halo.bungie.org

They're Random, Baby!

Aesthetic Artist Interviews


Home | COL0NEL SANDERS | Dusty Boy T | AusQB | jEEborz | skm0000 | Meatball O Doom
a cuban cat | Supergrunt19 | PaperThinWalls | Alec 944 | odmichael | TheMoleN1 | A Deaf Boy
The U2 RoKKeR | bs angel | WaiHo C


Week 8 Aesthetic Artist Interview: Supergrunt19

May 29, 2009

His name may be Caboose, but he sure doesn't come last in the art of screenshots!

To wrap up Memorial Day Week, we sat down and had a few words with screenshot artist privat3 caboose - we even wrapped up the interview with a nice bow on top for you. If you would like to get ahead of the competition and learn more of the backstory behind a phenomenal artist, read on as we expose some of his tricks and secrets and read all about what makes this end-of-the-line train car tick.

What got you into gaming? Are you surprised with your level of involvement?

Well, let's see. I think it was when I was about 8 or 9 years old and I got a Nintendo 64 for my birthday. The N64 came with one game, Mario Kart 64. I would play that game for what seemed hours at a time when I first got it. Don't ask how that led to me playing Halo... I really don't know what actually got me into gaming either. It may just have been my mom buying the Nintendo for me =P. I just played for fun when I was bored after a while and wasn't playing hockey.

I'm kind of surprised with my level of involvement, yes. I never thought I'd be in a position like this to be interviewed. I always thought I would just be messing around with my friends on stupid, fun maps that we would make or go into matchmaking and annoy people =P.

Ah, yes. The good ol' days of the N64. Good times, gooood times... What was your introduction to taking screenshots?

Well, I think I just started taking screenshots when Halo 3 came out because I wanted to try that "new feature". I was fascinated by the idea of being able to take screenshots or record films of gameplay. I thought I could take a really funny picture, an amazing clip, or find something that no one would know about and become famous with that. Didn't happen... lol. But I still tried to do a lot and eventually met people that were good at those kinda things and I got better and better as time went by. Then, I met people like Sanders, Dusty, baik, jEEborz, and other people, and I went on from there :D

Well, your career has definitely blossomed since your early days. Who is your favorite screenshot artist? Why? Is there a specific style of that artist that you enjoy?

I honestly don't have a favorite, but if I had to name somebody, I'd have to say it's between Dusty and Sanders solely because I enjoy our awesome games of campaign where we beat the crap out of anyone and anything we wanna take a picture of. We just mess around and come up with something amazing in the process, and in matchmaking they tell me to carry them as if I'm this amazing player like jEEborz (lol). We also get on the mongoose, ride brokeback and snipe people in the face and be like, "OMFG DID U C TAHT!?!??! TOTALLY NOT H4XD." =P. I'm really not even that good, though, just better than them ;] As for a specific style of theirs, I guess for Sanders it would have to be how most of his screenshots are extremely unique and placed very well with some sort of makeshift border around the subject of the screen shot as well. Same with Dusty too, except his settings are in campaign. Both of them take screenshots with an effect or certain placement that I usually have not really seen at all before. They never cease to amaze me :]

Yeah, they can both be very inspirational in the ways of screenshots ;) What is your favorite or most known screenshot? If most favorite, why?

My favorite screenshot would have to be Super Elite. It's my favorite screenshot of mine because everyone that has seen it has usually given at least a small chuckle. My most well-known screen shot is Evil Memorial. I honestly don't know how I got this effect, but it certainly worked out for me and people seem to really enjoy this picture for some reason :D

Super Elite = so epic! Evil Memorial = How the....?! Do you participate in any other form of art, whether it be photoshopping screenshots or drawing on paper?

If I have the time, I sometimes will go on photoshop and make a quick wallpaper or two but other than that, I really don't have time for anything else because of my schedule for hockey which has me playing like 6 days a week. It's ridiculous for how far I have to drive just for practice!! During the season, I have to drive 45 min (if traffic is good) away 3 or 4 times a week (depending on the coach's mood, lol). But it's off-season for me now so I can get some well-deserved R&R! :D

You definitely deserve some R&R after a hard hockey season! How did you make Super-Elite, your favorite screenshot?

For Super Elite, all I did was throw a grenade at the Elite because he wouldn't move out of my way. Then he proceeded to dive away (off the cliff) and then BAM! Super Elite was made. In the game, I was laughing quite hard at seeing this elite jump straight off a cliff, but then I thought about how he jumped and I was thinking, "OMG TOTAL EPIC SCREENSHOT!" lol. So I went into theater and sure enough, there it was... Super Elite! :D I thought to myself, "I think I'll be keeping this one for a while." Haha. To this day, I still get comments about it and they usually make me feel very :]

It sure makes me feel very :] as well! What was your inspiration for both your Bungie.net user name and your gamertag? Why are they different?

Well, when I made my Bnet username, I remembered a name I saw in Halo 2 Forum thread called "Super Jackal" so I just went with that idea and made supergrunt19... the grunt that hunts... The "19" just signifies my favorite number. It also turned out to be very original so I was happy about that. With my gamertag, it should be pretty obvious. I'm a VERY big fan of Red vs. Blue so I just went with my favorite character's name and chose that. Caboose is just so stupid that he makes everything better :D Sure, I get some comments about it that kinda suck, but I've heard 'em too much now so it doesn't even bother me anymore, haha. There's ones like "privat3 caboose... is your caboose really private?" or one that bothered me for how the guy said it..."privat3 caboose...wtf is a privat3 caboose?" :[ Before privat3 caboose though, I had redwingsfan19 since, ya know, the Red Wings are friggin' amazing!!

