A few things about me:
- My passion is in functional design through exciting form language, and grounded world building.
- If I’m sculpting for fun, it’s most likely going to be a creature of some sort.
- I’m obsessed with antlers.
I had always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. Having grown up in Edmonton, Canada, I knew Bioware employees who inspired me to want to pursue a career path in the artistic side of game development.
I decided to leave my hometown to pursue a degree in animation from Sheridan College in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of learning fundamental concept art skills, but failed in my portfolio submissions. It was a highly competitive program, and I didn’t make the cut after 2 years of applying. During this time, I realized I didn’t enjoy the repetition of traditional animation, and instead found myself falling in love with the unlimited and fluid ideation capable within ZBrush.
At this point, there was a new degree in ‘game design’ being launched at Sheridan, and this seemed like an even better fit. It was a foundational program in teaching the many facets of game development skills, including an introduction to the 3D asset creation pipeline. When I started, I knew I wanted to be a concept artist, but had never considered using 3D software to do so. Over the course of the next 4 years, I consumed as many online tutorials and resources I could find to supplement my studies in college, in many cases prioritizing self learning over my traditional education. On top of this, I was working in landscape construction to sustain the life my partner and I had established in expensive Toronto.
Fortunately, I was able to secure work during my 2nd year in school as a Character Artist, working on a VR Fantasy Title. It was a startup project, and while it didn’t see any commercial success, it allowed me to really dive into the asset pipeline and gain a tremendous amount of experience.
Upon graduation, I struggled to find the full time, AAA concept art position I had dreamed of, but was able to secure a variety of freelance work from independent studios and teams. During this time, I also made it a priority to join community projects. While unpaid, they were not only a wonderful excuse to work on portfolio pieces, but they also gave me a friend network that I still continue to draw upon for advice and opportunity.
It took me two years of grinding my portfolio before I found my first full-time position, working on Survivorman VR: The Descent. This was in the midst of COVID, before which, working remotely as a 3D Character Artist seemed unacceptable to me.
I am fortunate that since that position, I have continued working remotely as a freelance 3D Character and Concept Artist, on a variety of video game projects.
I’m very thankful for the access to online resources, as I know I would not be where I am without them. There are so many wonderful instructors who teach an array of subjects, and communities that can both support and push you as you go through the daunting process.
