Introduction

This week’s speaker was Rhys Shepherd, a Technical Artist now working at Epic Games. Since graduating in 2018, he’s moved through a surprisingly wide range of roles—QA tester, junior programmer, artist/designer on a tiny indie team, tech artist at Mediatonic, and eventually into Epic. What stood out straight away was how non-linear his path was, and how much he mixed art and programming along the way.

As someone who genuinely enjoys both sides of game development but hasn’t committed to one direction yet, this made his talk feel a lot more relevant to me than I expected.

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Getting into the Industry

Rhys talked a lot about how he first broke in, and honestly it was refreshing. He didn’t start in some dream role—he worked in QA, testing gambling games, learning tools like Jira, and basically getting used to a studio environment. He said QA is one of the most realistic gateways into the industry, which actually made me feel better about being open to different routes after graduating.

He also shared how messaging studio leads directly helped him get interviews. He contacted the CEO of Two Point Studios, and even though they had no roles open, he got forwarded to 22cans and ended up landing a junior programming job there. His takeaway was simple: message smaller studios, keep it focused on one role, and just ask.

What is Tech Art?

Technical art covers a ridiculous amount of ground—VFX, shaders, tools, animation, UI, environments, optimisation… the list kept going. Rhys described it as sitting between artists and programmers, which honestly sounds exactly like the spot I naturally gravitate toward.

Hearing how varied the role can be made me realise there’s more room for people like me who don’t want to lock themselves into just code or just art.

Tools & Skills

He gave a huge rundown of software he uses daily—Unreal 5, Unity, Perforce, Visual Studio, Maya, Substance, Houdini, Photoshop, and more. The main advice here was to always be in-engine, no matter what discipline you’re aiming for. Just get comfortable building things, breaking them, and fixing them.

Interviews & Expectations

Rhys shared some of the interview questions he’s been asked, which were mostly about problem-solving and explaining your thinking. He also made a point that juniors aren’t expected to know everything. What matters is showing that you actually want to learn and can ask for help when you’re stuck.

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Useful Resources

A few he mentioned:

• tech-artists.org
• Following specific studios you’d love to work at
• Personal projects that show both technical and artistic problem-solving
• Keeping up with industry tools and tech

Nothing fancy—just things that keep you improving and visible.

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Hireability

A few things I’m taking from this talk:

• Keep improving my FMP and use it as a serious portfolio piece
• Spend more time in-engine, especially experimenting with Unreal
• Reach out to smaller studios when I start applying
• Work on projects that let me combine both programming and design
• Stay open to roles like Technical Artist, where those interests overlap

More than anything, Rhys showed that careers in games don’t need to be perfectly planned—they just need momentum, curiosity, and a willingness to learn.

Reflection

This was one of the talks that genuinely clicked with me. Rhys didn’t follow a neat career path, and that’s exactly why it felt relatable. He bounced between art and programming, took roles that weren’t always perfect, and slowly figured out what he actually enjoyed. That really stuck with me, because I’m in a similar place, I like both sides of development, but I haven’t chosen a specialism yet.

His story made it clear that I don’t need to force that decision right now. Exploring different areas, building projects that interest me, and staying open to opportunities can lead me to the right role naturally.