CURRENTLY AT RIOT GAMES
ROSA LEE ROSA LEE CHARACTER ARTIST: XBOX AVATAR VALORANT DESTINY 2 HALO INFINITE PIVOT!
INTERVIEW BY CLEO YUMEI
MEET ROSA LEE
Rosa Lee is a professional character artist, known especially for her current work as a Lead Character Artist on Valorant at Riot Games. Her career spans work on several AAA games, having held positions at major game studios like Bungie and 343 Industries. Notably, she contributed to games like Destiny and Halo Infinite, bringing her expertise in 3D modeling and texturing to these renowned game titles and companies.
UW DESIGN PROGRAM
Rosa received her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design at the University of Washington’s design program in 2011. After her graduation, she sought out to strengthen her skills in a more specialized program located in South Korea, called S-1 Academy, which specializes in game art, she studied there for a year before returning to Seattle.
EARLY LIFE & PIVOTING YOUR CAREER
What do you love about video game design that’s different from industrial design?
It’s very different. Initially, I was thinking of being an architect, but architecture has so many real world constraints that can limit design choices.
What I love about video games is that anything is possible, you don’t have to worry about real-life limitations, but as a character artist you still need to make things believable. I know where parting lines are, where undercuts happen, and how molds are built. By understanding these details, you can add interesting and realistic elements to a game.
There are no barriers—game art is kind of like a portal. Even with some constraints, it’s a fun mix of reality and imagination, without all the hassles and headaches of real-world design.
GETTING INTO THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY
Why did you choose to work at Riot Games? Why this company?
For most people, there’s this desire to work for well known companies. Bigger companies often offer better pay. At the time, Riot and Blizzard were some of the most well-known companies in the world. I could tell my family their names, and they would recognize them.
I didn’t actually choose to go to Riot; they reached out to me while I was still at 343 Industries, I was only two or three months away from hitting that one-year mark. At the time, Riot was working on a new game, a first-person sci-fi shooter, which was exactly what my experience lined up with. So it just fit perfectly with what they were looking for.
Q&A Q&A
What titles did you play growing up? What were your hobbies?
First of all, I loved playing video games. I think it’s a very common hobby for people in Seattle to do art and play games. Growing up, people played a lot of classic games, things like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy, I played a lot of console video games.
“I WANTED TO TRY OUT DIFFERENT THINGS.”
How did you get interested in the video game industry in the first place?
I first got interested in environmental art, or 3D architecture, but later on, as I learned 3D game art, I thought, hey, I have a talent in creating characters and character artists make more money. So that’s how I pivoted my career towards character art.
What would you say is the most valuable part of your time at UW?
The design program really prepares you for the industry. You learn how to be responsible, how to socialize, to follow the rules, and to endure long projects. Which are highly valued in the workplace. I gained those skills through university by being able to commit and complete a degree in design. During interviews with different companies, I was able to say that I was an industrial design major. Which isn’t 100% directly related to game art, but I learned how surface modeling works and how to incorporate mechanical designs into my art. Hiring managers really liked that. They’d say, ‘Oh, you have a solid foundation and a strong background in technical 3D modeling.’ That was really valuable to have on my resume, it showed that I studied and mastered the craft.
Did you always know you wanted to pursue the creative field?
Well, I’m sure it’s similar for everybody. In the beginning, no one knows what they want to do, Growing up in Seattle, UW was naturally my choice for college.
UW didn’t have anything video game related, so if you wanted to do specialized art, you had to go to art school which was expensive. I wanted to try out different things. I knew the design program at UW had some pretty basic 3D modeling options in the Industrial Design program, so I applied and got in the program.
“IN
FUN
FACT
Gekko is Rosa’s favorite Valorant agent she’s worked on!
THE BEGINNING, KNOWS WHAT THEY
DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CHARACTER ARTIST
As a lead character artist, what’s the team dynamic like?
