In my last blog, I wrote about the live action aspect we had in our Wizard101 Tournament commercial. One of the key components to making that spot was the actual actors. We were extremely fortunate to work with four very talented young actors. All of them were part time aspiring actors who were also attending school full time. I was amazed at how professional and hardworking each of them was and felt honored to work with them on this commercial. Each of them wrote a short bit on their experience being in the Wizard101 commercial. I hope you enjoy their perspectives.
Hey everyone my name is Trent aka The Myth Wizard. When I first received the call to go on the audition for this commercial I was ecstatic, because I knew that there was a chance that I would get to be a part of the insanely awesome world that is Wizard101. After a few days of not hearing anything I thought that I didn’t get the part, but while I was sitting in English class half asleep, trying to study, my phone started to vibrate. I asked to leave the room to answer it, and when I picked it up I heard some of the best news of my life! I was going to be a part of this commercial. Immediately after school I went home and started studying, but I wasn’t studying for school… I was studying Wizard101. When the day finally came to go to the set, I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous. I walked in not knowing what to expect, but as soon as I met Bianca, Natalie, Tino, and the crew I felt like I was part of a Wizard101 family. Shooting was amazing, I was thrilled that I would be getting to play the Myth Wizard who I personally think is the coolest, but hey that’s just my opinion, and we got to shoot on the coolest sets I’ve ever been to.
After shooting was done I couldn’t wait to see the commercial, because I knew that it was going to be special. When the day finally came to see it after weeks of waiting I could barely sleep. Then when I saw it I was awestruck. It was amazing, and I can’t thank everyone that worked on it enough for letting me be part of this incredible commercial. And I hope that you guys like it as much as I do.
Hello everyone my name is Tino and I was the Death Wizard in the commercial (a.k.a. Wolf DeathBlade). When I found out I got to be a part of this commercial I honestly had no clue what this would be like, but as soon as I stepped on the set and got filled in on what the dream was I was instantly overjoyed. As soon we out on our gear and began to film I could feel the magic come to life.
Being the Death Wizard is definitely a privilege since I had always thought that they were the coolest and baddest of them all. And I believe that the film crew did an amazing job making it look that way to. From viewing the final commercial I was so impressed and ecstatic at the turnout. I can’t wait to finally start playing the game and maybe I’ll see some of you at the Tournaments!
Hi guys! My name is Natalie and I am the Ice Wizard in this commercial. Being part of Wizard101 was such a great experience. I met so many fantastic people while preparing for and making this commercial and I had a blast on set. KingsIsle even pulled a prank on us while filming! In the scene where we were walking down the hallway, 2 pranksters jumped out and scared us, which made Bianca scream! It was unbelievably funny when we watched it. Before the filming, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. All I knew was that I was ecstatic about getting the part and that I was really lucky. The filming went great and we knew that the commercial was going to be epic, so I couldn’t wait to see it. The first time I saw the commercial on tv, I was so excited! I noticed something that I didn’t see when I watched it on youtube, my wand lit up with frost! How cool is that?! That’s one of many reasons why I personally think that Ice Wizards are “cooler” than others. Anyway, thank you guys so much for watching and commenting about the commercial. You’re the best and I can’t wait to see all of you at the tournament! Good luck!
Hey guys! My name is Bianca and I play the fire Wizard in the new Wizards101 commercial.
I was so excited to be chosen for this part; especially after finding out that my character gets the final shot! On the first day of filming I was shocked by how our modern outfits so closely resembled our characters wardrobe, and to my surprise I got to do my own nails. It was amazing to see how detailed the process actually was and when I saw the final product I was thrilled! Seeing all of our hard work come together was astonishing. But it is weird watching your favorite show then having your face pop up on the screen. I am blessed to have had this experience and I look forward to meeting fellow Wizards.
From time to time, we get questions from you wonderful players about life at KingsIsle or information about the gaming industry in general. We try our best to answer these questions, and last year we got the following question:
What does it take to be a concept artist for KingsIsle or in general? I really love to draw and illustrate and I’ve always beamed at the idea of being a concept artist at KingsIsle because while seeing the finished product is amazing, I would have never guessed that it’s in the concept artist’s hands to make the landscape, characters, etc! I’d love to know how that comes around and to be a concept artist, do you need to know a thing or two about programming?
