00:00Yesterday it was announced that Fortnite developer Epic Games is laying off over 1,000 employees,
00:04and it's now come to light that one of those affected is the character art director who
00:08created the model for Jonesy, easily the most iconic and recognisable character in the battle
00:12royale.
00:13Vitaly Nemeshin has worked at Epic Games for over 11 years, and you need only look at his
00:17art station page to see what an impact he's had on Fortnite, with models for notable characters
00:21like Ramirez and a female constructor we later know as Penny.
00:24Most importantly, shared in July 2017, is the male soldier model I created for Fortnite,
00:29Jonesy, based on concept art by principal concept artist Ben Schafer.
00:33Per his LinkedIn page, dating back to 2015 when he was a senior character artist, Nemeshin
00:37established the 3D style for Fortnite characters, and created the majority of the original cast
00:41of characters.
00:42Jonesy, Ramirez, Penny, etc.
00:44But now, he's looking for work.
00:46Well, this is weird, he begins on LinkedIn.
00:48After 11 years I find that I no longer work at Epic.
00:50It's been a wild ride, lots of ups and downs.
00:53Seeing Fortnite from pre-launch to today, and being a part of making that happen was an experience
00:57of a lifetime.
00:58He acknowledges that there are lots of similar posts out there from other affected employees,
01:02adding, I hope that everyone impacted by the layoffs lands on their feet.
01:06Nemeshin extends his wishes to those still working at the company too.
01:09Best of luck to all the folks remaining at Epic.
01:11We wish Vitaly all the best for the future.
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