The year 1992, Me I was 12 turning 13 years old had only been living with my dad around 6 months. He had just gotten custody of me and brought me home after 4 years in a foster home due to hardships in the home life. It was a rocky start. to help easy the transition I guess my dad had gotten me an original NES game system and several games, among my favorite, Contra, Festers Quest, and Friday the 13 Camp Crystal Lake. this was one of the best highlights of my life back then At the first sight of playing MY system,(yes I had seen arcade games and played systems at friends houses and such) however this one was mine. At the first sight and first days of playing those games, I knew what I was meant to do. I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Or so I thought at that age., My father had a little bit of a different plan for what her wanted for me. Now don’t get me wrong. my dad could sit at the kitchen table while on a 15–20 minuet phone conversation and doodle on a napkin a perfect landscape scene with an ink pen with out 1 mistake. but he never did anything with it. he was a Millwright by trade. Pipefitter, Wielder, Mason, Machine set, and became a Forman for Flora Danelle’s, Construction which was global. Me If I could see some thing or picture it in my head I could draw it. and that was what interred my mind when I saw and played the NES system he had gotten me. I saw me bringing my drawings to life. Well my father disapproved even though he was the one that game me the system. he begin to call me a pretendo, belittling me, and would randomly destroy my artwork and such to deter me and my volition. would say that I needed to do a real mans work, work with my hands, wielding, and such. This caused distress between us. this is when I created my world, the VOID. where he could not destroy what I had created where imagination could thrive, grow and live. when I hit 15 I was awarded a rare and only one a year scholarship to the Joe Kolbert school of cartoon and graphics arts. It was sponsored through the Marvel comics magazine. only one was given per year to only one person and I had won it. I was to go the following year when i turned 16 in that fall semester. Unfortunately my dreams would once again be foiled. On October 5 1996, tragedy like I had never known before, struck my life. my father was in a fatal car accident! That stopped me dead in my tracks. I ended up not going to the scholarship so I lost the opportunity. I closed off and almost quit drawing completely. I quit school al together. I then moved to New York with my older sister and her then boyfriend which was my supposed best friend who was 2 years older than myself. I only being 17 after attending the Red Rock Job Corp Center in Lopez PA, gaining my GED and Certified Auto tech ASE cert., I had my sister sign me in to the army in NY, sent the next 2 and a half years in the service of Uncle SAM!. I did not manage to mage the full 4 year tour I signed up for, nor my carrier choice of making a go of life in the military, I ended up breaking my back having to learn to walk again and rebuild both my mind and my body to cope and deal with the new life I had. Occasionally picking up a sketch pad and pencils and such and random things to draw on and with. I knew and still know I did not draw near as good as I did when I was younger, I guess there is still a residual of my father in the back of my head “Oh you’ll never make a living doing that”, or “ that is useless and you’ll be useless if you keep it up”. Well in 2001 My son was born it lifted me up turned my life around, not that I was in a bad way before then I was working 2 dead end jobs at a gas station and an auto-part store. I sought better work and knowledge to make the best life I could for my son and stayed in NY where he was bourn to be able to stay in his life as me and his mother did not make it to the alter and soon parted ways. so I lived in the next town over bought a house and did odd jobs and ran little off the book businesses like scrap haling and sub contracting and lawncare. until my body started getting worse. I was at this point on 100% disability through the VA. I could not in my mind just sit there and collect money and then preach to my son about doing right and finding his niche in life to earn his way when I was expected to sit and draw a check for doing so and him see me just get handed every thing. So I did what needed to be done and what I felt like I had to. to Teach my son the best I could.. The years went by, my son got older, growing and learning. The dreaded school homework assignment, the first one to land between middle school and Jr. high. the very first summer time homework assignment. What do you want to do or be when you grow up. My son was 12 at this time. The age I was when my father got custody of me and had given me the NES. I got my son for the normal summer visit that summer and every thing changed. He came to me as his mother told him and me I had to help him with it because she had no clue as she had made a comfortable life living off of my sons income of a ssd check for being a dependent of a disabled vet and + child support that I paid monthly. When he asked me he stated it as what did i want to do when I was his age to take the tension off of him and the assignment he was to be doing. I sat there in thought for a while and finally I told him the story of when I was his age. The story of me gaining the living with my dad for the first time in my life and the first game system that I ever owned, and the way it made me feel. He knew I could draw he tried to follow that tradition from me. and when ever I would draw he and any of the neighbor hood kids around would sit and watch and even grab any paper cardboard or whatever they could find to draw on and with and I would end up giving drawing lessons which was weird because I had till this point never had an art class not even in elementary school. I was shipped between foster home to foster home and such and just seamed to not get to take one so I taught myself. by drawing what I saw and could see in my mind or as I would say in My Void.
