Robin Wouters reflects on his VFX odyssey, finding inspiration in nature, and the perks of work-life balance.

No animation or effect is too big or small for the incredible Robin Wouters! From conjuring flames and ice to intricately weaving magical branches and breathing life into clockwork monsters, Robin's creative genius knows no bounds. Dive into the fascinating world of game VFX blended with a touch of dramatic flair, not to mention some of our favorite animations!

Name: Robin Wouters
Pronouns: He/Him
Location: The Netherlands
Artistic superpower: Brainstorming VFX in sound effects
Interests beyond VFX: Video games, spending time in nature, cooking
Couldn't live without: My wife and daughter
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookie dough
Socials: @RobinVFXlabs | @robinwouters | @robinvfxlabs

Can you tell us a bit about how you became a professional VFX artist?

It's been a bit of a journey before I ended up doing VFX. I've always been very passionate about video games, they've been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My first game was Pong on our Atari 2600. Later we got a PC and I spent so much time playing DOS games. I also loved animation, watching cartoons and the limited amount of anime that was shown on TV (Pokemon and Dragonball Z). My childhood dream was to be an animator. I always liked the animated Red Bull commercials, and for some reason I thought that was a more viable career choice than making games or cartoons.

Lightfall: rain down light that heals or harms those it touches.

I ended up going to a graphic design oriented high school and eventually studied multimedia design where I specialized in animation. My passion for games led me to a game art study at Utrecht School of the Arts. I really got into concept art and illustration during that time. I seized a few great opportunities like studying illustration at Kyoto Seika University in Japan and interning at Guerrilla Games as a concept artist, where I contributed to Killzone Shadow Fall and Horizon Zero Dawn.

Shadowy Thoughts: drain your healing power to supercharge your attack.

After graduating I freelanced for a while, just barely getting by due to the insane amount of competition. Eventually I figured that this wasn't it for me, and I started working as a game art generalist at a small mobile game developer. I was doing everything ranging from concept art, UI design, 3D modeling, animation, to of course VFX. During this time I discovered my passion for VFX and I ended up specializing in it. The company had a couple of hit games and saw rapid growth, going from 3 people to 30+ in a short amount of time. Eventually we started a big project where I was able to work as a dedicated VFX artist. After wrapping that up, we would return to generalist roles. I couldn't get behind that decision, so I left the company and started working as a freelance VFX artist.

Withering Orb: toss a ball of light laced with shadow magic.

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

There are way too many great VFX artists to name. I'm in a few VFX-related Discord servers where everyone helps each other improve and solve problems. I continue to learn a lot of technical and artistic know-how from my buddies there.

Healing Touch: heroically aid a friend in need.

What are your main sources of inspiration?

Obviously video games, but more specifically I love fantasy themed (A)RPG's, they tend to have the most amazing VFX. I'm currently over 100 hours in Baldur's Gate 3 and I just can't get over how amazing the VFX are. I also occasionally watch anime, which is another fantastic source of inspiration. Japanese animators are insanely good at impactful and over-the-top VFX. Besides that, real life is often the best source of inspiration. Nature is especially full of motion, raindrops splashing in puddles, leaves tumbling in the wind, smoke coming from chimneys. Whenever I see something interesting, I grab my phone and shoot some slow-mo footage. The other night while I was cooking some curry, I noticed nice bubbles forming and popping. Perfect reference for a bubbly swamp or a poison bomb.

Token Death, Shadow Variant: when all HP is lost.

Tell us about a day in your life as a VFX artist.

It wouldn't be much different from any other desk job, to be honest. The major difference is because I'm self-employed, I get a lot of freedom with how, when and where I do my work. 

I typically get up early, between 6.00 AM and 6.30 AM and I do a bit of work right away (often still in my pajamas). Once my wife and daughter are up and preparing for the day, I join them for breakfast. Then I get dressed, freshen up, grab a coffee and head back to work. 

Read The Room: drop some explosive reading material.

Later in the morning I go on my daily walk with my wife. Rain or shine, I need to go outside and get some fresh air. Besides the physical exercise, these walks work wonders when I'm stuck on something—I've managed to solve most, if not all, problems this way. Then back to work for a bit. Just before lunch, I take a moment for meditation. After lunch, I continue working until I feel satisfied with the amount of work done.

Spine Smash: rear up and crash down with full force.

Can you walk us through your process when working on a VFX for Fablecraft, from brief through to final execution?