We keep our teams pretty small. I work with two other character 3D artists. I tend to work with different disciplines rather than inside my own, our work is generally very straightforward. Artists here are self-sufficient and talented people, it’s a really wonderful team to work with.
My heavier workloads usually come from when I communincate with other departments, like the art directors and producers and being able to align my schedule with tech art and other areas typically outside my direct 3D art discipline.
How much autonomy do you have on Valorant projects?
It depends on the type of project. Sometimes, we are allowed to explore, but when we’re on a tight schedule, we follow a more structured, top down approach. It varies with the concept artist, some provide detailed designs. Some give us rougher sketches, leaving us with more room to interpret and explore the character’s details.
The art directors also influences our workflow each of the three we have bring different styles. One might be very specific, while another allows more creative freedom, so being adaptable is key.
NO ONE WANT TO DO.”
01. Astra from Valorant
Ideation workshop demo piece
02. Personal study
03. Gekko from Valorant
“IT’S A LOT OF SELF TEACHING; GO THE EXTRA MILE TO LEARN OUTSIDE SCHOOL.”
FIRST STEPS IN THE INDUSTRY: INDIE GAMES
Starting her journey “like climbing the ladder,” Rosa sent out countless resumes to local studios in Seattle. Her break came with an indie game, which was “the only opportunity I got honestly,” where she joined a small studio in downtown Bellevue. “I felt like, ‘Oh man, I’m now going into an official company. It’s so fancy. It was exciting,’” she recalled.
However, the initial excitement quickly turned into self-doubt. “My first few weeks were really intimidating,” she shared. After her first day, “I came home… crying… I wasn’t good enough. Like, I should know this stuff beforehand.” But instead of backing down, Rosa pushed herself harder.
“When I’m nervous and insecure, I try to do more,” she explained, practicing her art at home and redoing tasks to improve. After a month of pushing herself, she started to feel more confident. “I really wanted to feel better about my art, so going home and redoing it made me improve.”
RESPONSIBILITIES WITH INDIE WORK
Her indie experience left a lasting impact, as it required her to take on significant responsibilities. “Everything I made was going to have a direct impact on the game.” This hands-on work honed her skills and helped build her portfolio, which she later used to step up to her internship at ArenaNet.
The transition to a bigger studio brought its own perks, from “meeting all the artists I admired” to enjoying a “fully equipped kitchen, like, free drinks, free snacks.”
Here, the pressure was less intense. “Our responsibility was smaller because the expectation was very small, because we were interns.” But she didn’t lose sight of the importance of networking, noting that “knowing people” in such a small industry can open doors.
JOINING AAA COMPANIES AND VALORANT POST-LAUNCH.
It was a combination of networking and improving her portfolio. From her first big studio job at Bungie she was able to create two or three strong portfolio pieces that helped her move forward.
Rosa joined Riot during a critical time for Valorant. “They contacted me about six months before launch,” she recalled. By the time she completed the interview process and accepted their offer, it was three months before release. Her portfolio at the time aligned perfectly into the new sci-fi first person shooter.
Nowadays, to decompress Rosa has been working on a lecture series teaching her skills on 3D character creation on a site called Coloso. For Rosa, it’s been a “really nice AAA experience,” one she’s grateful unfolded in such a rewarding way.
01. SELF-TEACHING
Rosa emphasizes the importance of going beyond what is taught in school by self-learning and using online resources to build technical skills and enhance one’s portfolio.
02. CONNECTIONS
Establishing connections within the industry can open up opportunities. Rosa highlights how networking helped her secure jobs and learn about new roles.
03. PORTFOLIO
Creating a portfolio that reflects one’s skills and creativity is critical. Rosa suggests focusing on projects that align with industry requirements and demonstrate relevant abilities
04. EXPLORE
She encourages trying different fields and areas of interest, as this can help students identify their strengths and career paths.
04. Vyse from Valorant
05. Gekko from Valorant
06. Fade from Valorant