Where talent meets vision — the story of Mladen
Meet Mladen, a senior 3D artist who joined us as a student five years ago. Although he had no real work experience, there was and still is just something great about him.
When you ask his colleagues to describe Mladen, they usually say he was the perfect choice for the company from day one. He has a strong vision, which he knows how to realise. He loves what he does, and he is everything you could possibly want to find in an artist. Some say he is the most fun person to work with. His sense of humour is just infectious. This is a story of how enthusiasm, an open mind and hard work matter more than years of experience.
Extraordinary talent
Mladen has always been interested in video games. He started working on his first game at the age of 10, which is not really something you’d expect from an average kid. “I created my first video game back in high school. It was called SickBrick, and that game was my first glimpse into the financial side of game development,” Mladen explained. Such a great start made sure he would stand out in the gaming community. Not long after that, he joined our team as the first official 3D artist. “I got the job with Delta Reality based on my game development skills, which I gained through years of working on personal game projects. I was quite good at Unity, while on the other hand, modeling in Blender was something I still had to polish. I used to create 3D models in Wings3D and used Blender only for animation.”
Being bright, it didn’t take him long to get up to speed with Blender, which is his go-to tool today. As the company grew, he started taking on more responsibility in the team, eventually becoming the lead 3D artist.
Life of a Senior 3D Artist
When asked about the job itself and what keeps him happy, Mladen explained that the main reason he loves what he does is autonomy. “I love that I get to decide what the next project is going to look like. As my team consists of creative minds, I like to include them in the planning process. Being a good lead 3D artist means I have to be supportive, pointing my team in the right direction and giving them advice based on my knowledge and experience. I don’t define every detail of a project and expect them to follow me blindly. I value our cooperation, and I am the happiest when we create something big together as a team.”
Being a good 3D artist means having an open mind, a desire always to learn new tools, and being proactive and easy going, coupled with a passion for animation, 3D modelling, computer games and the technology that makes it all possible. Although he is happy with his role, it would be unusual if he didn’t want to learn more.When asked what role he would take if he needed to change his position in the company, he says he would finally learn C# and C++ and become a full-stack solo game developer, which would enable him to complete some of the crazy ideas he has in mind. Whatever it is, knowing him, we believe it is going to be outstanding.
What does working for Delta Reality feel like?
Working for Delta Reality is an extraordinary experience for Mladen. “We work on very diverse and exciting projects, which became super important to us during the pandemic. My colleagues are outstanding people and I love working with them, but as we all had to switch from the office to our living rooms, this diversity of projects was crucial in keeping everyone content,” he explained.
Describing the atmosphere in the office and what new hires can expect from Delta Reality, Mladen said: “They will join a company that has some of the most intelligent, capable and easy-going people in the whole country, possibly even in the region. Just interacting with the team will be enough to keep a smile on your face every single day at work. Put these amazing people together with super exciting, challenging and ever-changing projects, add the latest, perhaps even experimental technology to the story and the fun just never ends.”
Photos: Josip Ninković
