About Xavier
02
2008
(The last edit of this page is Nov. 2, 2008. That means many things on this page may be outdated, or inaccurate. If you need a current version of my biography, please contact me, and I will gladly do so.)
Born in Taiwan on the fifth of August, 1989, Xavier’s first given name was in Chinese - 何清雲 (Ho, Ching-yun); eventually he adapted the English name Xavier, a name he picked in a dictionary way before he knew about the X-men comic series. His highschool education was done in Minnesota, U.S.A. in 2007. Later that year, he attended 3D Animation & Visual Effects in Vancouver Film School, and graduated with his first compositing demo reel in August, 2008. Currently, he attends Griffith University, Australia, for Software Engineering, expecting to finish in 2013.
It was evident that Xavier’s primary interests revolved around math, music, and art. In his early childhood, he was always excited when grandma would teach him to sing. His mom would buy him “books” he really liked - they were all math books - and he would finish one booklet of practising problems in a night. Unlike other kids near his age, he didn’t want toys. Rather, he would watch one of his favourite TV shows when an old man taught how to paint.
Not until 6th grade did he start to take art seriously. One day, a classmate told Xavier that his art teacher could replicate the Blue-Eyed White Dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh! perfectly. He was intrigued, and went to see this teacher with his classmate. Soon he began his art lessons outside of school, starting with basic pencil techniques, occasional art theories, and watercolour. When he went to highschool in 2005, he took all the art classes he could, graduating with his first polymer sculpture red dragon as the senior project.
Computer Graphics never registered in Xavier’s mind until he saw The Matrix in 2002 - right before the sequel came on the big screen. Even further intrigued, he watched the special features on the DVD, and decided that his future lay that way. His first step to shape his future was a 6-month trying time using the Personal Learning Edition of Alias|Wavefront Maya 4.5. Later, he attended a certified 5-month Maya training course in Taipei, Taiwan, and proceeded to highschool in Minnesota.
During highschool CG became both a second nature and a second life; Xavier spent most of his time playing games, singing in the local choir, and a part-time Sales Floor job at Target. As he graduated from highschool, he went to fulfil his dream at VFS. Only then did Computer Graphics really come back to him. Ironically, it was also after that year did he decide to focus entirely on the Game Industry, aiming to become a Game Engine specialist, in architecture, shading & lighting, and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, he was inspired by Sam McGrath from Project Offset.
In his university career, Xavier plans to work in a quality game company for him to learn and grow; to meet like-minded people and befriend them; to challenge himself into another level of skillset he works for.
For a start, Xavier picked up a Peavey Raptor starterpack in late October, 2008, and began lessons on it.
Life is amazing in his eyes.
