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Malaysian Concept Artist Johnson Ting has opened Bear Down Studios, and is recruiting new talent to join him. Ting himself has had a prolific 8-year career in the art industry.
Bear Down Studios specializes in concept art. meaning they create 2D designs for assets in videogames.
Based on an interview with The Star, Bear Down seems like an extension of Ting’s values towards the local Art industry.
“Many talented Malaysians have moved out of the country to pursue better opportunities” he tells The Star. “If possible, I would like to do my part in telling the talented individuals to come back after gaining the experience and help grow the industry here in Malaysia. Malaysian artists should unite to build a better and more forward-moving country in the arts”.
A Storied Journey Through The Industry
Ting has previously worked at Passion Republic, where he worked on games like Mortal Kombat X and Gears of War 4. He got the job fresh after graduating from The One Academy where he describes himself as being mentored by another big industry name, Jarold Sng.
During his time at The One Academy, his hard work as a student was recognized when he was awarded the Malaysia’s Top 10 Outstanding Creative Youth Award (Platinum Achievers) by the institution.
His work extends far beyond videogames, however. Through his career he’s also designed collectibles, some based on unique IPs. One of these is the Neo Keisatsu figure, which he did for Hong Kong-based company Devil Toys .
“I am usually sought after by companies for my sci-fi robot designs”, he reflects. “I am currently in the midst of making a personal artbook, titled Neo, a cyberpunk science-fiction visual book”.
Neo Japan 2202 is his own personal IP, full of designs of futuristic police with cybernetic elements. These pieces also come with their own flavor text, really fleshing out the world in Ting’s head.
He puts a lot of thought into this flavor text, talking about organizations involved as well as the mechanisms for how his autmoated police would work.
Most recently, Ting got to play a part in designing the Solstice 2020 set in Destiny 2. In a Facebook post, he recently expressed his excitement at seeing players rocking his handiwork in-game.
” I was tasked with designing the whole Solstice 2020 set for Destiny 2, along with some of the sparrows as well, was pretty fun to see players rocking this armor in game as always!” the post reads.
Destiny was more than a job for Ting, who is a self-professed fan of the Destiny series. In an interview from 2018, he talked about his admiration for his friends working on the game.
“The most recent game I love is Destiny.” he says. “I am good friends with the artists behind making the game, and they knew that I was a fan and sent me a signed print by the art director and lead concept artist of Destiny. It was really cool.”
Of course, his career path would eventually lead him to the makers of Destiny, Bungie, where he worked on Destiny 2 as a freelance Concept Artist.
Now, as the head of Bear Down Studios, we can only wish Johnson Ting the best in where his life’s travels will take him next.
