08/11/2017
(3/4) "Tuition was costly even with a substantial scholarship, and I will probably be in debt for most if not all of my life, but I had to do what I could. I had confidence SCAD would give me the tools I needed to succeed. I learned more in those two years than I did those four years prior, made strong friendships and connections, and built a solid portfolio with expert guidance.
I won't say going to school or having a degree in art is necessary for success. This is a field based on skill and experience. Nevertheless, it definitely helps and can give you a cornerstone to build from, where you may have had none before. Without it, I wouldn't have learned about or even been able to attend my first internship, which was my biggest foot in the door to the video game industry. I've since been working as an illustrator and concept artist in games, and at the moment have a critical role at Hi-Rez Studios as an illustrator for the digital strategy card game Hand of the Gods.
In the future, I hope I can lead my own team, and perhaps even art direct the overall aesthetic of a production. Ideally, it would be something of my own imagining."
—Eksafael
https://eksafael.deviantart.com/
