We were lucky to catch up with Brigitte Fuker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brigitte, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Looking back, you could say the start of my education in the creative world began with a failure. I didn’t pass an entrance exam for a Psychology-study. The exam in itself had been a risk as only a numbered amount of people could get into the university and yet, the even bigger risk was paying a high sum of money for a school and Diploma degree in Game Art. I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future, after two failed university attempts (there had been a semester in another course that didn’t motivate me enough) and jobs in the catering industry, I saw this as my last shot of finding something that I would enjoy doing for 40 hours a week. I started the school with almost no idea about Game Art itself, 3D modelling or what Game Engines are… I just knew I liked to draw and to play games with storytelling. I’m extremely glad I had no idea what I was getting myself into because if I knew how many new programs I had to learn and how many hours I spent working on projects (probably even more than 40h/week), I would have been too much caught off guard to even try to attempt it. But I enjoyed the whole process, the rewarding and frustrating parts all the same. In hindsight, I couldn’t be happier to have taken this leap and found this type of work, the people I got to know and just being able to be creative and have an outlet which could actually pay rent.

So the risk of being rejected from an university exam, of losing money on an education I might dislike and of it being my last chance finding a job I hopefully enjoy – it all helped me get to the point I’m at now. I’m still in education but I’m happy about it and with a much brighter look into my future job opportunities.
So I can only add to everyone else saying that taking risks is important – it’s also not always about finding what you like doing but finding out what you dislike doing, so you know in which way to pivot. Just don’t stay stagnant. For some people it takes a few months of trying out stuff, for me it took almost three years but I got there. I know it sounds cheesy but I hope this can motivate you to just give it a go and take a risk, let yourself be scared now so you can be happier later.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As mentioned in the story about risks, it took me a while before I found out about the 3D world and Game Art. I always loved playing video games or watching my brothers play them and being immersed in their stories. I also always loved drawing, painting and writing – I soon wished I could create something others can look at, read or just experience. Art can evoke any emotion in people and the thought of being a trigger for that excited me since I can remember.

So after a few hurdles before entering my Game Art studies, I was finally able to believe that I could be a part of a Game Company and create something with a team that could be meaningful to players and something they want to remember – basically what I dreamed of.
Now. after almost two years of learning and getting familiar with all the programs, creating projects and building a portfolio, becoming an Environment Artist is what I set myself out to do. The creation of props, the texturing of surfaces and materials to get a certain look across, the implementation in the Game Engine and constructing a world that feels lived in and believable are all things I enjoy doing. Working on this with a team of like-minded people and learning from another is also a positive factor. Creating worlds players can roam through, investigate and interact with, appreciate and start to love is my goal.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

People are out to get you and competitiveness is negative. That’s not true – at least it doesn’t have to be. The previously learned lesson wasn’t really someone else taught me but something that build itself over time, seeing it acted out with different people and in different scenarios. Like at school, at home or on the internet. An overthinking mind also just makes it worse.
I was able to be less scared of people in higher positions and about competition thanks to the peers and teachers at my last schools. Maybe I got really lucky with the ones I encountered but almost all of my superiors were really friendly and understood the struggles of just starting out in the creative field and wanting to make connections while, in my case, being rather introverted and at times awkward. Of course, this doesn’t mean people that are more experienced than you should be seen and from the get-go treated like a friend. The relations between a mentor or boss and their student or employee doesn’t have to be like a friendship but just as people respecting each other. One being the trainee, willing to learn and take advice seriously and the other one knowing exactly what it’s like to be the former. Before, I was too scared to believe that could even be possible.

And about competitiveness – again, my colleagues made me realize that this can be something beneficial. If someone is better or faster than you, the sooner you realize you can choose to learn from them and find out why they have an advantage rather than just trying to out-do them – both of you can probably get to your respective end results more efficiently and with less malice in mind. Don’t be in a competition with others but with yourself and your progress. Try to be better than your last project or task you finished and not another person.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I like watching the videos of Dr. Alok Kanojia on Youtube (“HealthyGamerGG”) and he had a talk with another popular Youtuber Sean McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye) about life and its struggles. The part that spoke to me the most was his take on Stoicism. The core points make sense to me and are something I’m definitely trying more and more to follow. Really easily put, it’s about acceptance and indifference about events in your life. Similar to the quote from Matt Haig: “You are not your feelings. You just experience them.” You realize that you can’t change the happenings of your environment but the way you react. With this attitude it’s easier to create a less chaotic or anxious life. But it’s obviously easier said than done, so I’m still working on it. Besides that, I’ve read the book “The War Of Art” by Steven Pressfield where he talks about the Resistance one faces during their creative blocks and journey as an artist in general. Resistance is something everyone internally experiences and has to learn to live with and combat. The book explains how Resistance can look like and how it hinders you from starting your work and composes strategies to battle it. The sooner you realize how it is showing itself to you, the faster you can fight against it and evolve from an amateur to a professional mindset.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__zoora__/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigitte-fuker-66919026a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9vfkRRjYvCWtnuSvCBQuA
• Other: https://www.artstation.com/zoora6

Image Credits
Brigitte Fuker