My primary goal as an educator is to help students develop the tools needed to be creative and successful digital artists and designers. Having worked in various roles within the digital art industry, I have firsthand knowledge of the skills most essential for thriving in the fast-paced world of 3D modeling, animation, and game development. I understand what it takes to succeed professionally and how to navigate the challenges of an ever-evolving industry.
The most successful digital artists, I believe, are critical thinkers and objective observers with strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills. These abilities allow them to effectively collaborate with other artists, designers, engineers, programmers, and producers to create digital content with artistic and commercial value. Most importantly, great artists understand, embrace, and highly value the overall creative process.
Growing and nurturing a creative mindset is one of the hardest challenges any artist will encounter. Figuring out where to begin their creative journey can be intimidating. At the same time, nourishing and maintaining creative drive is essential to long-term success. This can be particularly challenging at WPI, where students are immersed in a STEM-focused environment rather than a traditional art school. While our HUA department and IMGD program offer an extensive curriculum in digital art, animation, and game development, many students approach these disciplines from a technical rather than purely artistic background. My role has been to bridge that gap—helping students cultivate artistic intuition alongside their technical expertise so they can fully realize their creative potential.
Teaching these skills to students presents an exciting challenge, as creative minds rarely think or learn alike. Many students pursuing digital art careers respond best to hands-on, experiential, activities and interactive experiences. It is crucial to assess students’ learning styles and adjust teaching methods accordingly. All projects, critiques, and class activities must be relevant to advancing students' artistic and technical skills whilst giving them a clear sense of growth and accomplishment. Relating assignments to real-world industry examples helps students understand the importance of dedicating time and effort to their craft.
Learning new digital art software can be an intimidating experience for students, often serving as a major barrier to entry in their artistic journey. Digital art is a balance between gaining a strong foundation in traditional art principles and learning how to work with technology and software. I think of it as my obligation to stay current when it comes to developments in creative innovation but at the same time, I am a firm believer that technology should merely serve as a tool in the creative process and should not be the primary emphasis of a student's learning. The complexity of professional tools like Maya, 3ds MAX, Zbrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine can be overwhelming at first. Demystifying these programs as quickly as possible so that students can focus on artistic and design principles rather than being hindered by technical hurdles is very important. By breaking down software into manageable concepts and providing structured, hands-on learning experiences, I help students build confidence and fluency early on. Once they overcome the initial fear of using new tools, they can fully engage with the creative process and explore their artistic potential without hesitation.
In-class critique sessions play a crucial role in a student's artistic development. These sessions encourage students to analyze their own work and the work of their peers, fostering a deeper understanding of artistic principles and industry expectations. By presenting their projects and receiving constructive feedback, students learn to articulate their creative choices, defend their design decisions, and refine their communication skills—essential abilities in professional settings where collaboration and justification of artistic direction are key. Critique sessions also help students develop a more objective perspective on their own work, teaching them to view feedback as a tool for growth rather than as criticism. Engaging in thoughtful discussions about different artistic approaches enhances their ability to assess visual composition, storytelling, and technical execution, ultimately strengthening their creative problem-solving skills. Additionally, by analyzing the successes and challenges of their classmates' work, students gain valuable insight that can inform their own artistic growth and broaden their understanding of digital art techniques.
Rather than traditional exams, large-group critiques and presentations nurture public speaking and prepare students for industry-standard design reviews. Classroom discussions on current trends in animation, game development, and digital art software foster critical thinking and awareness of industry complexities. Discussions are also key to expanding students’ understanding of industry practices. Analyzing animated films, game trailers, art books, and behind-the-scenes production materials offers insight into professional workflows.
Encouraging students to fully embrace the creative process can be difficult in a fast-paced, technology-driven world where speed and efficiency are often prioritized. However, understanding and respecting the iterative nature of digital art is essential for professional success. My role as an instructor is to emphasize the value of refinement, iteration, and patience while discouraging reliance on shortcuts that compromise artistic integrity. Emerging technologies such as AI-assisted tools, procedural generation, and real-time rendering offer exciting possibilities, and students are naturally drawn to their potential. However, solely relying on these tools without foundational artistic skills can result in shallow or uninspired work. A strong understanding of traditional artistic principles, composition, color theory, and animation fundamentals remains crucial. Through project-based learning, my students refine both their creative and technical abilities, preparing them to create compelling digital artwork.
