Brian Traficante

🎉 Jellyfish AI Impact now supports Windsurf, a leader in AI-powered coding solutions, offering tools like the Windsurf Editor that blend collaborative, continuous AI assistance with developers' workflows. Together, Windsurf and Jellyfish are changing how AI and humans work together.  Through our robust integration with Windsurf, Jellyfish AI Impact allows joint customers to:  🤖 Measure Windsurf’s impact on overall developer productivity: Analyze how Windsurf solutions like Windsurf Editor impact different engineering workflows and use cases – whether it's building new features, reducing technical debt, or reviewing for code quality and security improvements. 📈 Scale Windsurf adoption across the organization: Identify teams with high engagement to further accelerate development, automate testing, and streamline deployment, then replicate these best practices and implementation strategies company-wide. Learn more about what this integration means for your engineering organization here: https://lnkd.in/ghNguE47

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If you’ve ever worked with smoke, fog, fire, or terrain in Houdini, you’ve used VDBs—whether you knew it or not. But VDBs aren't just "better volumes." They changed how we think about space. 🧬 Here is a quick breakdown of what you need to know about the VDB 🧬 Did VDB Came out of the blue? VDB comes from OpenVDB, which originally developed at DreamWorks Animation to handle massive volumetric data efficiently. The key idea behind it is simple 👉 Don’t store empty space. Only look into the parts that actually contains data. That’s why VDB scales so well. 🧊 The VDB Family members The most common VDB type is the SDF (Signed Distance Field): this type main concern is the distance to the nearest surface Positive = outside Negative = inside Zero = surface which make it gold mine for Mesh analysis, collisions, Boolean operations, and fluid surfaces. But there are some other important VDB types: • Fog VDB → and it focus on density value of 0 is empty while 1 is full opaque commonly used with (smoke, clouds, fire) • Velocity VDB → vector fields for motion usuly used for advection (moving smoke with wind), and guiding particles. • Color VDB → stores Cd / RGB values great for Shading, fire temperature (blackbody radiation), and texture projection. • Mask VDB → that is a "Logic" A specialized, lightweight grid (often Boolean or Integer) so the Values: Often just On/Off (1/0) great for controlling where smoothing happens, limiting a simulation to a specific area, or "culling" data to save memory. Think of VDBs as fields, not just shapes. 🎮 VDB in Real-Time: 2026 Story shortly They are Just friends 💔 for now. While it still doesn't render raw files like a path-tracer, But we have Heterogeneous Volumes system to bridge the gap. ⚡ The Modern Way (Sparse Volume Textures - SVT) In UE 5.4/5.5, you can drag and drop the file directly into the Content Browser and it will converted into a SVT and then use a Heterogeneous Volume Actor to render it in the viewport. ☂️ The Classic Way (Flipbooks/Pseudo-3D) For mobile or high-performance games, bake it into 2D textures this is much cheaper on the GPU. ☄️ The Niagara Way Lookup for particles, Niagara system can sample a VDB to know where to spawn particles or how to move (Velocity VDB). But from Cost POV: VDBs/SVTs are memory-hungry. A long animated sequence can easily eat up several gigabytes of VRAM. Rendering It uses Ray Marching, which is expensive. If you have 10 large VDBs on screen, your frame rate will tank. The Verdict Great for cinematics and hero effects; still "too heavy" for generic background smoke in a competitive shooter. "VDB is for the lab; Baked is for the field." 🎯 Final Thought VDB didn’t just improve volumes. It gave us a way to think in space, distance, and influence. What’s your golden tip on VDB #VDB #OpenVDB #Houdini #FX #Proceduralism #TechnicalArtist #PipelineTD #VFX #GameDev #RealtimeFX #Volumes #OpenToWork