We headed over to KingsIsle Concept Art Lead, Dave Greco, for his insight to this question.
I’m glad I can help answer such a great question! As a concept artist, we work with the writing and design team to help visualize the look of a world or characters before it goes into art production. It’s a super creative and collaborative position to be in.
The first thing it takes to be a concept artist at KingsIsle Entertainment is a true passion for painting, a drive to create artistically and like most trades, many years of practice. A great place to start is getting into some type of art program throughout high school and then finding an accredited art school after graduation for further education. No programming knowledge required! It is definitely a bonus to have at least a base knowledge of current 3d packages though. That way you can either use them with your own work, or to be able to check out a modelers work to paint over.
Since most concept artists paint digitally these days, one of the best things you can do is to acquire some type of digital drawing tool and dive into Photoshop or any other painting program. Play with color, brushes, and just paint till the sun comes up. One of the best practices you can do is to draw from life as much as possible. Take the time to draw everything you see walking around you, from your friends to people just sitting in a coffee shop. Practice makes perfect, and art is no different. Time and dedication to your craft will open up so many doors for you past graduation.
I think at the core of becoming a professional artist is the desire to create new worlds and ideas through the use of a pencil or paintbrush. If you have a true passion for creating art, then the ability to become a concept artist down the road is very real. As far as the concept team here goes at KingsIsle, we look for the ability to paint and even more importantly, the ability to be creative. It’s an amazing career for any artist to strive for one that I am truly grateful to have.
Thanks for the information Dave! We hope all you budding artists out there enjoy his advice. Happy painting!
During the holidays, we’re running a contest through our “12 Days of the Spiral“. The question is – what has Wizard101 or Pirate101 meant to you and/or your family in the past year? Here is our fourteenth and final winner! Read how Wizard101 helped this player learn life and educational skills through gaming.
Wizard101 has significantly impacted my life this year and it means so much to me. This game has been my inspiration ever since I started playing it. One extremely important thing wizard101 has done for me this year is that it has helped me work better with other people. Many of the quests and adventures in the game can be very difficult and can only be accomplished with other wizards. If you do not learn to get along with others then you will likely fall behind on your quests. Also getting along with one another is one thing that is lacking in the 21st century. Many wars have started from people not wanting to work together and share. In Wizard101 you will learn to work together.
Furthermore, Wizard101 is my thesaurus and dictionary. I was never really a good speller. In fact, I could not write this blog without the help of Wizard101. Incorrectly spelled words will turn red showing the player typing that his or her word is incorrect. So that means if you cannot spell you cannot communicate with the other wizards in the game. What’s the fun in a game you are not allowed to express your true feelings? My point is that if you want to enjoy the game to its fullness you must learn to spell which will help you in your everyday life.
Additionally, Wizard101 is my “second history book.” Wizard101 worlds such as Aquila have dungeons that display myths about past civilizations. The Tartarus dungeon for example walks wizards through the Greek myth of the underworld. In this dungeon we meet famous characters such as hades’ guard dog Cerberus, hades himself, Zeus, and Poseidon. Wizards get a head start on Greek mythology from wizard101 so when they get to school they are two steps ahead everyone else. This Christmas all I want is for Wizard101 to continue it amazing work on providing the best game for players around the world.
Jesse RubyCatcher
Level 95 Fire Wizard
During the holidays, we’re running a contest through our “12 Days of the Spiral“. The question is – what has Wizard101 or Pirate101 meant to you and/or your family in the past year? Here is our thirteenth winner! Read how Wizard101 helped this father have quality time with their children as well as meet friends in the Spiral.
I am an adult and a dad and my 10-year old son Sam introduced Wizard101 to me. I was disinterested at first, seeing it as a waste of time and money and was amazingly dismissive of it. I didn’t like him making ‘friends’ online either. Eventually my young daughter Sophie wanted a wizard too when she saw Sam playing the game and so she started an ice wizard with pink hair and a unicorn. However, she couldn’t actually do anything more than walk around so she always badgered me to play for her. Well, I the end I gave in and did just that, and found myself slowly loving this game, this immersive world as I finished quests. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to play for myself and so I opened an account with a storm wizard. I was leery of everything at first and always denied friend requests, ploughing ahead on my own, and not taking part in anything I didn’t understand. Eventually, reluctantly, I accepted a friend and since then have never looked back.
