Cedar Forest

I started experimenting with game development at the beginning of the pandemic. I was working at a hospital while studying for exams and I was getting pretty fed up with the direction my life was going, but with some encouragement from my friends I decided to take the plunge and peruse this dream full time. During fall of 2021 I really started picking up the pace and to this day I'm trying to keep the momentum to bridge that rookie gap! 

I started this project off with a simple goal: create an environment, but being the ambitious sort, I secretly wanted to make a good environment. Even though I really didn't know what I was doing and had no clear direction I kept pushing through and experimenting. 

Trial and error is the bread and butter of any newbie artist so I still hesitate to look at any of my work as a success. With everything that I am learning and practicing I know that one day I'll look back on some of my works and see the markers of rookie. But that recognition will be the proof of my growth and change, so in a way I hope that I never become complacent in how I view my self improvement. 

All these assets and materials were made from scratch using a range of industry standard programs that I picked up during the pandemic.  I won't lie, in the beginning it was a little jarring to switch from studying medical jargon to modeling and texturing in 3D. But again, the challenge was more cathartic because I knew that everything that I was learning was pushing me towards something that I actually wanted to be part of. 

Since October, I've been trying to work on more scenes and environments while also diversifying my tool belts with some fun challenges! This Dagger was a fun prop I made in a couple of days as a little challenge for myself and was a great intro to combining PBR and hand painted textures.

I think that although I am very critical of myself, I am still proud of the work I've done and how far along I've come. I think that being your own biggest critic is a double edged sword. You have to take the good with the bad, improve where you can and know when to pick yourself back up. 

I want to be a great artist one day and that's going to take a lot of hard work but I know that I will get there, it's just a matter of time.