Daughter of an aerospace engineer and a housewife, I grew up in San Diego, CA.  I started showing an aptitude for art at a very early age, and was also introduced to the principles of logic and programming in my upbringing.  I began reading at the age of three, and entered school at four.

I was placed in a program for the gifted upon entering the fourth grade, and from there my education was accelerated.  Through all the history, math, social studies and phys-ed, I held four interests:  creating art, reading science fiction, acting and writing.  I had the opportunity to paint a mural on my high school gym's wall, do macramé for an interior decorator, produce batiks for a patron, and design costumes for a junior theatre production of Snow White - as well as perform on stage in other junior theatre productions.

I attended Pepperdine University for two years and then Art Center College of Design for one.  In both cases I had to discontinue for financial reasons, but still, I learned a lot, majoring in Art, Psychology and Design.  In between schools, I worked in banking to make ends meet.  Not the most creative of fields, but it paid the bills.  After Art Center, I continued in banking, but was having issues with the air quality in Los Angeles.  I decided to move to Las Vegas.

That move was a mixed blessing - I could not find a job in banking and so, opted for work in the casino industry.  I quit working for married life, but found I was bored, and applied to the State of Nevada Employment Development Department.  After being hired by the State, and working as a "full-time temp" for nearly two years, I was laid off.  And this is what led me to be trained in prepress.  I enjoyed that training contract, but at the end, the owner decided that he'd rather pay the full salary to his nephew than to me (the State had subsidized the training as part of retraining me).

So I went to work for Kinko's in their Computer Services department.  Though, by that time, I had a computer and had learned Word, CorelDRAW, and a few other miscellaneous software packages, I was thrilled to get the chance to learn Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand, Pagemaker, Acrobat, scanning, and various Microsoft equivalents.  And I was getting to do ART!

Me.

After working at Kinko's for almost exactly three years, I was offered a job making over two and a half times my salary at Kinko's.  It was under a contract, with options to renew, for the U.S. Marine Corps, and I took the position in a heartbeat!  Once settled in as a Graphic Artist, I had the opportunity to learn 3D Studio Max, and then model every conceivable piece of military equipment.  (Sadly, virtually all the work I did for the Marines is considered to be "sensitive" and I was forbidden to use it in any capacity outside the Corps.)

I loved that job.  Soon after I started, I was promoted to Art Director, as well as Lead Graphic Artist / Designer, and besides creating artwork, animations, splash screens, buttons, models and so on for web-based interactive instruction, I was able to put in place a records maintenance system to keep track of who was doing what, how far along things were and what had been completed.  And other directorial duties.

Then 9/11 happened and the priorities of the military shifted.  The contract, which had been up for renewal that month, was NOT renewed and I was out in the post-9/11 job market.  I traveled to San Diego, to Los Angeles, to Seattle, and then to Ithaca (where my husband has family) - all in the hopes of finding a job remotely close to what I had been doing for the Marine Corps.  There was nothing at all.

Finally, I settled on a job with the local Pennysaver at well less than half what I had been making, but my savings were gone and I needed something to pay bills with.  (My husband is an inventor who has not yet gotten an invention off the ground, but we have high hopes, nonetheless.)

After a year and a half, the business was purchased and the new owners cut staff - I was one of those who lost their job.

Somewhere along the line, in all these years, I discovered gaming.  Though I loved traditional games from the time I was a kid, such as Gin, Canasta, Blackjack, Poker, and other card games, as well as board games of all kinds, it wasn't until I played Dungeons & Dragons that I really became passionate about gaming.  And Cyberpunk?  AWESOME!  And then there was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text-based game.  And then Frogger and then...  Eventually, the X-Box!  And Fable, and Jade Empire, and on and on!

And somewhere along the line I knew I was going to be a Game Designer.  I have ideas...  I know what can be done, programming wise.  I analyse every computer and console game I play, and understand the principles.  And I have been trying to "break into" the business for a VERY long time.

So now I am taking a course in Video Game Design and Development.  I figure it will enhance my likelihood of being hired in the CG industry...  And just learning the C++, the Direct X, the Graphics Programming, the AI - just learning that will help me find work somewhere.  And, since over the years, I have learned HTML, CSS and other web development tools, working freelance (when I can find the work) as a Media Creator in print, presentation, web and video, that too should help me out in getting a stable and reliable position.

As of now I'm looking for work once again, finding freelance work too unreliable.  I am applying for work all over the world, since I have a family to support - at least until the inventions of my husband pay off.

If you have read this far, thank you!  I honor those who have that fortitude.  [wink]  [grin]  And if you want to hire me...  Click to email me, and let's talk!