Oohhh... I can't really agree with you on your choice of hockey teams. How long have you been taking screenshots? Are you currently taking screenshots?

I actually started taking screenshots the year Halo 3 came out, but not great screenshots or anything like that haha. I am currently still taking screenshots quite regularly. Although, I am quite picky now. I don't like taking pictures of things that I've seen a few times before, and it bugs me because it's hard not to do that now. I try to always be unique and original and sometimes, I succeed with a great picture in my books, but it's getting harder because there are beginning to be so many great screen shot takers out there now. Not that it's a bad thing =P.

You've come a long way since then, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that I'm glad you persisted and are as picky as you are. What are your opinions on the new MMP? Which level do you find the best for taking screenshots?

I really like all of them. They're all very enjoyable to play over and over again...except for Assembly. Don't get me wrong, it's a great map and I love playing it because so many things can happen, but I can only take so much of that map. I'm loving all of these different variants on Sandbox though. I'd have to say that the skybox is my favorite part of that map because of how large it is. You could make a perfect remake of Blood Gulch/Coagulation if you had enough supplies. It's true when they say that the possibilities for that map are endless. Orbital is just a well-rounded map for me. It's not amazing, but not terrible either. Right in the beginning of the game, I try to taunt the other team through the glass and sometimes, I'll get someone to look back at me and say...wtf? Haha. I'd have to say my favorite for taking screenshots would be Sandbox because you can make your own screenshot map anywhere you would like and set it up anyway possible with GREAT lighting, too. You can have a lot of fun doing it as well and get an amazing screenshot by accident just because of how amazing the lighting can be.

Now for some fun and fast questions! - Courtesy of bs angel

Forge or Campaign as settings for screenshots?

Campaign.

Spartan or Elite as models in screenshots?

Spartan.

Effect or Random explosions?

Effects if it's new, lol.

Frag or Plasma?

Plasma - it's more satisfying to hear it stick >:]

Studio's Choice or Community Spotlight?

Community Spotlight.

Personally, I loved this week's Studio's Choice - such wonderful choices, urk! Would you like to add anything about yourself?

Umm... I don't know, lol. I guess I'm a nice guy to play with unless you annoy me, then I can be brutally harsh. I could possibly make you wanna end your life I've been told... :] But, if you don't annoy me, I really am a nice guy. I love to just mess around in campaign and customs or get in some matchmaking games with my buddies. Outside of gaming, I LOVE playing sports, any sport really, but mostly ice or roller hockey. Nothing is more exhilarating than skating on the rink with the puck and completely decking someone out, -blam!-hammering someone on the boards, or sending them over. It's also a great sport to watch. Those guys are just so fast and powerful that it can be hard to keep up with 'em even when you're watching. Playoff hockey though, that's a whole new level. Everything is dirty, lol. Fights, hits, goals, everything :] Oh and btw, GO WINGS!!!!

Nice guy, sometimes harsh, campaign and customs, hockey. Awesome. Would you like to make any shout-outs?

Yes. First, to my buddy pr1vate church. I know you rarely play anymore, but it was always fun to play big team with you and your banshee and screaming at people that killed you when you were in it. And let's not forget... baayyyuuumm on wee, hahahaha! Also, to Sanders, Dusty, and TheMoleN. Fun times with you guys. Whether it be in a game of screenshots, campaign, or matchmaking, it's always fun. And finally, to my favorite group, Aberrant Designs. I wouldn't be anywhere near here if it weren't for the people in that group. Sure, it's a small group, but everyone helps one another and that's what makes it so amazing.

Aberrant Designs is a great group - if you're into the arts (of any kind) I strongly recommend joining it. You will be sure to make a bunch of new friends and learn a lot! Anyways... If you haven't unearthed grunty's gallery yet, I strongly recommend you travel here - check out his file share and his gallery! Thanks for reading, and as always, if you have any suggestions for future interviewees, you can do so by messaging me. Jdars out.

Gallery

Bungie/AAI Favorites

Bail Out
Bail Out
Blue-Green
Blue-Green
Brilliance
Brilliance
CabooseTech
CabooseTech
Co-op
Co-op
Co-op 004
Co-op 004
Co-op 019
Co-op 019
Co-op 020
Co-op 020
Co-op 021
Co-op 021
Cooll
Cooll
Despair
Despair
Doom
Doom
Evil Memorial
Evil Memorial
Flashback
Flashback
Forge
Forge
Forge 005
Forge 005
Forge 013
Forge 013
Forshadow
Forshadow
From Within
From Within
Magnum Force
Magnum Force
Near Escape
Near Escape
Outlinee
Outlinee
Pitch Black
Pitch Black
Remembrance
Remembrance
Scarred
Scarred
Silhouette
Silhouette
Starry Night
Starry Night
Stormy
Stormy
Superelite
Superelite
Technicality
Technicality
Welcome
Welcome
Whisked
Whisked
 



bungie.org