Meet Tanvir, one of the Art Directors of God of War: Ragnarok Interview
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
February 04, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 04, 2023
Meet Tanvir, one of the Art Directors of God of War: Ragnarok Interview

Splash

Aziz Hakim
14 November, 2022, 10:30 am
Last modified: 22 November, 2022, 03:49 pm

Related News

  • Dhaka Art Summit '23: Perceiving 'Bonna' in all its manifestations
  • Self and Others: Looking inward to reflect on the world outside
  • FUT Toty Fifa 23: EA unveils the final XI
  • Noncelestial Optics: Mustafa Zaman breaks away from traditional art styles
  • The Callisto Protocol: Re-imagining Dead Space

Meet Tanvir, one of the Art Directors of God of War: Ragnarok Interview

God of War is not the only video game that Bangladeshi art director Tanvir M N Islam has worked on. He worked on Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Marvel Avengers, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and many others

Aziz Hakim
14 November, 2022, 10:30 am
Last modified: 22 November, 2022, 03:49 pm
Meet Tanvir, one of the Art Directors of God of War: Ragnarok Interview

God of War: Ragnarok, by Santa Monica Studios, came out only a few days back on Sony's previous generation gaming console PlayStation (PS) 4, and its latest PS5. No sooner had it dropped, it voraciously raked in unbelievable rating points on IGN (10/10) and Metacritic (94), both of which are extremely difficult to come by. 

It is therefore safe to say that every little detail in the game had met the expectations God of War fans, some of whom have been around since its inception in 2005 on the PS2. Before Ragnarok, God of War (GoW) 4 was the first time the GoW community saw Kratos (the protagonist) with a beard and a full-grown son (Atreus). In this one, the newly beard-wielding Greek God of War (Kratos) crosses over into an entirely different set of mythologies: The Norse mythology. 

Bangladeshi Tanvir M N Islam, was one of the art directors of Ragnarok, having graduated from a character artist for God of War 4, which came out in 2018. 

"The journey from character artist to AD was a simple one. I mainly work for an outsourcing company dedicated to game development and have to work on all sorts of games. Working on one game after another builds experience and performance. I've been in this industry for the past 22 years," said Tanvir.

Working on a game, on gaming

Tanvir's field of work is asset creation. He directs those working in his team on how to artistically represent the various assets (objects such as weapons or pick-ups) in a game. 

"I was a creature artist before this. I model characters in 3D. So I direct how characters in the game are animated in 3D," he said. 

Tanvir has to bear in mind all the minute details of human or animal anatomies, and apply them to make characters' movements look realistic. 

"I need to collaborate with 2D art directors, fully understand how they envision a character and perfect their vision in the 3D realm," he said. "Suppose the artists draw a belt for the character on paper. It's us who have to make sure the belt interacts realistically around the character," he added.

For Ragnarok, Tanvir and his team had to work day in and day out from 2019, till its release this year. Many other outsourcers like Tanvir worked on other aspects of the game, but the next super-bulky sword you are going to pick as your favourite weapon in this game may have just been worked on by Tanvir. Kratos' glorious beard too was at some point set by him. 

God of War is not the only video game Tanvir has worked on. He worked on Lord of the Rings Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Outriders, Marvel Avengers, Zombie Army 4: Dead War, Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order and many others.

Speaking of which, we asked Tanvir if he knew who Ghost is, in the Call of Duty franchise, because with the release of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a ton of speculation has been going around regarding who Ghost is in the game. 

Sadly, Tanvir said, "I didn't really play the game. I would have to play the game to find out, no? I don't have the time to play video games," said the God of War Art Director.

Travelling the world for video games

Tanvir works at Keywords Studios, a gaming studio based in Ireland. Keywords Studios operates in 40 countries and is one big family in excess of 10,000 artists, of which three to four thousand are 3D artists. The studio outsources their work to different parts of the world; China, for example. In Canada, he still works for the same studio in Qubec, Canada, he used to in China. 
He moved out with the branch of Keywords Studio that used to operate in China when they had to set up shop in Canada.

His work with video games began in 2016, when he moved to China. But his profession was not always designing characters for video games. 

"I worked on VFX, animation, music videos for Click House Studio, a Danish company. They had an office in Bangladesh. I also worked as an animator at a television station for a whole year." 

Between these, Tanvir opened up his own studio 'Incubator Effects'. 

"I worked on a lot of projects there, where I was a generalist, meaning I used to do most of the work there. It was going good but then it occurred to me that I had to do something for myself.
I quit everything and began working on improving my own skills and repertoire. It paid off!"

