Improving skillsets – 7/18/19

Improving skillsets

Hi, I’m Benjamin Aube, an Interactive Media in Game Art student from Becker College. SIP is beginning to wrap up, and I wanted to look back on how much of an impact it’s had on our skill sets. I am part of Team Banoffee as an artist and lead designer on Roller Riot. I am primarily a 3D artist, but I really wanted to improve my illustration skills this time around and agreed to make it fully 2D. And I’m so glad I made that decision because I absolutely love how our game looks and plays right now.

Team Banoffee

On the art side, my teammates Oriana Carletto and Amanda Saker and I all pitched multiple concepts and mood boards and spent a long time deciding on an art direction. We were worried that our team was falling behind, but that extra time paid off so much. We took inspiration from roller derby, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Blade Runner, and vaporwave aesthetics. I distinctly remember Amanda saying she hated the word aesthetic, and since then it has become our favorite word. In just the first week of concepting, I saw significant improvement to my art skills. I’ve learned a lot from my teammates showing off concepts to each other and asking for critiques on our assets. We all have different strengths, and so far its made for an interesting experience. We’ve all been able to teach each other things that we never would have learned otherwise.

I’ve been able to delve into animation and have been able to make rough animations for an enemy character. Amanda has been incredibly helpful through the animation process, she provided invaluable feedback on my animations and how to improve them. Oriana taught me a lot about anatomy and lining, and helped me finally figure out how to draw hands. They also helped me gain confidence in my art and taught me how to deal with impostor syndrome.I feel like I am no longer restricted to just working on 3D games, and it feels great. SIP has been an unforgettable and life changing experience for me, and I am so grateful to have been given the chance to work with such talented people. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates, I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished and I hope to work with them again some day.