Vertex 2024: gain inspiration from artist and director Andy Poyiadgi

Andy Poyiadgi is a man of many talents. He's senior creative lead at Fire Without Smoke, currently leading the creative on the cutscenes for an upcoming game. He’s also a published comic book author and artist. At Vertex 2024, he hopes to share learning and inspire attendees to "get out there and create".

Vertex 2024 is our live art event at London's Business Design Centre on 19 April. Join us to learn from professional artists working in film, games and VFX, including speakers from Pixar, nDreams and Maxon. Tickets for Vertex 2024 are on sale now.

Vertex speaker Andy Poyiadgi Q&A

Andy's background is as a director and creative in TV commercials, broadcast promos and now video games. We caught up with him to find out more about his influences ahead of Vertex 2024. You can see more of his work at his website and at firewithoutsmoke.com.

How did you get started in art and your area of expertise?

"I’ve always pursued art in some form or other, with visual storytelling as the thread that has pulled me through my childhood, studies and career. I love a single image, but one image after the other is even better, so comics and films were my dream destination for exploring stories, with video games a distant land full of mystery and pixelated potential. I studied illustration, animation and film, and I’ve been lucky enough to dabble in these visual forms over the years, as a writer and director and artist, but most of all, as a storyteller."

Is there a piece of art from your portfolio that you really love?

"My favourite commercial project is probably a trailer for The Sopranos that I directed. It was a quick turnaround fly-by-the-seat lesson of a lifetime. My biggest achievement is my first published comic, a story called Lost Property that took way too long to draw, about the value and meaning of our personal possessions. My current project, a series of cutscenes for a new game, feels like a culmination of learnings, recalibrated and sent packing to a virtual world."

What advice would you give to your younger self?

"When approached with some advice, my younger self is likely to roll their eyes and say ‘get out of here old man.’ Nonetheless, I would say this: take the opportunities when they’re in front of you, because they won’t always be. Enjoy the journey because there is no destination. Don’t worry about what you draw, just draw."

What will you be talking about at Vertex?

"I’m looking forward to learning as much as anything I can contribute. Hopefully people will find some inspiration in the things said, in the panel’s collective experience, to get out there and create, to not wait for permission to make art, whether it’s a doodle, a character, or epic trilogy."

Find details of more speakers at the Vertex 2024 website.