Teesside graduates ranked among best games developers
Two Teesside University graduates whose work has been seen worldwide have been named among the world’s leading young games developers.
Adam Turnbull and Ryan Harrison are both listed in Develop magazine’s annual 30 under 30, an influential round-up of the best young games development talent sourced from around the world.
Adam, 29, graduated from Teesside University in 2011 and is about to start work as an animator with Riot Games in America. Originally from Skelton in East Cleveland, he is described by Develop as a 'super talented animator who continues to push himself, a great team player and all round nice chap'.
Currently relocating from his current base in Cambridge to California for his new job, Adam said he chose to study at Teesside due to the variety of the course. He said: 'The degree involved a mix of web design, digital illustration, animation and programming, which was perfect for someone like me who had a lot of interests at the time and wasn’t sure which to pursue.
'The variety of the course enabled me to try a lot of different things and figure out which career path to take. The tutors allowed us to experiment and tackle each task we were given in a way which suited our own interests and skillsets.'
Adam added: 'Teesside really helped me to define what I wanted to do. My first job came from meeting people at a careers fair, eventually leading to an interview and my first full-time job in the industry.'
He added: 'I am really excited about starting my new role in California. Beyond that I just want to keep learning and improving my skills as an animator by working with talented teams.
'The industry is in a great place right now, with people constantly sharing their knowledge and techniques which is great for animators.'
Since graduating, Adam has worked at Mediatonic, Jagex and Guerrilla and been involved in a variety of games, including RIGS, Horizon: Zero Dawn and 1000 Tiny Claws.
Also on the list is Ryan, 26, who is described by Develop as someone who 'has always pushed the boundaries'. Develop also heap praise on his ability to 'create things that were not previously thought possible'.
Teesside really helped me to define what I wanted to do
He graduated from Teesside University’s BA (Hons) Computer Animation in 2012 and currently works as a technical artist/rigger with EA based in Guildford.
Originally from Lincoln, he said: 'I wanted to come to Teesside to study as I’d heard it offered one of the best courses to learn about animation. I also fell in love with the motion capture facilities when I came to visit the University.'
Ryan added: 'I really enjoyed working and collaborating with other students and having access to some awesome equipment. I particularly enjoyed the final year of the degree as I was able to research areas which interested me the most and hone in on the skills that I wanted to develop.
'The facilities and access to experienced tutors and industry professionals really helped to push me in the right direction.'
He added: 'My first job was as a junior motion capture artist at Audiomotion. I've also worked at Rockstar, The Imaginarium Studios and completed other freelance endeavours over the last few years.'
Ryan added: 'My most valuable piece of advice is to enjoy experimenting and the crazy amount of creative freedom you have while studying at Teesside.'
Teesside University has been named among the top 20 places worldwide to study animation.
Animation magazine has issued its Animation Career Review world ranking, with Teesside University placed at 19 in a global list of top 20 universities and colleges for animation are institutions located in America, France, Germany, Canada, South Africa and Australia.
Simon Stobart, Dean of the School of Computing, said: 'It has never been a more exciting time to study with us, as our courses are at the very forefront of current technology. I am delighted to note that we are recognised as a centre of excellence for the creative and technical aspects of computing, games, animation, multimedia and visual effects.'
