Nelson Wang
Senior Rigger
Blizzard Entertainment
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Loved escaping the real world.
Played a lot of video games and watched a lot of movies.
Worked at my mom's motel for the early part of my life. Wanted to do anything BUT work there.
Played around with my computer at home a lot and did whatever I could to learn visual effects.
Went to school for computer engineering, because they supposedly "make a lot of money."
Got an internship at Blizzard Entertainment, where I've always wanted to work (it was near my school).
Got a full time job there.
Worked there for a few years, went to film for a couple of years, and now I'm back at Blizzard.
Education
High School
Career
Senior Rigger
I work on visual effects for film and games.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Film
Art
Problem Solving
Day to Day
I sit in front of a computer and create a rig for a character that will be used in animation. I also simulate clothing and hair using the computer to create a physics environment. I'm surrounded by some of the best artists in the world.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Start playing with 3d animation programs, such as Maya, 3D Studio Max or XSI. Run through some tutorials online (there are tons). Because this work can become tedious, it's important to really like what you're doing. There are so many kinds of jobs in visual effects and some people overlap roles, so it's important to see which job you would enjoy the most and get really good at that one thing.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
Challenges I Overcame
Single Parent
