what you think!

West Studio Guest Artist Series

I recently had the honor to create an image for West Studio's Guest Artist Series. The great folks there also produced a nice timelapse video of the process which you can view here. This was the first time I tried to record my whole process and found it pretty rewarding so I might do this again in the future.