Siyu Ding, a 3D artist from Shanghai, China, has an impressive background, having worked at major companies such as EPIC and Activision Blizzard, and served notable domestic gaming giants like Tencent and NetEase. With over 12 years of extensive industry experience, she has contributed to renowned titles such as “Blade & Soul,” “Tera,” “Destiny 2,” “Justice Online,” “Call of Duty: Vanguard,” “Call of Duty: Mobile,” and “Call of Duty: MW3,” among other internationally recognized online games and AAA projects.
Despite her extensive involvement in numerous major projects and having 12 years of experience in the gaming industry, Siyu is only 35 years old. She embarked on her journey as a game art designer straight after graduating from college, driven by a deep passion for artistry.
From a young age, she loved drawing and asked to learn sketching during her elementary years. With a strong aspiration towards the anime art domain, she delved deeper into this field during high school as computer networks began to flourish. Exposure to computer games fueled her dream of becoming an anime artist. During her high school years in 2004, she founded an anime club, serving as its president and exhibiting her own artworks. She even submitted her creations to the well-known anime magazine “Cartoon King,” with her work ultimately featured in the magazine.
During her undergraduate studies, in addition to completing her animation coursework, Siyu co-founded an anime club with classmates, independently creating and publishing their own comic books. She also participated in Shanghai’s prominent CP Anime Exhibition, a rare feat for college students in 2008. Together with four university peers, she formed a small team, polishing their fan art in their spare time. Concurrently, Siyu reached out to printing houses, publishing her own fan art books that garnered impressive sales figures. She also self-taught 3D software to create her artistic pieces.
During her undergraduate internship, Siyu engaged in 3D post-production projects for renowned Chinese director Tsui Hark’s film “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate,” laying a solid foundation for her subsequent role as a 3D artist in the gaming industry. Graduating with distinction, she entered the esteemed gaming company EPIC, crafting exquisite 3D game characters for the large-scale Korean online game “Blade & Soul.” She later transitioned to projects with Tencent and NetEase, contributing to well-known Chinese mobile and online games like “Justice Online,” “Jian wang 3 MMO,” and “Ze Tian Ji.”
After honing her skills for over five years, Siyu joined Activision Blizzard’s Shanghai division as a senior 3D artist, creating stunning 3D models for “Call of Duty Online.” Her outstanding aesthetics and exceptional 3D artistry led her to be recognized as an expert artist and subsequently sent to Seattle, USA, to collaborate on Bungie’s acclaimed sci-fi FPS AAA title “Destiny 2.” She designed numerous futuristic tech-themed game character sets, greatly appreciated by players. Her works have been featured multiple times in the game’s promotional posters on major gaming forums, with several character sets prominently showcased in DLC promotional videos.
Siyu is an artist keen on researching 3D art techniques. After completing her work on “Destiny 2,” she contributed to “Call of Duty: Mobile,” creating impressive 3D characters and garnering remarkable results. Her designed characters once again took center stage in major mainstream media’s promotional videos and posters. The game generated approximately $209 million in IAP revenue, accumulating nearly $1.5 billion in total revenue since its launch.
Seeking fresh challenges, she ventured into the hard surface 3D art domain, a departure from her previous character design work. This new endeavor required extensive knowledge of mechanical structures and industrial design thinking. To create realistic WWII-era firearm game models for the “Call of Duty: Vanguard” series, enhancing players’ gaming experience, Siyu dedicated months to studying firearm structures, gaining inspiration from live shooting ranges, and tirelessly modifying design models overnight. Her goal was to provide a realistic gaming feel and visual quality while adhering to WWII-era settings. As a team leader, she formed her own team, simultaneously managing outsourcing vendors and collaborating with the US-based studio Sledgehammer Games to accomplish a substantial amount of 3D art for “Call of Duty” weapons. Siyu and her team’s designed 3D game models are frequently referenced in the Call of Duty wiki’s Vanguard series firearm image collection.
This year, Siyu participated in the production of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III,” with her work once again prominently featured as primary weapons in the official promotional video “Aftermarket Parts” Intel Drop | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III.”
Her portfolio showcases her expertise across various domains like character design, hard surface modeling, weapons, and vehicles. Siyu can effortlessly create exquisite cartoon-style characters, demonstrate intricate realistic firearms, and craft futuristic-themed props and character sets. Truly evolving into a polyhedral 3D expert artist, she navigates through any style with unbounded creativity.
