Great Dane returns to Teesside to inspire fellow gamers

A Danish graduate who launched a successful career in the games industry after completing a degree at Teesside University is returning to the region to speak at the annual Animex festival.

Janus Kirkegaard is a Senior Environment Artist at IO Interactive and will talk about his experience of going from Teesside University to working on Triple-A game Hitman Absolution.

Animex, the international festival of animation and computer games, is now in its fourteenth year and is celebrating 10 years of Animex Game.

The five day event, the largest of its kind in the UK, features a unique blend of talks, master classes, workshops, film screenings and exhibitions and attracts hundreds of people from across the globe.

Janus, 29, said: 'When I was a student, Animex was an opportunity to get a look into the industry. People are super nice in this industry, but there is also an awful lot of secrecy, so for me it was a welcome opportunity to pop my head in the window and have a look around.

'This will be my first time speaking at Animex and I am super excited. Animex seems to get bigger and better every year and there are a lot of highly respected and talented people around.'

Janus graduated from Teesside University in 2008 with a BA (Hons) Creative Digital Media. He secured a job at IO Interactive where he spent almost five years working on Hitman Absolution and he is currently working on an unannounced game.

'Teesside University was recommended to me and studying there was a fantastic experience,' explained Janus.

'It was great to be able to work on my skills and really dive in and learn so much.

'I was fortunate to gain a job as an Environment Artist with IO Interactive and I was one of the first artists on the Hitman Absolution team. It was great to be part of the project for pretty much its entire production.'

This year’s Animex runs from 18 to 22 February at Teesside University and will also feature Animex Comics for the first time. Event organiser Gabrielle Kent said: 'We are really proud of the line-up and have attracted some of the biggest names in the industry.

'It is great to be able to welcome Janus Kirkegaard as a guest speaker. As a former student he is a perfect example of what can be achieved with hard work, talent and dedication.'

---