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Top 10 tips ((Cheat Sheet)) for USD Rendering useful for Tech Artists & Pipeline TDs Use it anywhere you need headless, automated, Hydra-based USD rendering without opening Houdini. 1. Basic Render Render a USD file using Karma (default delegate): husk scene.usd 2. Render a Frame Range husk scene.usd -f 1 100 And to point to output path: husk scene.usd -f 1 100 -o /renders/shot1/beauty.$F4.exr 3. Switch Render Delegate Render using Karma XPU: husk -R KarmaXPU scene.usd Render with Storm (fast preview): husk -R HdStorm scene.usd And you can add any Hydra delegate (Arnold, RenderMan, 3Delight if installed). 4. Override Render Settings Change a render var (AOV) directly: husk -set camera /path/to/cameraPrim Override resolution: husk scene.usd -xres 1920 -yres 1080 5. Render Specific Camera husk scene.usd -C /World/camera1 6. Add AOVs Render with ego-defined AOV (example: nrm, depth): husk scene.usd -A nrm -A depth -o /renders/aov.$AOV.$F4.exr 7. Generate a Preview Movie husk scene.usd -f 1 120 -o preview.$F4.jpg Use ffmpeg afterwards: ffmpeg -r 24 -i preview.%04d.jpg preview.mov 8. Progressive Rendering Good for quick review: husk scene.usd -progress 9. Use Husk in PDG Inside a ROP Fetch TOP or USD Render TOP: Set “Command” to: husk @usdfile@ -f @frame@ -o @output@ PDG distributes to farm automatically. 10. Debug Mode husk scene.usd --verbose or husk scene.usd --trace #Houdini3D #USD #Husk #KarmaXPU #PipelineTD #TechArt #Proceduralism #PDG #Hydra #VFXPipeline #RenderFarm #CGWorkflow #OpenToWork

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Game art asset factories aren’t enough anymore. Pretty models mean nothing if the shaders won’t compile. True co-development requires technical art literacy. If an external team can’t debug a pipeline, they aren’t helping. They’re generating high-fidelity technical debt. At Artchop!, we build with integration in mind from day one. The real question is whether studios are looking for true integration partners or just capacity. #GDC #CoDev #TechnicalArt

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Following up on my last post about Unreal’s Modular Rig, I tried a small experiment: using it to animate a simple, one-off environment prop. The goal wasn’t to replace DCC pipelines, but to see whether Modular Rig could help reduce unnecessary round-trips especially for assets that don’t justify a full Maya setup. A few takeaways from building a quick sci-fi door rig and animating it entirely in Unreal: ➤ What worked well ✅ Animating a Control Rig in a level Sequencer felt lighter than expected ✅ Having common controls and animation tools available is handy ✅ Adding skeletons, skin weights, and simple dynamics/controls to simple props feels efficient ➤ Where friction showed up ⚠️ Folders get dirty quickly and need extra care to remain clean ⚠️ Default Rotator based rotation constantly getting into gimble lock issues ➤ The bigger takeaway For me, this reinforced that Modular Rig can make sense for simple, one-off props. Being able to create a skeleton, paint skin weights, rig, and animate entirely inside Unreal makes Modular Rig feel less like a “character tool” and more like a lightweight in-engine animation path. This matters because these props often don’t justify a full DCC round-trip. Even when Maya-based pipelines are fast, they introduce context switching, asset tracking overhead, and friction for designers who are already iterating directly in the level. In that sense, Modular Rig is a meaningful tool about enabling small, contained animation tasks to stay where the work already happens. #UnrealEngine #UE5 #TechnicalAnimation #GameDev #TechnicalArt #LevelDesign #ControlRig #AnimationPipeline

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85% of studios have ditched degree requirements. So why is it still so hard to find the right people? Because "no degree" doesn't mean "no standards." It means we're finally prioritizing demonstrable skill and grit over a piece of paper. But without the right lens to evaluate that experience, you're just sifting through more noise. In a skills-based economy, surgical recruitment is the only way to identify who can actually ship a game and who just talks a good game. #HiringTrends #GameDevelopment #SkillsBasedHiring #GameRecruiter

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We've been implementing Neural Texture compression in #Assassinscreedmirage. The overall benefit results in better quality textures for less GPU memory usage (links in the first comment). If you followed the topic since our GDC2024 presentation ,this a very practical application of La Forge's mission to bridge the academic world with Ubisoft. #ubisoft #ubisoftlaforge #innovation 👇 "If you've been thinking, like I have, that we're still some way off seeing AI being used in games for more than just upscaling or frame generation, then it's time to think again" (...) "Enter stage left, neural texture compression to cut down on that memory demand. Given the state of the DRAM and SSD market right now, you can bet your last dollar that a whole heap of game developers will be looking closely at what Ubisoft has done to see if it can help out in their games, too"

