Draw a World of Fantasy with Sahil Trivedi
Sahil grew up on a diet of cartoons and video games, developing an artistic eye for creating visual worlds for millions of gamers around the world. While some people are trying to make their dreams come true, he became a concept artist to make his dreams so real that millions of people can live in them.
After getting a call back in 2018, he began working with the Art Director at Electronic Arts Hyderabad (EAH). The Art Director had previously been following his work for five years and created a position based on his portfolio and skills. Since then, he has been working at EA to create the perfect game and relentlessly pushing ahead as he gains more and more creative control over his projects.
If you wonder how creative the dreams he has created are, they are as quirky as the characters in Plants vs. Zombies 2. Sahil was one of only two art team members for that popular video game. “I’ve had the greatest pleasure to work on such a title with contributions of almost more than 25+ characters, environments, and tons of RnD to thrive on,’ he says”. But there is one more project which is his favorite, Bejeweled Blitz. He enjoyed being able to create environments and rare gems for the game, and his creation has today helped to make the game extremely popular.
To understand his journey, we hit rewind. While his creative calling started from a young age, his journey towards becoming a professional concept artist began after joining as a Fine Arts student in Ahmedabad.
Despite his successes, he firmly believes that everyone is capable of great things but only our upbringing and other factors pull us down from touching the sky. ‘For me, fine arts was a place for creative freedom where nobody judges you for who you are. It makes you embrace who you are as an individual,’ he says.
The sea of creative paths, it helped him decide where he could make his dreams come true. Soon after, he joined Masters in Animation Film Design at IDC IIT Mumbai. ‘I got to learn the basics of animation film design to the finished level of filmmaking,’ he says. Since then, there has been no looking back.
A professional degree from a college can help you connect to people across many fields, leading to more opportunities for collaboration, learning, and growth. Colleges do put you through a trial by fire to help you figure out who you are and who you want to be. He thinks that they are less about instruction than about giving you vague directions to help you explore.
Since being a part of a premier gaming organisation, we curiously ask him what motivates him to keep pushing the boundaries of his canvas. `I have had the opportunity to work on the Looney Toons dash runner game, Ice Age match-3 game and the most challenging RnD project from King Studios,’ he says.
He is also involved in a feature film project as well which is yet to be announced. He keeps his projects diverse so he can continue to aim high and not be boxed in. He is currently hoping to work as an Art Director for a mobile/iPad game.
So how do you think aspiring concept artists can get paid for being their best selves? He answers by saying it is possible by ‘being a little selfish about work’. He observes that a lot of fresh graduates/students are seeking an online presence.
But instead of chasing higher numbers, it is much more important to create a portfolio with an amazing presence of self-value. While chasing numbers on social media can give you a rush of dopamine, when it comes to creativity, it is all about the artist.
