I started blogging with Journey of A Games Artist in 2010 as a way to document my process, share my frustrating job search, and chronicle my thoughts on the games industry and life. It was truly a journey of an artist who was focused on working in games. I was also 23 going on 18 in a lot of ways. Since I started blogging, my writing has evolved and this blog has had minor revisions, but it has remained remarkably the same for nearly a decade. I have not.
As you may know if you read my work at all, I started working at DreamLine as an artist this past June. I’m no longer making game specific art. In reality, I’ve been making all kinds of art since 2013. When I started freelancing, a lot of my work was from non game clients. My bills were often paid by architecture firms, media companies, and teaching from 2013-2017. Sure I worked on games still, but it was a much smaller part of my business than I realized (with a few exceptions). Now, at least for the time being, I’m doing something new. This new chapter has me producing
As of today, Journey of A Games Artist is changing to better align with the Daniel Rose of today. I’m an artist, a writer, a former and future educator (hint hint nudge nudge), fitness lover, game enthusiast, economics fan, and an explorer of the self (something that is easy to ignore in this media saturated society). My vision for this re-brand is to incorporate all of me into my writing, not just the game art stuff. It’s about me and what I think or create while I’m on the road of life.
I am an infinitely deeper human being than I was at 23. I was basically a teenager back then.
Today, Journey of a Games Artist has become A Journal from The Road. When I have art to show or write about, those posts will continue to follow the format you are use to. I think it works quite well for my own improvement and for any readers who wish to see my process. However, you will see a bit more content and definitely more varied content here than before, including posts like:
- Breakdowns of games
- Short stories or viniettes
- Elements of my personal self discovery
- Fitness posts
- More articles about media I am a fan of
- Random thoughts
- And more!
My commute is long and I don’t have a laptop, so I have to find new ways to create. I’ve found the mornings to be a good time to write. My brain is usually in high gear, I’m full of ideas, and I am scratching some of the itch that I have to create my own art. These days, writing (and soon sketching) is the easiest way to express myself. Writing on the train works well, but I do find that I prefer to edit works on a PC still. Because of this, I’m going to try to have new posts every two weeks.
I’m going to close with a thought on one of Kanye West’s more famous quotes; “I am a God”. On the surface, this quote is considered asanine and egotistical and I have absolutely jumped on that bandwagon. What if it wasn’t meant to be though? Kanye is an artist like myself. So is God (or the gods, your pick). God creates life, and that life is the art of God. If God must create, then it could follow that the artist who feels they must create, least they die, is also a god. Therefore, Kanye is a god because he must create. If we follow the same logic, then all artists of all kinds are god’s in their own right.
I hope you enjoy the changing blog as much as I plan to.
Dan