For students focusing on 2D and 3D animation, mastering the 12 principles of animation is essential for creating fluid, believable motion. These principles—such as squash and stretch, anticipation, and timing—serve as the foundation for all animated movement, whether in traditional hand-drawn animation or complex 3D character rigs. Additionally, character acting plays a crucial role in animation, as the ability to convey personality, emotion, and intention through movement elevates an animator’s work beyond simple mechanics.
By studying and recording reference footage, breaking down performances in animated films, and practicing animation exercises, students develop the skills necessary to bring their characters to life with authenticity and impact. I make a conscious effort to have students treat animation as being “the illusion of life” not “the illusion of movement.” This idea was introduced by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, who were two of Disney's original founding animators. In line with this philosophy, I teach students how to think about advanced concepts such as character intent and compelling storytelling as opposed to just applying the animation principles through the creation of dynamic kinetics.
Teaching students to understand that animation is effectively acting, I think, is crucial to their understanding of what it is they want to animate. Seeing their animated character as an extension of themselves and getting them to think about their animation as a performance makes a huge difference in how they approach any given scenario.
I think it is essential to emphasize the importance of compelling storytelling and tailoring a character's actions to an audience. Students are taught that in order to best translate their ideas, they need to be methodical and structural in their approach. I do this by having students go through the steps of storyboarding and conceptualizing their stories visually before committing to actually animating them. This teaches students to think about animation from a more directorial standpoint and allows them to think about important aspects of animation which often times tend to become an afterthought such as the importance of framing, shot selection and camera work. The more time students spend in pre-production, the better and more thought-out their final results will be.
Once their basic story premise is established, I encourage students to record themselves whilst acting out their respective character's scenes and animations. This allows students to give more thought to the physicality of their character's acting as well as serving as a point of reference. The importance of making students aware of their creative processes allows them to thoroughly explore all stages of creation not just the act of animating itself. This methodical approach carries over into the actual animation process. For all of their character exercises, I teach students to focus on core motions first. Often times students tend to get caught up on focusing on a character's facial expressions and secondary animation, I remedy this by having students animate the core body motions first to teach them how to convey a character's actions through the sole use of strong poses and exaggerations before eventually moving on to facial animation. This teaches students to think about animation as a layered, creative process which works best, like many other art creation processes, when deconstructing the design process into working your way up from broad design choices to honing in on smaller, more detailed elements.
When it comes to my 3D modeling courses, I focus on guiding students through the digital character creation process, which is a creative challenge I believe is essential to their growth. Just as I love spending hours deconstructing a character to understand its proportions, silhouette, and design elements, I encourage my students to engage deeply with these aspects. It's like piecing together a puzzle – figuring out what makes a character unique, iconic, and compelling. I want them to see this as an exciting, creative challenge that they can’t wait to solve. The 3D character creation process is a multifaceted discipline requiring proficiency in digital sculpting, PBR (physically based rendering) texturing, and real-time rendering engines such as Unreal Engine.
Learning to work from anatomical reference is key to creating compelling, believable characters. Strong foundational knowledge of human and animal anatomy allows artists to create accurate proportions, realistic muscle deformation, and expressive facial features. Digital sculpting in software like ZBrush helps refine form and detail, while PBR texturing techniques ensure materials react realistically to light. Mastering these skills enables students to create production-ready characters that can integrate seamlessly into game engines and cinematic pipelines. I make it a point to teach fundamental sculpting techniques in my digital sculpting lectures. Contemporary, traditional sculpting techniques such as sculpting in the round, focusing on primary shapes, and blocking out silhouette form the basis of their learning. Seeing how that translates to a digital medium is, I think, very important to their foundational skillsets.
Throughout the digital character creation process, we celebrate each milestone. Learning to find rewards at each stage of the process gets students excited about their progress. Nothing is more thrilling than the moment when a completed character is ready to be animated. This is when the true magic happens – seeing a character come to life, exactly as imagined, is the pinnacle of creative satisfaction. I emphasize to my students that this moment of transformation is not just a technical achievement, but an exhilarating creative experience. I strive to make them see the value in each step, so they can embrace the challenge and look for opportunities for themselves to pursue that same creative high throughout their work.