I read through the brief and check out the artwork and references. I double check the gameplay descriptions and then start thinking about what the attack does from a game design standpoint, how it can be visually communicated to the player in a way that it's clear and meets the player's expectation. Note that brainstorming comes with a plethora of sound effects and hand gestures. Ideas usually immediately come to me, but sometimes it requires some sketching. So in that case I just do some scribbles until I get a good idea of what to create.

Lore Drop: rain down books and form a deadly stack.

Then I start building the effect, usually starting with a rough blockout to get the general motion and timing right. Then I start building the visuals, creating 3D models, textures etc. When I just joined the project, I built a master shader that supports 99% of everything I need for VFX. But sometimes I need something really specific, for example the growing vines in Rousing Howl, so I build a new shader for that specific functionality. As the effect takes shape, there's a point where I can just hear the sound effects in my mind. This usually signifies that it's headed in the right direction and becoming a satisfying effect. When I'm happy with it, I send it over to David for notes. His response is often with a ton of enthusiasm and praise, and sometimes a few notes. Then it's a matter of tweaking and fine-tuning things based on his feedback, and then sending it back for a final check and approval.

Pendulum Swing: tick, tock, bring your foes to a stop.

Talk us through one of your favorite Fablecraft VFX pieces. Which element(s) are you happiest with? What was the most challenging part of working on this piece?

Melt Armor is one of my favorites. For starters I love doing stylized fire effects, it's a powerful element and challenging to get right. The idea of displaying the token's silhouette came fairly late in the process. I was inspired by a character getting shocked, you see the skeleton light up through the silhouette, like old school cartoons. It gave me the idea of showing the scorched silhouette of the token through the flames. I did a quick test and it turned out great.

Melt Armor: make your enemy’s armor too hot to handle.

What is your favorite piece of Fablecraft work that you didn't work on? We would love it if you would shout out another artist whose work you admire!

Ooh it's hard to pick one, Tian and Diego both did amazing work. I have to say I love the Gravimancer's effects. Beautiful use of color, and the space theme is great. And of course all the beautiful illustration work, the characters, creatures, environments, it's all gold.

Gravimancer Hit Effects: well-suited to running headfirst into danger, they’re the tanks of combat, using gravitational force to leap, smash, and hinder enemy movement.

How do you manage a work-life balance as an artist?

I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out! 

Jokes aside, it's been a real challenge. I'm lucky enough to have my own office space at home, but it does mean I'm at home 24/7 and work-life just kind of blends together. Another factor is the time difference, so I'm often still chatting with David late in the evening. But being self-employed definitely has its perks, it allows me to be very flexible in terms of work times. So if I get stuck or feel like I'm not as productive, I just take a break, do something away from my PC, I can always pick up work later. But the best perk of all is being able to see my daughter grow up, not many fathers share that privilege.

Rousing Howl: the strength of the wolf lies in the pack.

How would you personally define success as an artist?

Simply being able to earn a living wage. I feel very privileged to be able to do what I love while providing for my family.

Icicle Volley: rain shards of ice from above.

What are your ultimate career goals?

I would absolutely love to work on any of my favorite franchises. I love Diablo, Monster Hunter, or any Nintendo franchise like Zelda or Metroid. I even had a dream recently that I was hired to work on a Kirby game. 

Besides that, I started working under the VFXlabs name with the flexibility to someday scale up, hire people and turn it into a studio. It's not an ultimate career goal per se, but it might be cool being able to take on bigger projects with a team.

Time Bomb: start the countdown to detonation.

Any advice for aspiring artists out there?

You’ll need a very broad skill set for VFX, like visual design, animation principles, 3D modeling, texture creation, technical knowledge like shader creation etc. Even if your goal is to work in VFX, taking on a generalist role first can be really beneficial. It's a fantastic way of entering the game industry and getting a solid foundation for VFX. I've learned a ton during my 10+ years as a game developer, and I still apply a lot of this knowledge to VFX.

Hammertail Surge: a swing and a hit.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

It's alright to change course if something is not working out. I tried forcing myself into a concept artist/illustrator career which just wasn't for me. Stepping back from this was the best thing I did at that time. And also: don't forget to have fun.

Stellar Luck: your target's fate is written in the stars.

Are there any upcoming projects that you are excited for?

I don't have any new projects planned. I've been working with Riftweaver for over 7 months now and I'm still having a great time working on Fablecraft!