Sierra Jones
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Game Designer & Visual Artist
I am Sierra Jones, an artist constantly studying how to make video games better. I'm always trying to improve and learn new things about creating.
What drives me most is trying to deeply understand others. With video games and art, I feel that so much can be expressed and experienced. I'm fascinated by the weird and anything unusual; so I want to share these interesting oddities with the world. I have been making small games since 2012, and I love making experiences that capture emotion and tell a rich story. Video games have given us the most capable form of storytelling yet in human history--the power to put someone in somebody else's shoes. I love creating complex characters and worlds with layers of depth and vibrancy, and I do this both through game design and the visual art that I make. I grew up as a self-taught artist, with gentle direction from my parents. I always felt that art was something to be done freely, and without constraint; I strive to maintain that loose expression in my work. I am a 2019 Game Design Art graduate from Cogswell College in San Jose, California. |
RÉSUMÉ
SKILLS
Friendly, creative, open-minded, patient, attentive, organized, thoughtful, communicative
Software knowledge: Maya, Substance Painter, zBrush, Adobe Photoshop, Marmoset Toolbag, Core, Game Maker, Unreal Engine 4, Unity, Perforce, Github and more.
Programming: C#, Unreal Blueprinting, Lua, PYTHON, HTML, Java, GML
Friendly, creative, open-minded, patient, attentive, organized, thoughtful, communicative
Software knowledge: Maya, Substance Painter, zBrush, Adobe Photoshop, Marmoset Toolbag, Core, Game Maker, Unreal Engine 4, Unity, Perforce, Github and more.
Programming: C#, Unreal Blueprinting, Lua, PYTHON, HTML, Java, GML
EXPERIENCE
Character Artist, Core, Manticore Games Inc.— 2020 - present
Character Artist, Core, Manticore Games Inc.— 2020 - present
- I aid both the processing and implementation of characters in the Core platform, as well as make new characters, props, and more for use in Core. I bounce between task types and get to work on many different character-related things!
- Leading a project that involves creating typed & video documentation for communicating with outsourcing.
- Modeling and texturing complete characters, outfits & bodies, for Core.
- Providing feedback to outsourcing in the form of paintover images, gifs, and typed responses to hone our style.
- Taking joy in hopping from task type to task type.
- Leading research & design work for several outfits and our recent self-expression focused fashion movement.
- Maintained an organized Trello encompassing all tasks for our 3 person team to ensure MVP was viable by the end.
- Designed level flow and gameplay loop in coordination two other talented game designers, Gabriel Santos and Rudro De.
- Created props along with their related programmed features for inventory & resource management.
- Represented Manticore Games as an evangelist, educating other GGJ participants on how to use our software, Core, and publish their games for the event.
- Pushed my hard surface modeling skills in many 3D prop assets & mounts.
- Modeled complete character outfits for Core, and several additional outfit elements.
- Melded in with a team of long-time game industry art professionals to uphold their style standards.
- Aided in the feedback and design process of all characters running through our team when possible.
- Communicated with our outsourcing team on feedback for character models.
- Implemented feedback and clean up on several outsourced models, primarily via texture changes.
- Participated in daily stand-ups and regular feedback reviews.
- Created small video games on Core both individually and collaboratively in teams.
- Wrote up feedback reviews to better the product.
- Designed maps and mechanics, scripted games, and created art and look direction over the course of all projects.
- Maintained an organized Trello encompassing all tasks for the one-weekend project to ensure MVP was viable by the end.
- Designed game structure in coordination with teammate Rudro De.
- Sketched prop designs in 2D, and modeled their 3D counterparts.
- Collaborating with one other programmer on all the major gameplay mechanics, UI programming, and design implementation on Fuzz Village in preparation for publishing.
- Creating extensive Unreal Engine blueprint-based gameplay elements.
- Led a team of 5 people to create an exploration-centered platforming game in one college semester.
- Organized meetings to determine game design and flow of Fuzz Village.
- Developed a visual style and concept art for models in the game, as well as paintings for cutscenes.
- Engineered extensive blueprint programming for a large portion of the game's functions.
- Managed a team of 12 artists to create over 120 models in a semester's time to complete a VR training simulator.
- Established a cohesive visual style for the project.
- Supported team members, held critiques, and kept students on track.
- Contributing my knowledge back to the school by tutoring other students in my best subjects. This mainly consists of various 2D and 3D art classes, as well as a variety of English writing classes.
- Concepted several monster enemies for use in game, and created their pixel sprite versions.
- Animated these sprites for a more dynamic look.
- Created 2 hi-resolution character models using zBrush for use in VR.
- Modeling from concept art, focusing on clothes and hair and done in a realistic style.
- Selected as the sole concept artist on two separate student-run virtual reality video games.
- Created unique separate visual styles for each game.
- Designed concept environments and structures, along with UI elements, level maps, comic strips, and promotional graphic design.
- Held position of Personal Designer, helping all who enter the store start projects for their personal memories through frame design, color palette selection, and thoughtful interior design. Sales skills learned allowed me to help customers feel more comfortable making very large purchases.
- Programmed an original Python fishing game from scratch with a fellow student.
- Recruited part-time as cashier and sales floor associate, providing help with any kind of questions customers may have about their games or systems.
- Much experience running a professional artwork booth (Ambrzart) interacting with customers, being friendly and informative, and making sales.
- Experience in food sales at Quizno's register, dish washing, and customer service.
- Founded Eureka High’s art club, running meetings and teaching students how to sell their artwork in the local area. I organized events and fundraisers.
- As a club treasurer in another organization, I handled the club’s monetary responsibilities.
EDUCATION
Cogswell College - Game Design Art major - BA 2019 - GPA: 3.68
Arcata High School - Graduated with honors - GPA: 3.6
Cogswell College - Game Design Art major - BA 2019 - GPA: 3.68
Arcata High School - Graduated with honors - GPA: 3.6
AWARDS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Cogswell College - Class of 2019 Outstanding Student in Game Design and Development: For Excellence in Game Design Art and Demonstrating Outstanding Creativity and Technical Prowess
Cogswell College Concept Design class - Best Presentation, for Our Personal Hell
Cogswell College - President's List, for high GPA, all semesters
Cogswell College Game Development Club - Best Video Game of Semester Game Jam, for Fuzz Village
Cogswell College - Dragon Scholarship, merit-based
Cogswell College - Class of 2019 Outstanding Student in Game Design and Development: For Excellence in Game Design Art and Demonstrating Outstanding Creativity and Technical Prowess
Cogswell College Concept Design class - Best Presentation, for Our Personal Hell
Cogswell College - President's List, for high GPA, all semesters
Cogswell College Game Development Club - Best Video Game of Semester Game Jam, for Fuzz Village
Cogswell College - Dragon Scholarship, merit-based
