Artist Credit:
Kristin Don - Alumni
The Art Institute of California - Hollywood
Fashion - Fashion Design
Media Arts Success Stories
Ryan Lynch: Digital Filmmaking & Video Production Graduate from The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago
Employer: CLTV Chicago & Television
Career: Photographer
"The pace The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago sets for you with school assignment deadlines is one that is considerably comparable to an entry-level position in the production field." — Ryan Lynch
What's Ryan doing today?
Ryan shoots and edits for CLTV's metromix. He's always had a quest to see as much of life as possible, and being behind the camera gives him that opportunity. As part of his job, he's been on the road with the Bud Light/Maxim video tour, which took him to over 30 cities - including the Super Bowl in Miami - where he filmed Jimmy Buffet. Ryan has also freelanced on jobs for the Oprah Winfrey Show, HBO, and many concerts. To build contacts, he keeps potential clients' business cards on file and touches base with them monthly, inquiring about any available positions.
Creative inspiration
Ryan says that he draws inspiration "from the many greats before me, the ones that surround me, and the hope that others will benefit from my work." He lives by the mantra to set sights high while starting small - he knows that it's important to get real-world experience as soon as possible. He advises current students to build their reel by offering their video services to local companies in exchange for use of their logos and commercials. "Your demo will then set you apart from other student work, giving yours a more professional edge."
Getting out there
After graduation, Ryan started at the top of the Chicago creative directory and began cold calling companies, looking for a job. He got his first break creating video for Big Shoulders Digital Video Productions. Ryan credits the communication skills and demo he built while a student with helping him to land his first job. While still in school, he approached and did commercials for Lord & Taylor, LA Tan, Fan Foto Professional Sports Photography, and Chopper College. He also worked for Canon, photographing Chicago Bears players before each game. He adds, "and if that didn't meet my every childhood dream, I was then recruited from that job to shoot for the Chicago cubs website."
Alexandria Rosales: 2007 Media Arts & Animation Graduate from The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg
Employer: High Voltage Software
Career: User Interface Artist
"My instructors were down-to-earth and fun to learn from." — Alexandria Rosales
What's Alexandria doing today?
Alexandria is working as a user interface artist for High Voltage Software, a video game company in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Creative inspiration
For her creation, KIN, Alexandria found inspiration from a fellow artist on DeviantArt2D. Her piece is an animation trailer based off of her original series, and was created using Photoshop, Flash, and After Effects.
Getting out there
Alexandria's education at The Illinois Institute of Art - Schaumburg gave her the experience she needed to seek entry-level employment as a user interface artist. She recommends the school to other prospective interface artists because her instructors were down-to-earth and "fun to learn from."
Brandon Wells: 2007 Interactive Media Design Graduate from The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Employer: GamePro
Career: Associate Web Producer
"A good design sensibility as well as many different approaches and ways of doing things would have been very hard to figure out if not for my classroom experiences." — Brandon Wells
What's Brandon doing today?
As an associate web producer at GamePro, Brandon designs graphics and advertisements for GamePro's magazine and websites. He also performs some untraditional design research - "At some point during the day, a group of us head to the 'demo room' where we test games and we'll play video games for awhile," Wells states.
Creative inspiration
Brandon and his team take field trips to art exhibits and other events to gain inspiration. These types of experiences helped him as he created his favorite project to date - the website SucksorRules.com. "It is a social rating site that encompasses a lot of internet humor," Brandon says.
Getting out there
After he completed his degree at The Art Institute of California - Orange County, Brandon knew he wanted to move to San Francisco. He actively pursued jobs in the Bay Area and was ecstatic when he heard of the opening at GamePro. He credits the web and graphic design projects in his portfolio with helping him to land the job. Brandon's classroom experience also gave him an edge when he was asked to prepare a website during the interview process. Brandon gives the following advice to current students - "Make as many friends and contacts as you can. They will come in handy as this industry has a lot of niches to be good at. It's nice to know different types of people you can work with in the future and who you know you can count on."
Zach Gonzalez: 2007 Game Art & Design Graduate from The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Employer: Ready at Dawn Studios
Career: Designer
"The fast-paced learning environment made it easy for me to transition into my job." — Zach Gonzalez
What's Zach doing today?
At Ready at Dawn Studios, Zach works closely with the lead designer and lead background artist to make sure that everything that goes into the games his company creates looks and plays correctly. He states, "I'm working on a few game levels right now and each day I'll work on a different section of my level, slowly building it up." After he finishes this job, he goes back to each level to make improvements.
Creative inspiration
Zach has already made his mark in the game industry with a game he had a hand in designing. He worked on a level of a game - building it in Maya - and later got to play it on the PSP. "It's a very good feeling when you have control over an actual game that people are going to play," he adds.
