Part of the Etc.
HAVE you ever wondered where a qualification in Creative Digital Media can take you?
Just ask former Stockton Riverside College student Stephanie Evans. The 23-year-old from Stockton has just started out in her career but already she has worked alongside and been mentored by one of LA’s top art directors.
And now she is living her childhood dream as an illustrator with a publishing agency.
“It’s funny because when I was little if you had asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up I would have said I wanted to draw for kids’ books,” said Stephanie. “At the time I had no idea how you got in to that, but I guess I accidentally found the route.”
For Stephanie it was a love of art that led her to study Creative Digital Media at Stockton Riverside College.
“I wanted to do something that had a bit more of a story or a purpose to it,” she said, so a course that combined creative skills with animation, flash games and content design, fit the bill.
“I loved that course,” said Stephanie, who up until that point admitted she didn’t know what direction her career would take.
It certainly opened up a whole host of opportunities that she hadn’t previously considered and Stephanie was still at College when, approached by games makers who saw her work online, she started doing freelance design work on flash games.
Going on to study at the University of West London it was a twist of fate that would see Stephanie’s uncle, on a trip to California, show her work to some of the top bods at Disney.
Impressed by what they saw, she was put in touch with Karen deJong, one of the lead artists at Rocket Pictures, who would go on to work with Stephanie on a three month professional training programme and remains a mentor and friend today.
“Karen’s portfolio is incredible,” said Stephanie looking at a back catalogue of films including the likes of Lord of the Rings, Miracle on 34th Street, Gone in Sixty Seconds and The Book of Life.
Stephanie said: “Karen was one of the lead artists on a bunch of Hollywood movies that I saw as a kid. To learn from her was amazing.”
Now working as an illustrator for Creative Authors Stephanie is drawing on all of her experiences to create her own dream career.
Eagerly anticipating the print of her first book cover, she puts much of her success down to receiving a good grounding in the subject at Stockton Riverside College, delivered in a way that she says is true to working in the industry.
Want to know more about the Creative Media courses available at Stockton Riverside College go to www.stockton.ac.uk/courses/creative-media/ or call 01642 865 566.
Just ask former Stockton Riverside College student Stephanie Evans. The 23-year-old from Stockton has just started out in her career but already she has worked alongside and been mentored by one of LA’s top art directors.
And now she is living her childhood dream as an illustrator with a publishing agency.
“It’s funny because when I was little if you had asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up I would have said I wanted to draw for kids’ books,” said Stephanie. “At the time I had no idea how you got in to that, but I guess I accidentally found the route.”
For Stephanie it was a love of art that led her to study Creative Digital Media at Stockton Riverside College.
“I wanted to do something that had a bit more of a story or a purpose to it,” she said, so a course that combined creative skills with animation, flash games and content design, fit the bill.
“I loved that course,” said Stephanie, who up until that point admitted she didn’t know what direction her career would take.
It certainly opened up a whole host of opportunities that she hadn’t previously considered and Stephanie was still at College when, approached by games makers who saw her work online, she started doing freelance design work on flash games.
Going on to study at the University of West London it was a twist of fate that would see Stephanie’s uncle, on a trip to California, show her work to some of the top bods at Disney.
Impressed by what they saw, she was put in touch with Karen deJong, one of the lead artists at Rocket Pictures, who would go on to work with Stephanie on a three month professional training programme and remains a mentor and friend today.
“Karen’s portfolio is incredible,” said Stephanie looking at a back catalogue of films including the likes of Lord of the Rings, Miracle on 34th Street, Gone in Sixty Seconds and The Book of Life.
Stephanie said: “Karen was one of the lead artists on a bunch of Hollywood movies that I saw as a kid. To learn from her was amazing.”
Now working as an illustrator for Creative Authors Stephanie is drawing on all of her experiences to create her own dream career.
Eagerly anticipating the print of her first book cover, she puts much of her success down to receiving a good grounding in the subject at Stockton Riverside College, delivered in a way that she says is true to working in the industry.
Want to know more about the Creative Media courses available at Stockton Riverside College go to www.stockton.ac.uk/courses/creative-media/ or call 01642 865 566.
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