For those who are curious I thought it would be good to post a little background information on myself and my professional experience up to this point in my life.

I've always enjoyed art but didn't pursue it seriously until I got into high school - then I became obsessed with it. I was certain that somehow that was what I wanted to someday do for a career. I took every art class that I could and all that effort payed off. I received 5 scholarship offers to a few schools based on the strength of my senior portfolio. I accepted a full-tuition scholarship to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I graduated in 1991 and about a year later was offered a position with Dreamforge Intertainment, an independent game developer in the Pittsburgh area.

Dreamforge was a small company then. I think it was less than 20 people, including me when I was hired but during the several years I was there I saw the company grow until it had nearly tripled in size at it's heyday. It was a fantastic company with a very family-like atmosphere. We pulled together to face some hefty challenges during that time and created some amazing games that I'm very proud to have been a part of. Unfortunately, Dreamforge suffered a string of serious setbacks with various publishers and was eventually forced to shut their doors. I put alot of myself into that place over the years and definitely felt pretty depressed at seeing it go.

I didn't really feel like jumping back in at another studio right away after that. I figured I would try the freelance route first. It's been interesting and it can be very lucrative at times but there are many more outgoing expenses being in business for yourself. I gave it a try but I know now it's not how I want to earn a primary living. Also, I miss working alongside other artists. However, I've learned alot during this period. While at Dreamforge I was more of a texturing specialist and did concepting for practically every project I was assigned to. In freelancing for a living I've been forced to become more of a generalist and develop a broader skillset to be more marketable. The coming months will see which studio I end up settling down at. Meanwhile, I'm continuing to freelance while my search for a permanent position continues so please feel free to email me if you are interested in contracting me for any special projects.