Theodore Stauffer

2023 Senior Exhibition Artists

Theodore Stauffer

Art + Design: Animation + Game Arts

Statement

Throughout my artistic professional career, I have specialized in concept art and character design, storytelling storyboarding, and 3D modeling

As a character designer, I have a fascination in creating diverse characters ranging from realistic to fantastical. I enjoy the idea of controlling how a character will be executed in terms of the story. My character development process involves weekly brainstorming, drawing and observations. Understanding the character through a variety of poses assists my process of the character's fullest potential.

When working on concept art, I obtain the task of creating characters and worlds. On top of top, I am also tasked with having both the characters and world interact with each other in a meaningful way. Concept art requires the same tasks as character design and an understanding of perspective. Concept art can allow me to understand my characters more as I get to flesh out their surroundings with the world, they live in.

As a storyboard artist, I add additional layers to my creations, fleshing out characterization actions. I also get to explore the worlds by creating various layouts to give them more dimension. I plan out stories, direct the flow of the narrative, and make sure the panels match up with the script. With storyboarding, I can add more dimension to the world I make just by story execution.

3D modeling is beneficial as it gives me a grasp on perspective. With 3D, I can see environments on two planes rather than just one. 2D art is super beneficial to 3D as drawing the model first helps better understand the proportions and execution of the model. This practice is best when modeling as characters as you can better get the anatomy of the character down and make them look more natural. Modeling can even benefit background when it comes to perspective. I can use 3D to make a block out area, render out the area, and draw over it to create the backgrounds. When used properly, 3D modeling can be used as an asset to the projects I create.

With all these careers, my ultimate plan is to land in one of these fields. During my time in the job, I will gain experience in the certain job I am in while improving my work constantly. Once I am experienced enough, I plan to start up my own studio. It can be operated by myself or a joint venture with friends or colleagues. From there, I can begin to fully work on many personal projects I have been working on over the years.