Summary
At present, I am doing more studying than illustrating, expanding my 3D modeling skills. A few years ago I became disabled and was no longer able to work without special accommodations beyond the working norm. My current focus is on cultivating the skills necessary to work from home. I plan to resume work on a per-project basis as a content creator or 3D Illustrator.
In the past few years, I focused on mastering applications I already work with, starting with Photoshop. For illustration I generally use Daz Studio. For asset creation I use Blender and World Machine. I shifted from Substance Designer (subscription based) to Filter Forge (owned) for most of my surfacing. I will resume working to master Substance Designer & Painter if and when paid work becomes sufficient to cover the cost. To that end, I need to get some products finished and published for sale, or pick up my Child of Paradox project. Rehabilitation is a long process of course. I'm enjoying the challenges I've been facing, though.
David Roberson
Auburn, CA, USA
Author Artist Illustrator Photoshop Expert Graphic Designer Content Writer Philosopher
Services
2D/ 3D Illustrator
Growing up, I was passionate about art and writing, and that drew me instinctively to illustration--with an eye toward creating comics. As a writer, my goal is to feed the imagination of the reader. As an artist, my goal is to share the product of my own imagination, and that is an endlessly inspiring challenge. I am predominantly a self-taught artist, and for most of my life a harsher judge of my work than anyone around me. I am always striving to be a better artist than I am, and struggling to do justice to my imagination. Unfortunately, I was not good at marketing myself; I was not making a living as an artist, and the need to pay bills pulled me off course over and over. It took a few years to shift the current back toward creative work--and I am now focused on 2D/3D digital illustration with an eye out for opportunities to tell better stories through art.
Photoshop Expert
I started with traditional media as an artist, but came across Photoshop (version 2) as early as 1988. I was not able to spend much time with it--couldn't afford the software or a computer powerful enough to use it, until about 1998. As an Intern at a small ISP in Livermore, I was able to learn on the job (using version 5) and used it for graphic and web design. I upgraded to Photoshop CS in 2005 and started to use it for illustration. From 2006 to 2010, I mastered Photoshop while pursuing a degree in Visual Communications, upgrading to CS2 in 2008 and CS5 (as part of the Design Premium Suite) in 2010. I have used it predominantly for illustration and design, in contract and freelance graphics, mastering photomanipulation along the way. Photoshop also helped me to branch out into vector and 3D graphics, and has proven to be an essential tool for 3D postwork. With Photoshop in my creative arsenal, I can do just about anything!
Graphic Designer
I got started in graphic design as a freshman in high school. I was awarded a 3/4 summer scholarship to the Academy of Art in SF in 1985, and planned to major in art at HSU. Going to college straight out of high school did not pan out for me, so I pursued my creative goals on the side while working temp and entry level jobs to pay the bills. In many of those jobs, however, my creative skills were noticed and put to good use, designing ads, flyers, forms, letterhead, logos and web pages for employers and friends. I worked with programs like Photoshop, PageMaker, and FileMaker, and taught myself HTML, CSS and JavaScript--growing stronger in graphic design. In 2005 I decided to go back to school, earning my AA in Business in 2008 and a BSIT in Visual Communications in 2010. I became the Lead Graphic/Web/IT Designer for the I.T. Mercenaries, a Bay Area IT Consulting group, and began offering my services on Elance. I've provided a range of work in graphic, web and ui design--including corporate identity, branding, logo design, illustration, cover art, product labeling, and more. Unfortunately, the volume of work has been lacking, so now I am branching out in search of a thriving creative market where my skills can be put to work on a daily basis.
Content Writer
As a kid I loved to read and had an overactive imagination that inevitably spilled over into writing. Ironically, I flunked Creative Writing in high school in spite of being an AP English student! I made up for that by acing my Creative Writing classes with the University of Phoenix, and expanded beyond fantasy/sci-fi writing to include all kinds of writing, from academic papers to business process documentation, technical writing and content writing. As a content writer, most of my work is integral to developing web sites. I had a small run of Helium articles from 2005 to 2008. I have a blog where I speculate on various topics from the practical to the philosophical. Most recently, I contributed a few articles to DegreeStory by way of Elance.
Philosopher
I am not a student of philosophy. I would love to sit down and chat with any or all of the great thinkers, absolutely! But, I don't care who said what. I care about thinking and asking questions, and understanding things. I'm a student of perspective and I believe in asking questions, not defending answers. I am not content to think I know something. I want to understand why. I want to go past words and numbers, because definitions, by definition, limit understanding. There's only so much you can put into words, and I can't help chasing the thoughts that try to slip past me. I choose to see everything, and everything I see depends on how I look at it.
Skills
Software proficiency
