The film that inspired me to study!

As a mature student there have been many occasions when I have been inspired to do something. My passion has been photography which I pursued and got good at. I did a lot of manipulation of photos to create a whole new photo. I enjoyed creating fantasy images and this required me to have a good knowledge of Photoshop. I would look on sites like Pinterest for ideas; this really challenged my Photoshop skills. My aim in my photos was always to tell a story and that story was immersed in fantasy.

Deciding to study Games Art and Design

Then there was the turning point when I got shown a mini film called Spring. Wow! That is when I got inspired to study Games Art and Design.

Spring is a short film which is about a little girl, with her dog, in a world where there is a permanent cold, dark winter. Her mission is to break the spell of winter. Once the spell is broken spring erupts and all is beautiful and warm. The talent that went into this film is amazing; being able to create the girl, her dog and the environment they are in, and make it look almost photo realistic! This would be on another level, if I could create images that were realistic yet not out of a camera. And then there was the added advantage that the world could be seen from many aspects, not just one.

Researching the course content

I would look at all the artists who had created these 3D models of characters or landscapes. They were amazing; pictures that were not one dimensional but a picture which brought characters alive. As I continued to research I learnt that games companies used these ideas and technologies to produce many games, so I really wanted to know more about the software. Learning to create a game was again another way for me to tell a story steeped in fantasy, but in this way there could be many paths which could be explored.

Preparing to start the course

I experimented with the software a bit and downloaded a tutorial. The idea of being able to create this imaginary world sounded very exciting to me. I looked at a few universities that offered the Games Art and Design course, and was very happy when I got accepted to attend Brighton. I have since finished my first year and am gaining lots of knowledge.

Inspired!

Inspiration can come from many different sources and can lead us down many different routes. By following the stuff that inspires you and pursuing it, one can end up in places they never thought possible. Well that’s what happened for me 🙂

P.S. By the way – I haven’t lost my passion for photography!