Interview with Digimancy Senior Technical Artist Danil Goshko

1. Could you please introduce yourself?

My name is Danil Goshko, and I've been fortunate to be in the game industry for over ten years now. I started my career as a 3D artist and soon understood that freelancing was not a great thing for me.

So, I found myself working in a small studio. After several years of working there, I became a team leader for this studio. At the studio, I was responsible for everything, starting from the concept, production, and release of the games we were developing. It was around this time I discovered that there was a career path as a Technical Artist and began checking it out for myself.

Fast forward to today, and I'm a Senior Technical Artist here at Digimancy. And during my spare time, I'm a creator of a tutorial series named DecompiledART. In this series, I share my knowledge freely, hoping to equip and inspire new developers out there. This is part of my desire to bring passionate people to the game industry and create cool game experiences.

And I don't want to miss an opportunity to thank my grandmother. She bought my first 30 minutes of playtime on the Nintendo Entertainment System. And if I remember correctly, the first games I ever played were Ghostbusters 2 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament. That was freaking awesome, and since then, I have been totally about games.

2. How did you get the skills you needed for game development and how did you get your first job?

Sure, that wasn't easy. Everything started with my passion for games. Before even learning coding languages for proprietary software or 3D modeling, I've made modifications for different games, such as Warcraft 3, Neverwinter Nights. And basically, I was looking for software to help me create games.

Back then, there was no good internet connection at all. Internet traffic was limited to a hundred megabytes per month. So you couldn't do much with this amount of data. So, I learned to create modifications from game magazines, small articles, and books here and there.

While studying at the university, I was learning Java, C Sharp, Python, just trying out different things and familiarizing myself with what works for me. I tried 3D Max, and I realized I could do crazy stuff with that program. I spent a lot of time learning the programming side of software development and learning programs like Maya.

And at that point, this interface, this functionality, and a better internet connection with peer learning resources allowed me to take the next step in my career, and I decided to become a 3D artist.

In 2012, I got my first freelance assignments to help render several things for a free-to-play MMO.

After a year, I found my place as an employer at this small studio, where we were so passionate that we would spend 14 to 16 hours working and collaborating together. At the studio at the time, there were no dedicated game designers, no QAs; it was all about just trial and error. We just loved playing games, and working to help each other grow as people and specialists.

Then the Russian invasion in 2014 happened, and we were forced to flee and find a safer location elsewhere in Ukraine.

3. How did the 2014 invasion impact you?

Because of a huge Russian propaganda campaign, back then, we couldn't really understand who were the bad guys and the good guys We didn't know who to trust. So the best thing for us at the time was just to grab our laptops, grab our things and just move out.

We tried working for three to four months for our game dev startup remotely, but our investor just disappeared, and we had to figure out new things to do.

So now, as a dedicated 3D artist, I started looking for a job and soon realized that there wasn't much in the way of opportunities for me as a specialist. I had to create a new portfolio for myself. So, I told my girlfriend at the time that the next month would be rough. I wouldn't have more than one or two hours a day for anyone, and the rest of the time would go into working on my portfolio, creating different assets, and rendering them.

It worked; after one and a half months, I landed my next job as a 3D artist and gained my first experience working as an outsource team member for different games.

I worked there for several months until I received an offer to join a new gamedev startup. I had a great time talking with the potential members of this new startup. I ended up spending the next two or three years with this team. Some of them are friends with me until now; we're still seeing each other and spending time together. It was almost like destiny for us to meet.

4. How did you transition to becoming a Technical Artist?

As a small startup, everyone contributes in several different areas, like development, production, and marketing. However, I thought that rather than touching every aspect of gamedev it might be more productive for me to focus on a specialization like Technical Art.

So at that point, I transitioned myself to a big studio and worked there four years as a dedicated Technical Artist. At this studio, I worked on five or six projects, several closed and several successfully launched. It was great, but we primarily were working on free-to-play titles. Usually, when games like this launch, they do not need much additional Tech Art support.

So, I was again looking for a new challenge and discovered another small, promising startup. Kind of similar to the studio I joined back in 2014, but this time made up of professional gamedev veterans, and I had at least one good friend at this new studio, so that helped too.

Around this time, I got an E-Mail thanks to my tutorial series. It was from Nick Miller at Digimancy asking me if I wanted to create cool content for computer role-playing games (CRPGs), and I thought it might be a good idea to speak with Nick about the offer.

So together with Nick, I had a conversation with George Ziets about what they were looking for and the philosophy behind Digimancy, and I was just thinking to myself that I really needed to be a part of this new studio. Soon after that conversation, I received a formal offer to collaborate with them on a new project.

That happened in 2021, and since then, I have been more than happy working here at Digimancy.

5. What are some essential programs you use for your work as a Technical Artist?

It's a simple and tricky question because every good answer for a technical question depends upon the question, problem, or project. However, suppose we're speaking about my own personal preference. In that case, I especially love working with the Houdini and Substance toolsets and some small shader tricks, depending on the engine.

