In the six months since I joined Marxent as a 3D artist, I’ve had the pleasure of working on a score of amazing projects with the rest of the Marxent family. It takes a lot of collaboration and communication to build Augmented Reality experiences, so it’s important that we work not just as a team, but as a family. Because of this we are able to move quickly and it’s not surprising to see how many projects we’ve completed in the half a year since I came on board. Here is a quick run-down.

Useful Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality applications

Applying my 3D art skills to projects that feel integral to everyday life is especially fulfilling and nothing is more integral than shopping. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality give shoppers the ability to understand products and configure options before they buy. This year, I worked on projects that helped with the visualization of decking and railing options for AZEK,  bathroom remodeling for Lowe’s Home Improvement and on the Augmented Reality version of the Hammacher Schlemmer holiday catalog.

Holy AR, Batman! A childhood dream come true

One of the biggest treats of 2014 was working on the Batman 75th anniversary app. Our office is full of comic-book superhero fans, so this project was a huge deal on a personal level for everyone involved. The opportunity to represent one of the most recognizable characters in history was nothing less than a childhood dream come true. It’s safe to assume that there was an extra bit of fiery passion thrown in to make sure the Dark Knight was rendered to perfection. My hope is to work on more projects like Batman in the near future.

CrowdRise Giving Tower: Making a difference

Working with CrowdRise on their Giving Tower app was a unique chance for us to come together as a team and contribute to the spirit of giving this past holiday. With over $1.5 million raised, the Giving Tower app proved to be a huge success for #GivingTuesday. Charitable projects like this are fulfilling for everyone involved because it brings a sense of purpose to our work. All of our apps are important to us, but the Giving Tower was special in the sense that we were able to use Augmented Reality to raise awareness and make a difference throughout our world. That was a great feeling.

Our own Virtual Reality game studio

Video games are important to me, and that rings true for a lot of the team here. In the second half of 2014, a bunch of us started getting together after hours to work on a covert Virtual Reality game development project for Samsung GearVR. It has been awesome to work fully unrestricted on a game development project with a team that loves gaming so much. Animating giant monster attacks and designing engaging UI or programming bullet trajectories are only part of the fun. The experience has been a blast.

Recognition makes us blush – and we like it.

Seeing our apps displayed on the Today Show, recognized as “Best Tech of CES 2015” or advertised in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is super fun. It adds an extra sense of pride and accomplishment to top off the hard work that we put into creating these apps and experiences. It makes us blush, and we like it.

It’s all in the [work] family

The most rewarding part of working on all of these projects is being a part of a work family that really cares. The compassion and cooperation of the team shines through every day. It’s easy to see, even to people like me who haven’t been working here very long, that Marxent employees take care of their own. Whether it’s putting in extra hours to help someone through a tough grind, or going out of your way to acknowledge the accomplishments of a teammate, the spirit and sense of family in this office are powerful. This is how we’ve accomplished so much in such a short time.