After I had finished I had never seen my son be that quite and still listening to one of my stories, he tended to look at them as lessons or lectures as he would call them. but he did this one. After about 20–30 minuets he came to me and asked , “Dad, Dad why cant you still do it?” I said “ Do what?” his reply about floored me. “ Well, why cant you still live your dream and bring your drawings to life?” your great at drawing and everything I have ever seen you try or do!”, that was the most insight and candor I have ever seen some one at that age have. At this time I was with which is my now wife who seamed t team up on me with him saying the same and some what pushing the issue. Over the course of the next two weeks my wife, my son, and myself came up with a game plan. I made the deal with my son that I would do it I would put myself through what ever school, or training I needed to to learn and build a carrier doing what I loved and live my child hood dream. I would show my son what it took to live the dream and carrier doing something you loved to do, no matter the hurdles, and adversities you had to face and overcome. My wife, had been going through the local adult education class’s to get her high school diploma, she had a hard life as well growing up and had lost her dad when she was 13. This was a big accomplishment for her as she has dyslexia. She did it, and it gave her the drive, (As well I was the driving force that if she could do this which every one told her she would never be able to do that kicked me in the ass and drove me to peruse my dreams), to continue and so we made it a thing and started college the same school and same semester the following year in 2013, at the local community college that fall. Now mind you the school we went to first Corning community college, did not have a gaming program, however had a great computer science program and an some what decent Art degree, so after talking with the advisers and taking the entry exam which was not a surprise to me (with the risk of sounding boastful, I scored a 247 out of posable 300 on the military aspab for entry to the military and was rated with a 147 IQ), the advisers agreed for me to build my own degree so I was able to do a duel major form the start of Fine Arts and computer science. My wife did Computer science. we did it together, as I have adult onset ADHD, Insomnia, and PTSD, and my wife mentioned above, with dyslexia, started our journey. our first semester in computer science class the professor asked why we was there we was in class with people half our age, I mean there was a few around our ages but the most pare they where way younger. so I explained my thoughts and she hers, he commended us. the next class the professor handed me a usb drive said if he caught me opening it in school that day that I would receive an f for his class that I could not open it until I got home and then simply said ,” lets see what ,you, can do with this!” well this was my first introduction to blender! the first 3d auto cad style program software I had ever used. now the question at hand was just wat could I do with it. Over the next two weeks I sat long hours at a keyboard mouse in hand and decided on a drawing to bring to life. I decided on , https://www.deviantart.com/wolfgraphocsllc/art/jinga-sketch-516423959,
https://www.deviantart.com/wolfgraphocsllc/art/jinga-516531773 ,
this. this was a drawing my son and 2 god sons challenged me to draw. they wanted me to draw a new hero and new character. I had them each pick a character from one of there favorites. My son picked the Ape king from his Yugo Deck, My god son J.J. picked The Flame Lord, From Yugo as well. well my god son went a different path. he chose Baraka from mortal Kombat. I Named him , JINGA. As him being a patch work of other characters traits and such I found it fitting. he soon became the Keeper of the VOID. a peek of the void in its current standing. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/zOmm5m
here is the first 3d model I ever made. Under the guidance of youtube I found Darren Lyle and Andrew Price. I was bringing my character to life and giving jinga shape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6xFvFmE1UM&list=PL1u9Bz62_KyFULbk_FVniDsCRzxjC51BC&index=2it took me two weeks to finally what I thought was great work, not knowing any better, or what I do now. closer to what Jinga looks like now still not to current build but getting close I will show shortly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yanA7DF9RAo&list=PL1u9Bz62_KyFULbk_FVniDsCRzxjC51BC.