I now have a house (the red barn farm) and am amazingly house-proud; I engage in planting and care for my plants deeply; I train pets and find myself feeling proud of them when they reach a new age or win a race; but most especially, I have really grown to enjoy the company of my online friends. What I love about Wizard101 the most is how it’s a perfectly safe community with people from all over the world (I myself am from New Zealand) that truly can come to respect each other. They might be girls playing boys, boys playing girls, adults playing as kids (and learning new internet buzz words!), or kids playing grown-ups, whites playing blacks, or blacks playing whites. It doesn’t matter: it’s all pretend yet incredibly safe and nurturing. I have made some brilliant friends, but there’s never any attempt to find out anything about you in real life, although over time, small clues can slip out.
I like being a friend that other friends can rely on, and now as I’m rising in level, being the powerful friend for new wizards and paying it forward, as old hands once taught me. But what I love the most about this game is how it’s another level of connection between me and my son. We can talk about this game if there’s nothing else to talk about. He’s my (more powerful) friend in The Spiral who gets to come to my rescue and help me out through this new life. It’s an inversion of the normal father/son relationship and it makes him proud and it makes me proud. Still nobody in the game knows about the bond we have and I don’t intend to tell anyone, just as they have no intention of telling me about themselves, and that’s just perfect to me. We can go online and be whoever we feel like being at the time. Mostly I want to be a good friend to the good friends I’ve made.
Oh, and I do it for storm shark. That spell is awesome.
Dylan WildStrider
Level 48 Life Wizard
During the holidays, we’re running a contest through our “12 Days of the Spiral“. The question is – what has Wizard101 or Pirate101 meant to you and/or your family in the past year? Here is our twelfth winner! Read how Wizard101 helped this young Wizard begin to excel in school.
Ever since I created my account, Wizard101 has given me something to look forward to every day this past year. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been really struggling at school. It’s hard for me to concentrate on my books for long, besides the fact that English is not my first language. It hasn’t been easy to keep my grades up to my parents’ standards, and sometimes I just wanted to give up trying. I felt like I didn’t have something to live for, something that I could look forward to and enjoy. Yeah, I’ve always been a fan of computer games, but most of the free online games I played were dull and boring. Until my friend told me about Wizard101.
From the start, I thought this game might be more fun than the other ones I’d played. It looked exciting and those Ninja Pigs in the tutorial had me laughing straightaway. I played for a while, and I felt a little better afterwards. I found I was really enjoying it.
When I asked my mother, she told me I could play every day if I wanted to. I only had to finish all my homework and I could go right on the computer. I was happy, and started anticipating making all those amazing spells every day. After a few months, my parents and I were astonished when we looked at my grades. It was like I had made a complete U-turn; from getting C’s at best, to B’s and even A’s! While before I couldn’t concentrate for more than half an hour, now I was zipping through my homework and actually understanding it! My parents found it hard to believe that Wizard101 had played a large role in this, but I definitely believe it had. I mean, before I got my account, I honestly didn’t see the point in studying any of my subjects, and I had stopped trying to do my best. Every morning it was the same old routine, and I was sick of it.
Wizard101 definitely changed all that. What’s more fun than exploring bright new worlds, growing as a magician’s apprentice and learning new spells? Even when it was raining or snowing outside, I could still enjoy the game. And it was never the same old thing anymore, but every day was different and better than the last.
Wizard101 also helped me learn the value of setting priorities and saving money. I used to go the store and just spend my money on anything that caught my eye. But after I started playing the game, I decided I would save up for the locked zones, even finding ways to make more money.
This was a new interest that I had found. Because of Wizard101, I learned to organize my life so I would be happy and have time and money to spend on something I really cared about.
Right now, I feel happier than I’ve ever been before. I’m also looking forward to each new day and the things I’m planning to get. Thank you, KingsIsle, for helping me get back on my feet!
Wolf StormStalker
Level 25 Fire Wizard
KingsIsle Blog 