When I applied for an Arts Emergency mentor I was in my final year at college studying Creative Media which includes games, animation, and visual effects. One of my teachers introduced our class to the mentoring programme, and I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to get support and advice because I’m especially interested in the creative side of gaming like character design and different visual styles, rather than the more technical aspects we were learning about at college.
I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to get support and advice
I was matched with my mentor David, editor of A Place To Hang Your Cape - a superhero/comic book website that promotes comic creators. David was a great match for me because he could introduce me to artists who I talked to and got a better understanding of the creative side of making games.
We mostly met online via Teams, which worked well for me as I could fit it round my college coursework. In each session, David and I talked about a new topic related to games art and he’d give me a task to work on. At the following meeting, we’d go over the set task and he’d give me feedback on what I’d done, which I found really helpful.
I got to meet loads of artists through David and saw some examples of games art which I found really inspiring
We also met in person a few times - one highlight was going to the comic book convention, Comic Con. That was my first time attending, and I got to meet loads of artists through David and saw some examples of games art which I found really inspiring.
Before mentoring, I knew I wanted to go to university but I didn’t have much experience with creating my own artwork. David really helped me feel prepared. I’m now in my first year of Game Development at the University of Westminster, and I don’t think I’d feel as focused or confident if it wasn’t for the mentoring. It gave me direction, motivation, and an insight into the industry that I want to be part of.