Meet Danielle Powers

We recently connected with Danielle Powers and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

As a concept artist, my work depends on my ability to create daily. With game development, you are in a pipeline and there are additional developers before or after you that are dependent on you doing your role. Nothing exists in a vacuum, and my actions will impact those on my team. It goes a little something like this for me; I get the assignment from my director, complete the concept, then the 3D modeling staff, riggers, animators, and marketing artists follow with their specialties. I’ve got a schedule and I keep to it diligently.

I really do think the act of creating something functions similar to a muscle, and you need to exercise and develop that muscle every day. Of course I have “off” days like anyone else does where the ideas are harder to come by, but because it’s my job I must persist through it. Things like switching up my tasks helps in certain cases, building research or reference libraries, or even switching mediums has helped me keep things fresh! It’s crazy what a simple change in colored lead can do for your brain.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

So hi, I’m Danielle (or Dani) Powers and I am a concept artist working in the games industry.

I started drawing at a very young age, finding pictures to be a better way to communicate where words just couldn’t suffice. There were piles of sketchbooks where I’d begin to author a story, only to ditch writing entirely and cover the page in illustrations. It was as natural as breathing, and followed me into adulthood.

I always liked video games and played them growing up with my dad (a lot of Myst, Riven, Unreal Tournament, and Halo) but didn’t think of it as a career option. I was on the phone with my dad one night and expressed disappointment in my first year of art school– I couldn’t tell stories, I was working in mediums I disliked, the contemporary art critiques felt disingenuous. All this time I looked forward to art school and it just didn’t fit. He mentioned off-hand he’d read an article about a game development program at my same university, and it recently achieved #1 program in the country from the Princeton Review. The program was hosting an open house information session that week. I went, I saw, I transferred majors the following day and was off to the races.

Concept art is the position in visual development where you are putting a face to an idea; whether it’s a new character, a new world, or a new prop, every little thing you see in games, film, or media had to be visually designed to fit in the project it’s going into. I like to call it “exploring imaginary worlds and drawing what lives there.” I have had many mentors in my college years and beyond, and these mentors pushed me harder than ever to improve my craft. I met peers who cared as much about their specialties and we would team up (like superheroes) to make all sorts of little games.

I worked with a team my last year of college and shipped my first title to Steam, a space runner named DIVE: Starpath. I would end up coming back to the University of Utah’s EAE Master’s Studio a year later where I started my Game Arts graduate degree with Cohort 9. This was also where I developed my “triple threat” skills in 3D Modeling, Game Design, and Concept Art to better my chances of breaking into the industry. As a thesis project I joined a tiny team of developers and made Strange Creatures, a couch co-op family game with odd little animals escaping a lab via wacky abilities. It holds a special place in my heart, as do the characters I made for it– Rosie the frogdog and Arlo the cataconda. It was also my first animal-based game, which ended up being very important when I interviewed for Wildworks and their game, Animal Jam.

I began working at Wildworks in 2021, where I have been ever since. It’s been a delight! I primarily focus on character concept art for Animal Jam, but still get chances to do environments, props, and story items as they come. My favorite little guys have been the Opossum, Hognose Snake, as well as the fantasy animals– the Unicorn and the Dragon! It’s very surreal to talk through the journey– there were so many times I was just wracked with anxiety that I’d never make it into the game industry, and now I’m doing my dream job with a fantastic team. I’m so excited to see what we’ll make together next.

If I could impart any wisdom for those looking to get into an art industry career it is this; you will make it, but you have to keep going. Even if it seems impossible and far away, that time is going to pass regardless so you just keep making art. You’ll get there. Keep going. You got this.

So readers, if you are interested in playing Animal Jam and seeing a few of these fun critters for yourself (or with your kids) you can play it free on iOS, Android, Amazon, PC, and Mac. Pretty much all over the place! It’d be a delight to see you around Jamaa, as we make a big point of creating a safe space for kids to socialize and play together online– while also learning cool things about animals!

Additionally, I’ll plug my other games here. While I’ve moved on from these projects, they’re still very special to me and display so much passion from their dev teams. Strange Creatures is available for free on Steam– if you download it, make sure to say hi to my darlings Arlo and Rosie! DIVE: Starpath is also available for free on Steam. The music is great, we were so lucky to get the amazing Nick Borrego on board and what a treat he created. These games were made with teams of amazing, dedicated developers. Though we’ve gone on to all sorts of other studios and teams, I’m honored to have worked with them at the headwaters of our careers.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Passion is a double-edged sword, but it is imperative as a driver to breaking into the game industry. You have to care about what you do, or if you don’t care about what you do you need to find a way to make yourself care about it. The downside is that this industry knows the folks within it care.. and that can sometimes lead to exploitation. Crunch, long hours, low or no pay, etc. all are hazards here, and people who care about the game they’re making are often willing to put up with more than they should in the name of making the game better. You need to be passionate, you also need to look out for yourself and protect your worth.

Be a student of the world. We as creatives are the summation of our experiences, consciously or not. In order to be an effective creator, you need to always be learning and expanding on your knowledge. I always start out my concept art with research, and if I can get outside to learn from experience that’s even better!

Be open to critique and feedback. Going back to that last point, everybody has a different lens they see the world from. Anything you create is from your lens, but the character or environment is going to be better if it takes into account multiple lenses. Critique can be hard to hear, but even ineffective or mean-spirited critique can be made actionable to improve your next piece. Be receptive, be open, and -make it help you improve-.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

Let me preface this with a little bit of framing; I work in a career field that didn’t exist 60 years ago. Even now, it’s changing all the time. My parents are in medicine, my mom as a nurse and my dad as a cardiothoracic surgeon. While it wasn’t a surprise I pursued art, my parents never discouraged me from going for it. Ever. They supported me and still do!

It goes without saying that art careers tend to get a bit of a raised eyebrow– they’re risky, they’ve got a reputation for being ultra-competitive, based on the gig economy, and they’re far from stable when compared to medicine or law. I wouldn’t blame them for cautioning me, suggesting something “safer” and putting my art on the side as a hobby. I’m so grateful they didn’t though, and instead educate themselves on my industry, check in on the game and wear their Animal Jam shirts with pride. It may seem like a bit of a generic answer but just that unwavering support and belief I could make this my life meant I could go for it and did. Not everyone gets that, so I am beyond grateful.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Animal Jam [c] WildWorks Inc. & SmartBomb Interactive
Quokka, Zebra, and Pigeon paintings [c] WildWorks Inc. and Animal Jam, Animal Jam: Play Wild! IPs
Additional paintings outside the aforementioned Animal Jam IP are [c] Danielle Powers 2024

I do not consent for my images to be used in the training of AI models or minted in crypto/NFT spaces. Legal action will be taken should these images be scraped. Provided images have been nightshaded and watermarked for their protection.

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