Gnomon Graduate Julian Elwood on Environment Art, Naughty Dog, and Teaching at Gnomon

Julian Elwood’s fascination with game development began as a teenager, inspired by behind-the-scenes footage of God of War II and The Lord of the Rings. Growing up in a creative household eventually led him to Los Angeles and Gnomon, where he honed his skills in 3D and environment art. Now an Environment Artist at Naughty Dog and a Gnomon instructor, Julian shares the insights and techniques he’s gained throughout his journey, inspiring students to turn their passion for games into rewarding careers.

When did you realize that what you were watching on-screen could be a career option?

We always watched a lot of movies growing up since we didn’t have cable TV. The first time I realized this could be a job was while watching the behind-the-scenes DVD that came with God of War II on PlayStation 2. One of the artists was doodling a Minotaur, and that clicked something in my brain! The behind-the-scenes discs of The Lord of the Rings movies were also really influential. Behind-the-scenes content is so important for creating awareness about the jobs artists can have. I would love to see more games include documentary-style filming of the development process.

Are your parents connected with art or games?

I definitely grew up in a creative household. My mom is a retired ballerina, and my dad is a bassist. Neither of them is into games, and I had to put in the work to convince them to let me get my first console when I was growing up! But yes, I’d say this career definitely resonates with the environment I grew up in. I was pretty set on pursuing a career in the arts throughout high school, even though I didn’t really know what that would be. I spent some time in culinary classes but eventually settled on pursuing concept art. After high school, I took a year to build a portfolio to apply to art schools.

How did you first discover Gnomon?

Before moving to Los Angeles, I had only focused on 2D art and wasn’t very aware of the 3D world. It wasn’t until we moved into our first apartment off Cahuenga that I started exploring local options and discovered Gnomon. I found out that I lived just a short distance away! I scheduled a tour and was totally blown away. I applied and started attending the following term! I feel incredibly thankful that things panned out the way they did, and that I found Gnomon.

I think concept art and illustration often act as gateways to other disciplines for many people. Oftentimes, students aren’t always aware of the career paths and specialties available to them. I certainly didn’t! My reminder for students applying anywhere is even if you don’t get into what you think is your dream school, you never know, maybe you haven’t found the dream school yet! You might even think you know what your dream job is, then find some other specialty that resonates with you in the same field that you never even knew about!

What were the biggest lessons you learned from Gnomon? How did the school prepare you for industry work?

Gnomon played an enormous role in my life and provided me with countless takeaways that I still use today. While many technical skills can now be learned online, and self-teaching is crucial in this industry, being part of a community of like-minded individuals and benefiting from the wisdom of experienced industry veterans greatly enhanced my education. Many of my closest friends are people I met when I first started at Gnomon.

Traditional arts training is more important than ever before, and I feel very grateful for my traditional arts training. Even basic skills like having an eye for good composition and form are absolutely timeless skills, especially in a tech field where new software and hardware constantly ask you to update your skill set.

Many instructors were instrumental in introducing new ideas to how I thought about art and the craft. I gained a ton of technical understanding of the current tools of the industry. Learning so many programs allows you to become comfortable with the whole landscape of tools that are often intermixed in all the pipelines across the industry. This experience taught me how to quickly adapt to new software and solutions as needed.

Overall, I feel like I learned how to learn during my time at Gnomon. Games can feel more like a trade skill at times, and knowing how to quickly learn new techniques is one of the most useful skills of any game developer.

Could you tell us about what you’re currently teaching here at Gnomon? What are you concentrating on and what are the main things that students should walk away from your course knowing?

I'm super excited to be teaching at Gnomon this term! I'm teaching the 'Environment Creation for Games' course in which we'll go through the bread-and-butter techniques to create high-quality environments in Unreal Engine and explore how these techniques are used across the industry in different studios. One of my personal goals for this class is to introduce students to Houdini a little and warm them up to using tech-art adjacent tools that environment artists will be using more and more in the future.

What are the important things to keep in mind when you are working on assets for a game project? Are there any tricks and tips that all the game artists use that are standard?

I would highly recommend students experiment a little with Houdini or Blender geometry nodes. Procedural modeling is getting better every day, and it will look great on ArtStation. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but just having some experience with it will go a long way! And for a more esoteric tip, one I've been thinking about recently is 'hyper specificity'. All artists have an eye for detail in one way or another, but for environment art students, it helps to think of this as training an eye for hyper-specific detail, which is a skill in its own right.

The ability to look at an environment or texture and to be able to identify and describe exactly the singular details that endears you to it is not a skill many people practice outside of the subliminal. Writing and traditional drawing can be super useful to train this. Describe a texture you like in so many words or an environment scene that you can't quite get working. So much of the time spent in environment art is setting up tools for us to wrangle the digital hurdles to just get to the art creation. It's easy to get lost in the digital side of things. I always have a sketchbook nearby and just doodling the environment I'm working on is a sure way to kickstart your brain with some new ideas!

What advice would you give to someone interested in game art? How should they approach their curiosity, artistry, and school search?

JUST DO IT! Download Blender, get a copy of Maya, get a subscription to Substance Painter/Designer or any other combination of software you’re interested in and start following as many tutorials as you can. Once you follow enough tutorials, you’ll break the ice on your understanding of how these things come together and you’ll build your ability to comfortably problem solve and make cooler and cooler art! These tools are so much more easily accessible than when I was starting. There is seriously no excuse as long as you have a computer or even a good tablet at this point.

Try to understand yourself as best you can, and as you try new things, try to get an understanding of where your talents lie. Research different types of specialties in the field you want to work. Often the big glamorous roles are just the tip of the iceberg of more complex roles that are not as much in the public eye.

To find success most rapidly, look into specialties that require skills that best suit you. Game development requires all forms of creative expression, from highly technical programmers, riggers and tech artists to totally artistic concept artists, environment modelers, texture artists, and everything in between. We even need highly technical concept artists and totally artistic programmers!

In preparing for art school, I took some time to prepare a portfolio - a themed set of works that all fit together. If you're just out of high school and have some pieces but are still early in your artistic journey, I recommend dedicating some time to building a portfolio you're proud of. It doesn't have to take long; six months to a year can be sufficient. Developing the habit of completing self-motivated projects is invaluable and something no school can teach you better than you can learn on your own. Best of luck!

Gnomon is proud to have been part of Julian Elwood’s journey from aspiring artist to accomplished Environment Artist at Naughty Dog. While at Gnomon, Julian honed the technical and artistic skills that define his work today. His passion for environment creation and dedication to continuous learning exemplifies the spirit of the Gnomon community. Now, as an instructor, Julian shares his expertise with the next generation of artists, inspiring them to pursue their creative dreams. We look forward to seeing Julian continue to impact both the industry and the classroom.

About Gnomon

For over 25 years, Gnomon has educated many of the world’s best digital artists on its state-of-the-art campus in Los Angeles, California. Recognized as one of the top U.S. colleges in Forbes' 2023 rankings and called “the MIT of visual effects” by Fast Company magazine, Gnomon offers a variety of educational options to help students reach their goals in the entertainment industry, with certificate and degree programs, and over 100 individual courses. Our comprehensive programs, experienced faculty, and modern facilities ensure that every student can achieve their full potential. Gnomon's strong industry partnerships give students real-world experience and a competitive edge in the job market. Connect with a Gnomon rep and take the first step in your art journey!