My journey into Character Design – Kellie Lautier
It is every game artist’s dream to have their game character loved and played by people around the world…including big-name celebrities! For AIE Alumni Kellie Lautier, this dream came true when her name was credited on one of 2020’s most highly anticipated games.
Kellie graduated from AIE in 2016 with an Advanced Diploma of Professional Games Development, specialising in Game Art & Animation. Since her graduation, Kellie has gathered her industry experience through various jobs in local game studios. Her experience at AIE had really helped her prepare for her first job, “"AIE has set me up for the expectations of the industry... I was already doing the level of workload that was required of me in a studio.”
Kellie is now working as a 3D Artist at SMG Studio, a major studio based in Australia. SMG’s newest game, Moving Out has taken the gaming world by storm since its release. Not only did Kellie play a big part in making the game come to life; she had lots of creative freedom and input in designing the game’s playable characters (certified adorable by the entire gaming community).
“AIE has set me up for the expectations of the industry... I was already doing the level of workload that was required of me in a studio.”
When asked about the inspiration behind some of the wacky characters (like the popular ramen-head or a half-man half-unicorn character), Kellie stated: "We wanted people to express themselves in their own way, however quirky might that be”.
We had the chance to have a chat with Kellie in a recent livestream right after the release of Moving Out. During the interview, she was able to speak about her experiences in a major game studio, the inspiration behind her lovable characters and the role AIE had played throughout this journey.
Check out the video recording below!