Houdini was an important mind shift for me. I noticed the word procedural popping up on different websites and magazines, which was really intriguing to me. It presented me with a new paradigm of how to create things. One of the best descriptions of Houdini I've run across explains that it is an operational system for producing graphics. I believe that is the most appropriate description for this software.

It's like a construction set, like LEGO – but LEGO for a 3D artist. It greatly speeds up iteration time and helps strengthen the creativity of the process – not just solving mechanical tasks. Substance offers similar benefits, but it is all about textures.

When I started as a Technical Artist, I recall using eight to ten software programs to go about my work. Still, at some point, I learned it is better to take the time to think through a problem and try to tackle it efficiently. It's better than just grabbing stuff randomly and constructing a pipeline that way.

5. What does a typical workday look like for you?

Back in the early days of my work as a Technical Artist, I remember spending a lot of time at my desk trying to force the creative process. Looking for new ideas on the internet, for example. But I now go about my work differently. I prioritize rest, sports, and healthy eating to support my career as a Technical Artist – because it gives me the energy to be productive in this role.

I usually start my workday with a workout, spend time with my family, and then go to my established workplace (as much as it can be found in my situation over the last several months). I push one button, and everything is already set up for me. My workplace must allow me to be productive with whatever time I have – even if it is as little as 10 or 12 minutes. I like it being set up so that with just the press of one button, I am ready to start working.

The next thing I do is check my messages. We work across many time zones, so I'll check and see what notes I got from elsewhere on the team and if there is something I need to change or focus on for the day. Next, I go through my work schedule and see my most important tasks for the day. I usually have a weekly plan that I am working on, so I am not usually looking at daily tasks for myself.

So after checking my messages, talking to colleagues, and reviewing sources, references, and task descriptions – I dive into my work. My day is divided into two parts. The first part of my day is dedicated to creative thinking when my mind is fresh and agile, and can come up with new ideas quickly. The second part of my day revolves around mechanical and administrative tasks using the toolsets I mentioned earlier.

6. We understand that you and your family have been displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yet, throughout your ordeal, you have continued to work here at Digimancy. What was that experience like?

I like to be creative and productive. And to be effective, your life, your family, your social network – all of this should be as stable as possible. When all of these things are there for you, it really enables you to dedicate yourself to what you love doing professionally.

When all this breaks down, and you're left in a state of uncertainty, unsure whether it will be safe for your family – you can't really think about the creative part of what you need to do. So I knew the first thing I needed to do was get my family as far away from this madness as possible. With my current wife, we already had been through this before – the first time Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, so we had some idea of what we needed to do.

The first time we fled Russian aggression, we had just two bags, and that was it. Everything else was left behind. It was a challenging time for us, but it was also simple. Now, we have a daughter in kindergarten, which made things more complicated for us this time. As soon as we heard that the Russians were invading, we packed our stuff into our car, grabbed our daughter and her pet, and told her that we were going on a long trip, an adventure as a family.

Over the next several months, slowly and carefully, we explained to her what actually happened and why we couldn't go back home. It was tough for her at first, but now that we're safe, she's back in kindergarten and making new friends. She doesn't wake up to the sound of air sirens or explosions anymore. And I am thankful for my family's security; I can fully apply myself to my work as a Technical Artist and not worry about having to rest up if we need to flee the following day and drive hundreds of miles.

At some point in your life, you understand that the most important parts for you as a person and as a professional are these essential structural elements of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And you understand what steps you need to take to have the environment and stability to regain creative peace.

7. Here at Digimancy, we're very thankful that you and your family are safe and sound. Looking ahead, what is the next milestone in this industry you'd like to achieve for yourself?

I am not too concerned with labels like lead technical artist or principle technical artist. Instead, it's all about the scale of your decisions. And regarding that, I am very happy with my current position and responsibilities here at Digimancy as a technical artist.

However, I enjoy teaching and sharing the knowledge I have picked up over the years with the gamdev community. And I think it is good practice for a specialist like myself to teach, not when you have 200% knowledge In a given area. Instead, share what you know with your junior peers as you learn and try to master it for yourself.

 My primary mission has not changed: to help the teams I am involved with create great games and help my coworkers have the necessary tools to solve any challenges they may run across over the course of game development. And spreading the word about the game industry as I understand it, telling everyone I meet that it is about art, cultural collaboration, and working with decent people. It's not just about money or metrics.

 The games industry is a new wave of art and expression.

No previous artform in human history intertwines with visuals, narrative, audio, and music and places the user at the heart of that experience – but games do. Years ago, I discovered a phrase that really helps describe my whole philosophical approach to what I'm doing.

"When love and skillset are combined, you should expect a masterpiece."

That remains the approach I teach and advise people looking to join this industry.