Getting out there
Ready at Dawn Studios found Zach during a portfolio review show at The Art Institute of California - Orange County. His work included a project he spent three quarters of school working on - using the Unreal 2 engine, he built a custom world that he designed, modeled, and textured. When Ready at Dawn saw his reel, they gave him an art test, which led to his current job. Zach believes that his education opened the door to his career. "The Game Art & Design program was great because I got to work with teachers who had real industry experience." He believes that the program provided him with fundamental design principles for both 2-D and 3-D, including Maya, which he uses daily in his work.
Additionally, Zach believes that learning is a growing process. "Don't be afraid to ask questions of both the instructors and your peers. You'll never learn if you don't ask anything."
Michael LaPierre: 2001 Audio Production Graduate from The New England Institute of Art
Employer: Sugarcult
Career: Front of House Engineer
"The people at The New England Institute of Art helped me gain my confidence." — Michael LaPierre
What's Michael doing today?
Michael is using his audio production education as the Front of House Engineer for "Sugarcult." He's worked both inside the studio and at live concerts.
Creative inspiration
Working as an intern for Longview Farm as a staff engineer, Michael went on the road with the band "Death Cab for Cutie." This kicked-off his career and he's been moving forward ever since.
Getting out there
The New England Institute of Art helped Michael to gain confidence in his skills and abilities. He's used these talents to move up in the industry, and has the following advice for people interested in audio production: "You're not going to start off at the top of the hill. You need to be willing to do anything to get your foot in the door."
Amul N. Mistry: 2004 Multimedia & Web Design Graduate from The Art Institute of Philadelphia
Employer: A.M.A. Cars
Career: Graphic Designer/Digital Photographer
"I graduated from The Art Institute of Philadelphia with a top-notch portfolio and knowledge of art, design, and computers." — Amul N. Mistry
What's Amul doing today?
As a Graphic Designer, Amul creates brochures, signage, magazine ads, and newspaper ads to promote A.M.A. Cars. Amul also takes all of the digital photos for the company's Web site, and retouches the photos to ensure that they look as good as possible to the viewing public. His advertising work has been placed in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Automart, and Northeast Times.
Creative inspiration
Amul always enjoyed using computers and felt that making a living utilizing computers would be an interesting career path. In his work, Amul finds inspiration by viewing car photography books. His designs reinforce A.M.A. Cars' brand as a high-end dealership, and are aimed at driving sales and awareness. He utilizes Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator in his design work. Getting out there Amul prepared for life after school by creating his own Web site and business cards, which gave him the practical experience that employers were seeking. He credits his portfolio classes at The Art Institute of Philadelphia for helping him to secure a job in the creative arts. Once in the workforce, Amul began in Web photography. Through contacts made at that job, he moved into a full-time position in graphic design.
Steve Derrick: 1999 Computer Animation (now Media Arts & Animation) Graduate from The Art Institute of Phoenix
Employer: Vicarious Visions
Career: Art Group Manager
"My experience at The Art Institute of Phoenix prepared me with the skills necessary to land a job in the gaming industry." — Steve Derrick
What's Steve doing today?
Steve works for Vicarious Visions, one of the leading video game and computer game developers in the country. As the Art Group Manager, he oversees the artists for all platforms and conducts quality reviews and training. He also is involved in reviewing demo reels, hiring new artists, and traveling to schools and conferences for recruiting and training purposes.
Creative inspiration
Steve found creative vision through his experience at The Art Institute of Phoenix. Class projects and his professors challenged him as he developed his passion for media arts and animation.
Getting out there
Before becoming an Art Group Manager, Steve was the lead artist on several Game Boy Advance titles including Crash Nitro Kart Advance, Crash Bandicoot, The Huge Adventure, X-Men, Spider-Man Mysterio's Menance, and Blue's Clues.
Jessica Y. Lee: 2007 Media Arts & Animation Graduate from The Art Institute of California - Orange County
Employer: Covee LLC
Career: Designer
"You should start thinking about what you want to have on your demo reel or in your portfolio as soon as possible." — Jessica Y. Lee
What's Jessica doing today?
Jessica is working as a designer for Covee LLC. On a typical day, she'll work closely with customers in the United States and factories in China. She spends a majority of her time working on production art, and she receives designs and tech packs from customers including Roxy, Billabong, and Etnies.
Creative inspiration
Recently, Jessica was asked to design caps and a beanie for Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood. She was able to choose the fabrics and colors to make her own designs. She adds, "I didn't have enough time to create my own designs from scratch, but I still had a lot of fun and it's the best project that I've worked on so far."
Getting out there
As a student, Jessica created a professional portfolio of work to show to prospective employers. She was especially proud of her work in graphic design and illustration. After graduation, she began sending applications to a few potential employers every day. Two weeks later, her resumé was noticed by Covee LLC. She interviewed the following day and began working within a week.