One step back – two steps forward

As Tanvir took some time off to address his own drive of improving his portfolio, his decision paid off massively. He began receiving recognition he always dreamt of. 

The Z Brush Central, for example, is the Mecca for 3D artists, specifically for digital sculptors, who work on the Z Brush tool. The Z Brush is the core software for designing 3D characters. It is the Photoshop equivalent for game modelling and hi-res sculpting. You will find no game that was not designed using it. 

At Z Brush Central, top game animators and sculptors submit their work and the best of the best work amongst the submissions are featured. "I've been featured there two months in a row, when a lot of game modellers dream of being featured only once. I never had to look back again," he said. 

Tanvir immediately got a job offer from China and off he went. "China was a different experience altogether. Here I learned and experimented a lot." 

The end credit is all that matters

The biggest and most rewarding thing for a 3D artist is the recognition that comes in the form of a very long list of names at the end of a game, in the end credits.

"We wait in anticipation to find out if my name will appear in the end credits because we do not make it there on every game. We have to earn our place in the end credits. I luckily got credit in the first God of War game I worked on," he said.

"Back when I used to go to IDB to buy a game or watch a trailer, getting to work on those games, with its original creators, is something I always wanted to do in life," Tanvir concluded.

Top News

God of War: Ragnarok / art / Game

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Is the IMF to blame for growing pressure on your wallet?
    Is the IMF to blame for growing pressure on your wallet?
  • Dr Salehuddin Ahmed. Illustration: TBS
    Reforms in banking must to sustain financial sector
  • With only one government run specialised cancer hospital in the capital — the National Institute Of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) in Mohakhali — patients have no option but to resort to private hospitals. Photo: Noor A Alam.
    Cancer care: Medical treatment and beyond

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Courtesy
    Md Tokon’s odyssey of dreaming the painting and painting the dream
  • Amar Bhashar Chalachchitra 1429 to feature ‘Hawa’, ‘Damal’
    Amar Bhashar Chalachchitra 1429 to feature ‘Hawa’, ‘Damal’
  • Photo: Collected
    Warzone 2: Season 2 release date and new maps announced
  • US journo calls Shah Rukh Khan 'India's Tom Cruise' in article, angers fans: 'The disrespect!'
    US journo calls Shah Rukh Khan 'India's Tom Cruise' in article, angers fans: 'The disrespect!'
  • FILE PHOTO: French designer Paco Rabanne poses after his Spring-Summer ready-to-wear women's fashion collection for 2004 in Paris, October 11, 2003.
    Fashion designer Paco Rabanne dead at 88
  • Photo: Collected
    Mumbai court issues notice to Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Related News

  • Dhaka Art Summit '23: Perceiving 'Bonna' in all its manifestations
  • Self and Others: Looking inward to reflect on the world outside
  • FUT Toty Fifa 23: EA unveils the final XI
  • Noncelestial Optics: Mustafa Zaman breaks away from traditional art styles
  • The Callisto Protocol: Re-imagining Dead Space

Features

Photo: Noor-A-Alam

Say 'Salud' before your salad main course

2h | Food
With only one government run specialised cancer hospital in the capital — the National Institute Of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) in Mohakhali — patients have no option but to resort to private hospitals. Photo: Noor A Alam.

Cancer care: Medical treatment and beyond

3h | Panorama
Andy Mukherjee. Sketch: TBS

What makes India's billionaires' support special for Adani

1d | Panorama
Photo: Rejaul Hafiz Rahi

A jackal farewell

1d | Earth

More Videos from TBS

A proper price formula can help investors to plan big

A proper price formula can help investors to plan big

1d | TBS Round Table
Rumors about Sarika that everyone thinks are true

Rumors about Sarika that everyone thinks are true

1d | TBS Entertainment
Mugging rife in Tejgaon, murder in Wari

Mugging rife in Tejgaon, murder in Wari

1d | TBS Current Affairs
What secrets are hidden behind Adani's wealth?

What secrets are hidden behind Adani's wealth?

1d | TBS Stories

Most Read

1
Leepu realised his love for cars from a young age and for the last 40 years, he has transformed, designed and customised hundreds of cars. Photo: Collected
Panorama

'I am not crazy about cars anymore': Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu

2
Photo: Collected
Energy

8 Ctg power plants out of production

3
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Economy

IMF approves $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh, calls for ambitious reforms

4
Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane
Infrastructure

Fund cut as Dhaka's fast-track transit projects on slow spending lane

5
Photo: Collected
Court

Japanese mother gets guardianship of daughters, free to leave country

6
Belal Ahmed new acting chairman of SIBL
Banking

Belal Ahmed new acting chairman of SIBL

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net