Sebastian Kopacz

Hello, I am Sebastian Kopacz. I originally made this website to archive all the cool projects and assignments I worked on during my undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary. Since then however, this site sort of became my default portfolio despite the fact that I have been really terrible at keeping it updated with everything I have been working on.

Contact Me

The best way of contacting me is by email. To see more of my work you can find me on ArtStation, GitHub, YouTube or Gumroad. Otherwise I try to stay away from social media so don’t expect to see me on LinkedIn or Facebook.

Formal Education

Bachelor of Science at the University of Calgary (2015-2020)

  • Combined degree in computer science and psychology.
    • With a concentration in computer graphics.

Technical Skills

Computer Science

Languages

Proficient

  • C++
    • My personal favorite programming language of choice.
    • Usually used it for graphics assignments & projects.
    • Currently using it for indie game development.
  • GLSL
    • Likewise used for graphics assignments & projects.
  • Python
    • Preferred scripting language.
    • Lots of years of experience since it was the first language I learned and I still use it fairly regularly.
    • Wrote many assignments, helper scripts, games, etc. with it.
  • C#
    • Preferred mid-level language.
    • Used this for several Human-Computer Interaction projects and assignments.
    • Both UE and Flax use C# for their build systems so I’ve remained familiar with it.
    • Flax also has a C# API but I prefer using the C++ API.

Capable

  • ARM Assembly (v7 and v8)
    • In a group of 2 I wrote a clone of the original Super Mario Bros. game using ARMv7 assembly.
      • Also wrote the driver that let the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B we were using talk with a NES controller.
    • Also wrote several other less flash assignments in the two courses which taught these languages.
  • Haskell
    • Learned it when learning about functional programming.
    • Functional programming concepts stayed with me but I don’t remember Haskell too well.
  • Java
    • I dislike Java but I guess I technically know the language thanks to several courses using it and its similarity with C#.

APIs

Proficient

  • OpenGL - Most of my graphics assignments & projects were written using OpenGL.
  • Blender - I wrote scripts to help me make art.
  • Vulkan - Used Vulkan to make use of Nvidia’s RTX technology for ray tracing.
  • Unreal Engine 5 - Star Dust started as an UE5 game before I switched to Flax.
  • Flax - A relatively recent game engine with elements of both Unity and UE in its overall design.

Capable

  • PBRT - Most of my rendering assignments used the PBRT library.
  • Keras - The machine learning research I did in summer 2018 used the Keras library.
  • CHAI3D - My haptics assignments were all done using CHAI3D.
  • Unreal Engine 4 - Used CHAI3D as a driver to integrated haptics into UE4.

Tools

Proficient

  • JetBrains IDEs
    • Rider
    • CLion
    • IntelliJ
  • VSCodium (open source version of Visual Studio Code)
  • SSH
    • PuTTY
    • WinSCP

Capable

  • Visual Studio
  • Terminal editors
    • Vim
    • Nano

Experience

  • Learned programming (Python) in summer of 2015.
  • Worked on dozens of programming assignments and projects throughout my degree.
  • Various personal projects ranging from simple scripts to full projects.
  • Research position during the summer of 2018 where I was tasked with using machine learning to landmark faces for medical purposes.
  • Indie game development and other personal projects.
  • Refer to the projects section of this website for more details.

Art

Workflows

  • Modeling using Blender:
    • Semi-procedural modeling with mesh modifiers.
    • Parametric modeling using curves and surfaces.
  • Materials (shaders):
    • Creating fully procedural materials with procedural textures within Blender or UE.
    • Baking procedural textures made with Blender to texture images for use in other engines.
  • Level or scene design in Blender, UE, Unity, Flax, etc.
  • Rendering and compositing/post-processing systems.
  • Exporting models for use in game engines or 3D printing.

Tools

Proficient

  • Blender
  • Flax
  • Unreal Engine 5

Capable

  • Unity
  • Photoshop

Experience

  • Started with Blender sometime around 2011 to 2012.
  • Contributed 3D models to several modding teams.
  • Participated and won a few Blender competitions.
  • 3D Art Executive for the Game Design Club at the University of Calgary from 2017 to 2020.
    • Provided teaching materials and assistance for creating 3D art.
    • Created 3D assets for the club’s games.
    • Helped organize and plan what 3D assets needed to be completed.
  • Refer to my ArtStation profile for more details.

Psychology

Focus

  • Neuroscience
  • Learning & Memory
  • Motivation
  • Cognition
  • Perception & Sensation

Tools

  • SPSS for statistical analysis when necessary.
  • Preferred writing my own scripts for data processing and statistical analysis since it was less cumbersome.

Experience

  • Lab work with Sprague Dawley rats as part of a course.
    • Ran various behavioral assessments.
    • Wrote lab reports analyzing those assessments.
  • Read and presented neuroscience research papers to the class.
  • Researched the origins of human interests for the motivation course I took.
    • Presented my findings to the class in a lecture format.
    • Wrote a term paper on the topic.

General

Citizenships

  • Canadian
  • Polish

Languages

  • Fully fluent in English.
  • Verbally fluent in Polish.

Math

  • Very comfortable with most linear algebra topics needed for computer graphics.
  • Okay with calculus, statistics, logic, and discrete mathematics.
  • Aware of differential equations and topology.

Interests

Professional

  • Computer graphics
  • Procedural generation
  • Game development
  • Neuroscience
  • Robotics
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Digital haptics
  • Human computer interaction

Hobby

  • Spending time with friends & family
  • Playing with my dogs
  • Working on personal projects
  • Creating digital 3D art
  • 3D printing
  • Gardening
  • Baking
  • Playing & modding games
  • Reading & writing fiction
  • Watching shows & movies
  • Staying up to date with science & technology

GDPR Authorization

I authorize the processing of my personal data pursuant to Legislative Decree 101/2018 and art. 13 GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679) for the purposes of personnel research and selection.