Amy Heyes
CG Artist at Coffee & TV
Interview by: Katy Pryer
Growing up, Coffee & TV CG artist Amy Heyes found complete escapism in the surreal and gritty worlds of video games, from Final Fantasy to Tomb Raider. Small wonder then that she carved out a career that would allow her to furnish the everyday with the embellishments of her imagination, for the likes of Comfort, Vodafone and Vauxhall. Here she talks inspiration, aspirations and what it was like skilling up while the world was locking down.
When did you realise this was the career path for you?
In 2010 How to Train Your Dragon came out. I went to see it and instantly fell in love. Something in me clicked. I had absolutely no CG knowledge, so I started looking at different courses. Growing up I always knew I would be doing something arty - it’s very hard to imagine myself doing something more academic.
How did you earn your industry experience?
After uni, my first post-house was Director’s Cut. I worked there for three months and realised editing wasn’t for me. I’d put CG on the backburner, but then I met an artist there who showed me his CG work and that completely re-ignited that whole part of me that had got a bit lost in working extra jobs, saving up and moving to London.
From this point my goal to become an artist was clear, but learning all the tech can be time-consuming, and difficult to keep up with whilst running. I was just stealing bits of time to train whenever I could. It sounds twisted, but the pandemic gave me time. I was on furlough and took advantage of that. I wanted to show everyone that I was production-ready and could contribute as a creative. So, I took it into my own hands.
It’s early days, but what’s been your highlight so far?
Every project I’ve worked on has been special. If I had to choose, Sky Lions. I worked on look development in the early stages of the job, which involved conceptualising environments and it was really fun to test out a completely new style. It started as a title sequence and then because it looked so good, they changed it to a full campaign over all channels and broadcasts.
You’ve mentioned one special film. What would be your dream project?
How To Train Your Dragon kickstarted everything I’ve done in the last ten years. I used to watch that and daydream about working at DreamWorks and Pixar! When Soul came out, I fell in love again. If I could work on a piece that taps into human emotions in that way, it’d be incredible.
How do you find the balance of creative and technical?
That’s a skill I’ve had to develop. I’m not naturally very good at navigating the technical side, but I’m getting better. I’d much rather focus on the creative side than the code. But there are times when you have to be able to solve problems both ways. Which is great. It keeps me on my toes.
What are you working on now?
We recently worked on Vodafone’s Black Friday campaign. My first project was rigging and animating flowers, but this took it up a notch. It was pretty complex, but beautiful. It was almost a year on from my first project as an artist, and to be able to come back and see how much I’ve grown since then was very gratifying.
Vodafone, Morrisons, Vauxhall, Comfort