Low and behold I should have known that the professor had an agenda. right at the two week mark almost like he had a keylogger in the usb drive or something, when I cam in to class the day after I did the first animation of Jinga’s back flip with a chest kick with a double blade stab push off, he called me out in the hall and simply asked, well where did you get to what did you think was you able to do anything with it? i was speechless. well i showed him my work on my lap top. He immediately told his TA take over class for now had me my wife pick up our stuff and said follow me. I thought I had done something wrong and was in trouble. He walked us down the hall and stairs to the Art department Chair. He showed my work as he still had my laptop, Dave Higgins, the Art Chair, looked at our comp professor, looked at me looked back to my laptop. closed the lid, stud up picked up the laptop sliding it to the edge of his desk and then as to let it drop off the side swung it to under his arm, I was starting to sweat. said you two follow me! we did. we ended up at the office of the dean of students for the whole school. as Dave showed my work and talking low key to the dean looking over the edge of his glasses at me then at my work and back and forth shaking his head and said this is what we have been waiting for i was about to walk a way. not knowing what to think. well they finally turned to talk to me. well Mr. Nix SO! you have no prior knowledge of any 3d art or art class for that matter before this?… asked the dean!. ummm! “No, I have not before 2 weeks ago.” he turned and looked at the one that started it all, my Comp org prov. and then my professor spoke and simply said, “ do you see, Do you see what this talented young man has done with no skills in the field or software, by him self?” … “ Can you imagine if he had proper training in a course or two, Not saying launch a whole program , Just a class or two to test the waters!” not another word was said me and my wife was dismissed for the day the dean excused our other classes the next day, the dean came to my class, pulled me out and told me the plan, that they agreed to use my work to launch a class, just a single class. it would be a art computer science hybrid course with an adjunct professor. Art Loomis, would be that Adjunct. I would get to take the course for free of course. the following semester when it started. . that semester started and some how the teacher , Art found out that it was my work that gave him the job, well as such He sat in the far corner and had me teach the class with his guidance and structure. even though I had learned and don my work in blender the course was in Maya. that was ,(other than teaching neighbor hood kids and my son to draw and such.) My first real taste of teaching. and Scared out of my mind at the same time. I got with in 6 credits of graduation there and my situation got worse with compression fractures up my spine, pinched nerves in my neck shoulder and elbows was told i need neck and elbow surgery, I decided to move back home to SC to where my family and I was originally from to have the support of them to make it through. I transferred to the University of advancing Technologies online , (The school that my son hand picked for me and that he wanted to attend). I still with the out break of Covid 19 have not had the surgery , that i was moving down here to have and the back up at the VA that was 5 years ago. during my time at UAT i was able to do an internship at Titanomachy studios under one Randall Tatum, a great mentor, ended my internship at 3 months and signed me promoting me from game art and animation to, production lead teaching me guiding me, and introduced me to Udemy, a learning platform where he had me take the course of one Jonathan Weinberger, and the course was the Ultimate Guide to game development in Unity 2017, I was with the studio for right at 2 years. while in the Udemy course I was given a wonderful opportunity by Mr. Weinberger. I was asked if I would like to become an affiliate, and founder of something called GameDevHQ, a new kind of learning platform and was also given the chance to help others learn and to tutor growing up and coming game developers under the guide of Mr. Weinberger and his partner AL Heckk. That was almost 2 years ago. I still have 9 credits to finish the degree at UAT for a bachelors in game art and animation, however I find I learn more from GDHQ and helping teach than I did the whole time in school and here I get real industry learning and experience. as well as the networking making projects and getting my name out. It is going on right at 2 years since I started Udemy and gdhq. and now I get the opportunity to help launch another chapter of GDHQ learning while earning my Unity certification and still help teach , learn and grow networks and portfolio. as well I own my own studio. As of 3/30/2021 my studio has been open 1 year. I have not published a full out title YET!, however I have a demo in the site Simmer.io, named Lone Shark, I have some playable demos that could provide on request that was made in the courses from Weinberger. I also have a total of 6 titles in production 2 of which is huge in scope and a few smaller ones seeing where they grow to. so I might not see me as being there yet I have a little ways to go yet. but am that much closer to doing what I told my son I would and have a dream job that was no dream getting a lot of work, dedication and sacrifice to obtain.