Complex, team-based projects are an effective way to expose students to a broad range of technical and artistic concepts while simulating the collaborative nature of the industry. Digital artists become more well-rounded professionals when they bridge the gap between creative expression and technical execution. Additionally, these projects provide valuable experience working within pipelines, adhering to production schedules, and troubleshooting technical challenges—essential skills in game development and animation production. Group assignments reflect industry workflows, teaching students research skills, time management, and creative problem-solving under real-world constraints.
As artists, it's crucial to learn how to work with people outside of the artistic field. Collaboration with individuals from different areas of expertise is essential for turning creative ideas into successful, real-world projects. Learning how to communicate and collaborate effectively with others broadens an artist’s perspective and helps bring their work to a wider audience. It’s not just about blending different skill sets; it's about understanding how each person’s expertise contributes to the overall vision. This cross-disciplinary collaboration can unlock new creative possibilities and is often the key to achieving the kind of success that can only come from working together with others to solve complex problems.
In my Artistic Game Development II course, artists do exactly that. They work over the course of a 7-week-term with students from our Technical IMGD track to create a fully-fleshed-out game in Unreal Engine. They learn how to conceptualize their creative ideas, present them to their Tech student counterparts. They learn how to establish a creative pipeline and they learn how to properly manage and budget their time to create a realistic scope of work for a relatively short amount of time. Students never cease to amaze me in this class, they learn a lot about their own creative output abilities (both in terms of quality and quantity) and are almost always all surprised by just how much high-quality work they can create in a single term. It also teaches them how working in an interactive media environment (like a game studio) is different, because the focus is on creating functional creative work – not just something that needs to be aesthetically sound. Understanding that really changes the tone in a students’ overall level of excitement, in this class you can clearly see things click for art students at a certain point. They see how their art contributes directly to a greater product, and this directly benefits their level of enthusiasm for the work that they do.
Maintaining excitement and passion for one’s work is essential in a competitive and ever-changing industry. To stay at the forefront of digital art, students must actively engage with new software developments, industry trends, and popular artistic movements. However, technical proficiency alone is not enough—consistent practice and independent creative exploration outside the classroom are crucial for growth. The most successful artists continuously push themselves to experiment with new techniques, challenge their creative boundaries, and refine their personal artistic voice. Whether through personal projects, online collaborations, or participation in game jams and animation challenges, students who cultivate a habit of lifelong learning and artistic curiosity will be better equipped to adapt to industry shifts and sustain fulfilling careers.
In addition to understanding current industry trends, students should be familiar with the historical evolution of digital art, animation, and game development. Many fundamental principles have remained unchanged for the last 13 years or so. Awareness of past innovations allows artists to push boundaries while respecting foundational techniques. Understanding the social, cultural, and ethical implications of digital media is equally important. As digital artists shape the visual landscape of modern entertainment, they bear a responsibility to consider representation, accessibility, and sustainability in their work. Today’s students should not only be aware of these issues but also strive to improve the industry for future generations.
I make it a point to actively pursue consulting work in my field and strive to incorporate what I’ve learned through my own professional experiences directly into my course material where relevant. Drawing from new industry trends and developments is critical to our students’ success. By staying engaged with the industry, I ensure that my teaching remains current and aligned with the evolving needs of digital artists, animators, and game developers. I continuously update and refine my courses based on my own professional experiences. As such, my courses have evolved greatly over time and continue to do so. I think it is important that students learn what is relevant to them contextually, whilst at the same time focusing on teaching that is based on established art methods and techniques that are founded in non-digital media. It is a fine balance, but I really enjoy that challenge.
While WPI’s IMGD program does not have a formal portfolio requirement, I ensure that each of my classes includes a portfolio-ready deliverable by the end of the term (for my animation courses this typically is an animation reel and in my 3D modeling courses I have students put together a PDF with high quality renders as well as an interactive turntable in Unreal Engine of their 3D assets). A strong portfolio is essential for securing opportunities in the competitive fields of digital art, animation, and game development. I believe Mentorship is incredibly important, as such, I also make time outside of class to meet with students, providing portfolio feedback and career guidance. Whether refining presentation skills, curating their best work, or navigating the job search process, I am committed to helping students position themselves for success in the industry.
