ThunderRoar Studio is an online art outsourcing team founded by Malaysian industry veterans. With deep experience in a range of styles and pipelines, the studio brings creativity and flair to every project. We spoke to co-founder WeiLun to learn more about their origins, identity, and the services they provide.
A Taste of Malaysia—and the Origins of ThunderRoar
My main takeaway from Malaysia was the food. To be fair, food was my main takeaway from every country I visited in Southeast Asia. But in Penang, where ThunderRoar Co-founder WeiLun lives—I was especially spoiled. Duck Meat Kway Chap, Nasi Kandar, and lots and lots of Lekor.
Ten years ago, you would have struggled to find much of a games industry presence in Malaysia at all. In fact, due to there being fewer obvious viable career options, there was a negative perception surrounding games and studying anything related to them at university. However, there was one glimmer of hope for WeiLun at the time: Passion Republic.
Passion Republic is one of the largest game studios in Malaysia, and even ten years ago, they proved it possible for Malaysian studios to contribute to major titles. They also demonstrated that a viable career in the video games industry existed. WeiLun worked there for four years as an artist, contributing to major titles like Spider-Man, Death Stranding, and Diablo. Yet, for him, something was missing.
He needed expression. As an artist, WeiLun had gained enough experience to venture out and founded his own studio alongside some experienced friends. There was much more they wanted to express artistically on their own terms. Now a team of industry veterans, ThunderRoar was founded as an art outsourcing studio during the 2021 lockdown. This allowed WeiLun to return home to Penang, after working in Klang Valley at Passion Republic, carrying the dream of one day working on his own projects.
To begin with, WeiLun and his colleagues took on individual freelance opportunities. They later joined forces to take on bigger projects as a team. Today, ThunderRoar has four co-founders and a team of around twenty people.
Services ThunderRoar Provides as an Art Outsourcing Studio
ThunderRoar Studio has worked extensively on cinematics, modeling, and animation across various industries. However, they are now shifting focus toward the games business. One of the team’s ultimate goals is to work on their own games or co-develop an indie title with a partner studio, where they can lead on the art direction.
In terms of services, ThunderRoar primarily provides modeling, rigging, and animation—with a strong focus on character art. Recently, WeiLun has been pushing the team toward more stylized work. After contributing to many large projects, he feels that realistic styles start to look repetitive on big titles—“which is boring.” To better showcase their studio’s identity, WeiLun is pursuing more stylized art projects where they can be more expressive. In his view, in light of thousands of layoffs across the industry, the lack of artistic risk from AAA studios is killing both developer passion and player interest: “Everyone is being careful, and everything looks the same.”
As a smaller studio, ThunderRoar differentiates itself through stylized art. They may not have the budget or resources of larger studios with motion capture and cutting-edge tech, but they make up for it with vision, originality, and flair.
Examples from ThunderRoar’s Portfolio
| Project | Service Type | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact – Shenhe | 3D Character Modeling | A detailed and stylized asset for one of the world’s most successful RPGs. |
| League of Legends – Graffiti Squad | 3D Character Modeling | Stylized character work aligned with one of the most iconic MOBAs globally. |
| Honor of Kings – Zhao HuaiZhen | Character Art | High-end modeling for one of China’s biggest mobile games. |
| Arena of Valor CG | Character Art | Large-scale cinematic production featuring action and storytelling. |
| Free Fire x Street Fighter V – Global Collab CG | Character Art | High-profile IP crossover project blending brands in cinematic form. |
| PUBG x BLACKPINK – Ready For Love MV | Animation | Music video integration for a global gaming and K-pop crossover. |
| Ninja Must Die – Global PV Trailer | Animation | A fast-paced promo trailer with stylized action sequences. |
| To Be Hero – Trailer | Animation | Punchy and expressive animation for an animated series teaser. |
The future of ThunderRoar’s business is aiming for more co-development opportunities and the chance to work on their own projects. As they move away from traditional art outsourcing, ThunderRoar has started collaborating with smaller developers and startups to support their modeling teams. Unfortunately, most of this work is currently locked behind NDAs.
See more of ThunderRoar’s work here:
Looking for Art Outsourcing Partners? See also:
- Nova Production: New Players in Game Art Outsourcing
- Thunder Cloud Studio: AAA Game-Art Outsourcing in Hanoi
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