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CDPR plan to release The Witcher 4, 5, and 6 within a six year period using Unreal Engine. Another RPG that did this in the past? Biowares Mass Effect. Those with a birth year that starts with a 19 may recall what BioWare accomplished with the original Mass Effect trilogy. 3 Mass Effect were built and shipped within one console generation, powered by Unreal Engine 3, and supported by a production pipeline that was battle tested. That trilogy became a model for narrative continuity in AAA games because each entry arrived quickly enough for players to stay attached to the characters, the world, and the evolving choices that defined the saga. CD Projekt Red looks to chsae a similar rhythm. By shifting to Unreal Engine 5, the studio is trying to avoid the technical complications that slowed development on Cyberpunk and to create a shared foundation for multiple teams working on overlapping projects. The Witcher 4 has already been in development for four years, and CDPR has said it will not release before 2027. This framing positions the trilogy plan not as a hype statement but as a structured production approach that depends on a common engine, shared assets, and predictable pipelines. If the studio hits its plan, players could receive a new Witcher entry every three years. For Mass Effect, players never drifted away from the experience, and each new game extended the momentum of the last. Systems improved without losing their identity, and the narrative carried emotional weight because it never disappeared from the cultural conversation. CD Projekt Red could be aiming for the same effect. A steady three year cycle would let the next Witcher saga evolve in a connected way while keeping fan investment high. CDPRs ambition places them directly alongside one of the most respected production feats in modern gaming history.

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It was a well needed reset. Devs realizing cope isn’t gonna cut it anymore. Game makers tend to be stuck in their ways, and you could see the industry collectively - yet finally - come to the realization that the business is changing with or without us in pretty substantial ways, and its not going back. "Survive in '25"-type cope-thinking has been crushed. Now we are moving from denial to bargaining. Many realizing they have to use AI. Lots of unnecessary self-rationalization around why its okay to use it and how - best you speed through this phase quickly. China and the rest of the world are already there. The light bulb was also going off that gaming is just no longer console or AAA-centric anymore. Its not that what the consoles are doing is irrelevant, but its simply less relevant than ever to most of the attendants of GDC who are independents in some way. Steam is creating hits, console is not. Roblox is creating hits, mobile is not. Its pretty clear where the opportunity is and isn't. If you were there looking for money to do things the old way, you were probably disappointed. If you were there to talk where the industry is headed, you were probably either deeply depressed over the state of affairs or irrationally giddy at the disruptive opportunity that AI and more open platforms are bringing us. The lower attendance and sober tone led to the most honest conversations I've had at GDC in a while. Less posturing, more figuring things out. Also it was remakarkably free of political activism - the angry, entitled people self-selecting out allowed everyone else to relax a little and just be honest for once. 2027 will be the bounce back GDC for sure, but this get-real session was necessary.

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Soft skills turn solid renders into shippable work... especially in US and Canada studios where teams move fast and expect clarity, reliability, and ownership. - Communication: pitch your lighting intent in 1–2 lines so art/tech/production align before you place a single light. Why? It prevents rework. In Top 1% lighting artist program, we practice concise briefs and feedback loops live. - Collaboration: turn critique into 3 action items, then share annotated before/after frames. Why? Reviews become momentum, not friction. And we run structured peer reviews. - Problem Solving: test, document the fix. Why? You unblock yourself under deadlines. We model this method live. - Adaptability: update references, goals, and tone mapping. Why? Pipelines evolve weekly. - Time management: deliver a “good today” pass before “perfect next week” using checkpoints. Why? Milestones matter. We use weekly deliverables and checklists. Salary snapshot (ranges vary by city/seniority): - Canada: Lighting Artist average around C$64.8k; Vancouver averages near ~US$79k/yr equivalent; UE Artist rates in Ontario/Toronto ~US$59–62/hr. - United States: Game Artist averages ~US$70k nationally, with top states exceeding US$100k+; senior UE developers can reach US$150k. Build these skills alongside real UE5 lighting craft in the live 6‑week program: - Live sessions + full recordings - 1:1 mentorship and feedback - Community, challenges, and job‑focused support - Six projects + graduation piece (AAA‑ready) Physically Based Lighting workflow (EV100, tone mapping, Lumen, intentional fake lights) Leave a comment to get dates, pricing, and how to enroll.

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Tip for a lead comp. Be a technical problem solver. You don’t need to be the studio’s pipeline TD. Know your way around Nuke gizmos, scripts, and workarounds to fix common issues. This prevents your team from losing hours on avoidable technical roadblocks.

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