TennoGen Celebrates the Stories of Its Creators

It's been 10 years since Digital Extremes started the TennoGen program, allowing independent artists to create unique Customizations for your favorite Warframes. These community artists bring unique concepts and viewpoints to life, while your Fashion Frame shines even brighter thanks to TennoGen creators.

Hundreds of designs are made by these artists, carefully reviewed by Digital Extremes’ internal art department before their inclusion in the game. Once their work is released through the TennoGen program, artists are paid for their accepted items. That means your purchases can literally be life-changing for these fantastic community artists.

Here are a few stories of success that creators have found thanks to your support of the TennoGen program.

Goosmo

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TennoGen creations can be the first step on a larger path for certain creators. For Oliver Thanh An Vu, also known as Goosmo, it's been the door that's allowed him entry into the wider gaming industry. He's currently an apprentice 3D Artist at Bitfire Games, honing his craft and pushing his passions forward.

Goosmo has always been a builder and creator, even from a young age, moving from Lego to Minecraft and then to robust 3D tools like ZBrush and Blender. He's also been a Warframe player since Open Beta, but it was a simple livestream that convinced Goosmo to make the jump to TennoGen.

"I saw [Principal Character Artist] Mike Skyers sculpt the first Valkyr Deluxe Skin live on stream," Goosmo told us. "I think that was the first thing that really piqued my interest in TennoGen. So I just said 'screw it,' got my hands on ZBrush and tried sculpting. The learning curve was steep, but well worth it."

His first item in the TennoGen program was the Revenant Draugen Skin, but one of his favorite featured creations is the Gauss Nitrolyst Skin. Continuing to submit to TennoGen has helped Goosmo hone his craft and enhance his portfolio, landing him an apprenticeship at Bitfire Games.

"I always wanted to work in the game industry, I just wasn't really sure what kind of position it would be, or if it was even possible since the industry is small in Denmark. It was TennoGen that made me realize it had to be a 3D artist position and that it was possible at all," he said.

Led2012

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Another creator who has seen success through the TennoGen program is Filipino artist Lendel Fajardo, also known as Led2012. Fajardo submitted an entry into the first Warframe TennoGen Contest at Polycount back in 2015. "Everything changed due to that one Polycount x Warframe TennoGen 'test round' almost 10 years ago," he told us. Despite not having a winning entry, he caught the TennoGen bug and released his first Customization several months later.

Since then, Fajardo has released more than 30 TennoGen Customizations, including the Protea Kollapsar Skin, the Baruuk Zamariu Skin, and the recently-released Xikonos Syandana. He's been able to use that TennoGen revenue to support his family and local community. He previously paid for his sister's college education, purchased food for families during the pandemic and currently funds his younger brother's university tuition.

"My sister has her own family now, along with her one year old baby," he explained. "I still have one sibling that I'm funding and sending to college. Two more years and I'm done sending siblings to school."

Rekkou

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Rekkou is one of the earlier participants in the TennoGen program, with his first accepted Customization — the Volt Arrester Helmet — appearing in the original TennoGen x Polycount Workshop