The Bangladeshi CG artist who created a Star Wars villain
Bangladeshi CG character artist Tanvir M N Islam is leaving his footprint in the global games industry from his workstation in Shanghai
After a six month stay in Dhaka with his family, Tanvir M N Islam was on his way to Shanghai, China. During his stopover in Guangzhou, he talked to The Business Standard about his career in the video game industry.
"I was born in Saudi Arabia," Tanvir saidover a Zoom call.
When he returned to his homeland in the 1990s, VFX shots in Hollywood movies became his obsession. "I watched Terminator 2 as an HSC student. Remember that scene when T-1000 turns into liquid metal? That scene blew my mind away!" Tanvir said, recalling one of the moments that defines his career trajectory.
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Tanvir gravitated towards 3D designing soon after. He was introduced to the software 3D Max in the early 2000s.
"I started learning the software on my own and also enrolled in a training centre later," Tanvir said. Tanvir has worked on several big games so far. His portfolio includes Marvel's Avengers, Star Wars : Jedi Fallen Order, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Zombie Army 4: Dead War,
among other titles. Due to a non-disclosure agreement with the studios, Tanvir was unable to speak about many aspects of his contribution in designing video game characters.
"Come on, you've got to share something with the readers. You have designed CG characters for a Star Wars game!", we said, as we demanded some behind the scene secrets from Tanvir.
"I art directed some creatures in Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. The characters are 'Oggdo Bogdo,' 'bog rat' and 'bone back spider.' I really enjoyed creating these characters!" Tanvir said.
Tanvir was a big fan of the Call of Duty franchise from an early age. When the end credits of this game rolls, Tanvir's name is seen among other professionals of the game design industry. When there was no high-speed internet and computers were fat and cranky, Tanvir became a self-taught CG artist sitting in Dhaka. Now that he is working at Red Hot CG as an art director, Tanvir's story can inspire Bangladeshi aspirants who want to work in the game industry.
Growing up, Tanvir was a horror movie buff. He paid close attention to how the movie creatures looked like - probably a subconscious decision that shaped his style of drawing later.
When we asked him which horror movie inspired him to pursue a career as a CG artist, Tanvir mentioned "Hellraiser", the cult horror movie.
As crazy as it may sound, Tanvir himself is not a gamer. "I rarely play video games, not even the ones I have been associated with," Tanvir confesses.
For honest feedback, he turns to his younger brother. "My brother plays the video games I have worked for and lets me know how it
was."
Atreus, the video game character from the God of War franchise, is the son of the main character Kratos. "I partly worked for the costume texturing of Kratos' son," Tanvir said.
Tanvir is also an avid action figure collector. It was a moment of great surprise for him when "Killer shark", a character he designed
for the game "Zombie Army 4: Dead War" was officially released as an action figurine.
Tanvir doesn't want to confine himself to only the gaming world. He has already worked outside this industry. His portfolio in visual effects includes the music video "I hope" (by the British artiste Rebecca Ferguson) and the short film "Grave Shivers."
"I would certainly love to work with live action and animated movies in the future. Let's just hope this crisis will come to an end
soon," Tanvir said.
