Last summer in July I was brought on board Gadget-Bot as an intern-level concept artist. When that was over they switched me over to a contractor position whereafter I continued to work loosely with them until the end of the year. Fast forward a little past graduation in April this year, and I reintegrating with them as a full-time contractor. Now it’s the middle of August - I’ve hit my year anniversary with them, and they are currently training me up to be a producer and senior designer as well. Some of the stuff I’ve dipped my toes into are still under NDA, but here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I’ve been involved with!
My very first AAA game art asset:
a Valkyrie/Giger crossover banner frame from Apex Legends S10 - Monsters Within!
When it came close to graduation, I was struggling immensely with how I was going to position myself and advance my career as a concept designer and artist. Plenty of my contemporaries are much stronger in other key talents, especially when it came to digital painting/rendering techniques that made them visually distinct. My own work diversity on the other hand made me appear on the surface as a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. My strength was much more nebulous, an almost specialist-like mindset and approach that’s informed by immense practical experience. While I’d like to believe all of my fellow designers are also critical thinkers, I think my current leadership recognized a resourcefulness, perspective, and attention to detail that was worth finding a fit for in a field with a lot of competition. But the internal team is tremendously competent, and over there they foster an environment that’s all about working out the kinks while being gracious. It definitely helped that my bosses and leads are people I’ve been pretty familiar with since my early ArtCenter days, and they’re more comfortable with having me experiment with different opportunities. I intended to reach a leadership position eventually; the folks at Gadget-Bot were lomd enough to give me a run for my money and propelled that timeline forward. Robert, Peggy, Alex, Donald, and everyone in the GB production and art team… if you guys are reading this, thank you all very much for giving me that chance.
And thanks to the rest of you for reading. Until next time my friends!