A recent example of this is where I worked closely with one of our former IMGD student (currently Robotics), Matt Winchell, to create an animatronic version of Grogu (baby Yoda), which is one of the main characters in the Star Wars Mandalorian TV series. I digitally sculpted the entire character and Matthew worked on the robotics for the actual animatronic. We also worked closely with several people from the FX house that worked on the actual animatronic for the TV show to create a silicone casting, glass eyes, and have it painted to have the exact aesthetic of the show. Currently Matthew and I are creating the same animatronic for Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame. We are expected to be flown out to San Francisco upon completion to be featured on his YouTube channel, Tested. This Mentorship and collaboration has helped Matthew in attaining a summer internship position at Legacy Effects (the production house that actually produced the practical effects for the Mandalorian TV show). His internship, as things stand now, looks to be turning into a permanent appointment.
Professionalization fundamentally shifts an artist’s mindset, transforming the way they perceive their own work. Understanding that their art is not just a passion but also a viable product or means of income allows students to approach their creative practice with a new level of purpose and strategy. This shift is critical, as it directly influences how they build and present their portfolios. Too often, students delay assembling their portfolios until the final stages of their academic careers, turning what should be an exciting process into an overwhelming, high-stakes burden. By starting early and continuously curating their work, students develop confidence in their artistic identity and avoid the stress of last-minute portfolio assembly. Emphasizing this proactive approach ensures they view their portfolios as evolving showcases of their skills rather than intimidating final hurdles.
Lastly, I would like to end on a note with something that I feel very proud of. I began my career as an Instructor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Interactive Media and Game Development program in 2012, initially with a single, annual contract. When that contract period was nearing its end, the overwhelming support from my students was undeniable. They were vocal and passionate about my courses and my role as an instructor, and many made a concerted effort to ensure the administration knew how much they valued my presence. Their advocacy played a pivotal role in securing my continued position. Thirteen years later, I am proud to have contributed to shaping the IMGD program into one of the world’s top-ranking Interactive Media programs, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Throughout this time, I have helped shaped the curriculum greatly. When I started teaching for the IMGD program, we had only two animation courses. These courses (the Art of Animation I and II) were focused predominantly on 3D animation. Shortly after I joined the program, I felt that it was important to strengthen our animation offerings by creating 2D animation courses to complement our 3D animation offerings. This resulted in our animation courses doubling. I developed 2D Animation I, 2D Animation II, 3D Animation I and 3D Animation II.
The IMGD program was also missing a few opportunities in terms of bridging the gap between art and tech. We had several courses that offered glimpses of tech art topics, but we did not offer any specific courses that primarily focused on this very specific role. In my second year at WPI, I proposed a course titled Technical Art and Character Rigging. This course strictly revolved around making art functional inside of an interactive environment, and allowed students to deal with topics such as rigging characters for animation, creating shaders, working on simulations, etc. This course ultimately spearheaded the creation of an entirely new track within our program. We now offer an entire BA in Technical Art.
This level of curricular development allowed our program to grow to the point that we now have an MFA program, the only one in our institution. While I would never claim sole responsibility for that, I do believe that the development of our core programs and our art course offerings have led to us being able to create our MFA. My dedication to my program also translated to my service work, and I have had the pleasure of working with several committees over the past thirteen years. I have worked with our Facilities Committee, which focused on ensuring that our labs, hardware, software, and community spaces were all up-to-date and in working order for our students. I’ve worked with our Community Committee, which focused on organizing community events for our students (which ranged from weekly colloquia to our end of the year showcase event and organizing our school booth at the PAX East video game conference). In the last 3 years, I have been serving on the IMGD Academic Undergraduate Operations Committee, which focuses on maintaining, developing and restructuring our Undergraduate curriculum. Our responsibilities effectively included overhauling all of our course descriptions, assisting Faculty with generating new course proposals and reassessing the curriculum to see if there are areas that could use improvement. For the past academic year, I have served as Chair of this committee.
The IMGD program also has a Japan Project Center, in which students work on location with Ritsumeikan (based in Osaka) on their thesis project. This Project Center was established when I got to the IMGD program and I took over advising in 2019. I have since had the pleasure of advising several student groups and think that it is one of our most popular and unique thesis opportunities. I have since taken on full Directorship responsibility of the Japan Project Center program, and I believe that had I not done so – it would have sadly been scrapped.
I never set out to teach and kind of landed in this position by sheer luck. Over the past thirteen years, I have absolutely fallen in love with it. Seeing my students grow and evolve, gain confidence and flourish has been incredibly rewarding to me. I feel very privileged to be able to do what I do, and hope to continue to do so for many more years.