When you think “animator at a top-flight game developer,” you probably imagine him or her hard at work on AAA titles, the kind of games that get their own cardboard displays at retailers and splashy midnight releases.

Kirthy Iyer‘s doing it a little differently.

The 3D Animation & Visual Effects alum works at Crytek in Frankfurt, Germany. And while he has contributed to the developer’s hit games, like Crysis, Kirthy now primarily works as an animator on the licensing side of the business.

Crytek is famous, after all, for its games’ looks - Crysis is literally used as a benchmark of PC and graphics performance. That’s one of the reasons the engine on which Crytek’s games run, CryENGINE, is such a big part of its identity. And Kirthy’s diverse role means he knows how to get the most out of it – and can work with licensees so they can do the same.

With Crysis 2 expected this holiday season, we caught up with Kirthy to find out more.

Let’s start by talking about your current role at Crytek… You work in the licensing department, supporting licensees. But what’s your day-to-day like? How do you put your animation skills to use?

Kirthy: I work on different tasks, such as project demos – trade shows to licensee demos – learning and evaluating new technologies, training both local and global teams… I am responsible for providing live demos in conferences such as GDC.

I produce high-quality animations on four major packages – Maya, Max, XSI, and Motion Builder. Other tasks include  problem-solving, providing sample assets and test cases, and working out a better pipeline for game content creation.

Does working on things like project demos mean that, as an animator, you’re actually working with the licensees’ IPs, characters?

Kirthy: Yes, but mostly at the initial stage to get them familiar with CryENGINE 3. I also create animations for demos that are presented at conferences – for example, character animations for the GDC 2009 demo. [Watch that demo for yourself here.]

It sounds like your role at Crytek means you need to have a pretty wide skill set. Do you find that to be a challenge?

Kirthy: Yes, my role especially does demand a broad spectrum of skills. It certainly is challenging, but then, it plays into my strengths. I absolutely enjoy it.

Backing up a bit, let’s talk about your background. Where did you grow up?

Kirthy: I grew up in Northern India, mostly Delhi. I am the youngest among my siblings and fortunate to have a family that has always supported me in all my artistic endeavors. I was not a typical teenager. I took up drawing at a very young age and was fascinated with cartoons and caricatures. I absolutely loved reading comics and watching cartoons, but spent more time in understanding the hard work that goes behind to create one.

You were already working as a 3D artist before coming to VFS, right? What drew you to the field in the first place?

Kirthy: I understood 3D well and had a fascination for dinosaurs from the beginning but it really clicked when I saw the movie Jurassic Park that this is what I wanted to do. My interest in computer animation was further encouraged by computer games. I started learning 3D animation on my own. I did some small private courses in an animation institute in India, I worked on few game mods like “Project ROR” for Warcraft and Operation Flashpoint mods, and I was also doing some freelance projects that gave me some industry experience.

So, what brought you to VFS? Was there something specific you were hoping to get out of it?

Mostly self-taught, I always felt I lacked more hands-on experience. I wanted to pursue studying arts abroad. My brother helped me research the best animation schools. VFS was an ideal pick for me – I loved the work being produced out of the students at VFS. With 24-hour facilities, industry experienced teachers, and a beautiful location like Vancouver, it was not that hard a decision to make.

And you’ve since continued your globetrotting ways! How’s Germany? Can you tell us how you came to be working at Crytek?

To be honest, I never planned to come to Germany. After graduating from VFS, I started my job hunting and came across a job advertisement for Crytek on the internet. Knowing that they created Far Cry, and I applied right away. After that, it all went so fast – I just remember flying over in November for an on-site interview. It has been more than three years now, and it was a decision I would never regret. I enjoy working here so much – it’s a great company and Germany is a fascinating country. Also, being in almost centre of Europe, you can just travel in the European continent easily.

Crytek’s games are held up by gamers as the benchmark for visuals. From your point of view as an animator working there, what’s that like? Is the high standard difficult to meet?

It’s funny you ask that. When I was at GDC this year, I met a lot of people who reiterated that point, and I think most of us working at Crytek know the quality of work we produce but don’t realize that it is used as a benchmark by other people. Such feedback is always helpful.

The thing that I enjoy most working at Crytek is that we have such a talented team of diverse people from all over the world who all share the same passion for making high-quality, brilliant, immersive games. And once you have that common motivation, the results come naturally.

Thanks, Kirthy!

Speaking of GDC, here’s Kirthy showing off CryENGINE 3′s stereoscopic 3D tech at this year’s event.