ART DESIGN AND THE DEVELOPMENT HURDLE IT PRESENTS

Art Design

More than even coding, art design is my biggest fear of game development. As a kid I loved to draw, but as I got older, I stopped. Much like everything else I’m doing now I can only wonder how far ahead I’d be had I kept at things. Now is not the time to ponder however, now is the time to learn. I can only look forward to the challenge that stands before me. If my plan is to develop a game all by myself, I’m going to need to design some art assets, all by myself.

Digital Drawing

Digital artwork has come a long way, it’s quite amazing what you can do today without an actual pencil and paper. As a matter of fact, it is without a doubt mine, and most others, preferred form of drawing. When I got my ipad Pro many moons ago I jumped on the opportunity to add the Apple Pencil. Once I started into game development I immediately got back into drawing. I took a digital drawing course on Udemy and even bought a Wacom tablet for the PC. Currently I try to sketch and post to my Instagram as much as I can for practice.

Recently I signed up for courses from 21draw and got myself a new iPad Pro 12.9 inch and Apple Pencil 2. With the ability to use Adobe products on my new PC I’ve begun strictly using Adobe Fresco for drawing. Previously I had been using Sketchbook which was nice, but I want to keep as much in the Adobe framework as possible. Below are a few of my recent sketches, please follow me on Instagram to see others as well as track my progress.

Original Art Design Challenges

As I continue my drawing practice and begin to take better courses, I’m trying to keep game development in mind. Eventually some of my drawings will have to make their way into blender. I plan to use Aseprite for 2D animation.

Although I know it’s a challenge I can only overcome with time and practice at some point I’ll have to put it use. Presently I am looking for unique looking artwork I may eventually use or at least temporarily use for placeholders. I have found some useful art pieces on the Unity store. At such an early stage in development it doesn’t make sense to spend time designing my own assets. Much like I have already I am sure you’ll find yourself changing course many times.

For now, I’ll be learning as much as I can, and practicing daily. I’ll take inspiration from the many games I’m checking out. Hopefully someday I’ll inspire someone else.

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Graduated from Penn State in 1998 with a Bachelors in Marketing. Worked at The Mall at Steamtown in Scranton PA for 13 years.

In January of 2015 I started working for Jewish Family Service in Scranton, PA for a new position as Coordinator of Marketing and Development.

In 2016 I acquired my Social Media Certification through Hootsuite, In 2020 I was Certified in Blackbaud eTapestry, and in 2022 I obtained the Community Manager Certification from Facebook.

Over the past two years I have been taking courses in drawing and design, computer programming and learning to play the guitar.