Meet Chris Mason

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Mason a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Throughout my journey, there were always times were I felt people mainly complimented my work because they were being very nice, and not because of my inherent ability to deliver or perform the way that was expected of me. This extended not only to my art career, but my professional career as a 3d games artist as well. Time after time, I felt as though the remarks/opportunities I would get were not deserved or earned, but instead, handed over to me on a silver platter. It took constant reminders from myself, a few of my mentors, parents, and even close friends, for me to understand that I am exactly where I need to be and that I have consistently put in the work to get there. I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and that I am more than capable of the job at hand. It may be uncomfortable at first, and I may not know all the answers, but there is always a way for a problem to be solved and having the confidence to learn that was something I only just recently began understanding. So in a nutshell, I have a very supportive community that has helped me overcome my feelings of inadequacy and imposter syndrome.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Professionally, I work in the games and simulations industry, but on the side, I create videogames, graphic novels, and motivational-art videos for my small, but growing, youtube community. I’ve always enjoyed creating stories and I feel as though my life’s purpose is to produce engaging/motivational content for the next generation of artists, writers and game developers. In the summer I released my first solo-developed game titled ‘Bingban’s Prison Palace’ on itch.io, and I documented the process of creating the entire thing on my youtube channel. These days, I am primarily focused on writing more stories to eventually bring to production in a similar fashion!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

While I feel as though anyone could do what I do, I think the three primary skills I focus on to get to where I’m at are: Consistency, Dedication, and Scope.

I believe these three qualities are the reason I have gotten as far as I have. With consistency, it’s all a matter of putting in a small amount of work/effort to whatever goal it is I was trying to achieve on a routine basis. Dedication came from knowing that even though it won’t be perfect, sticking through to the end would at least give me something to leverage for my confidence as I would have completed a project, which is no small feat. And the ability to scope my projects so that I don’t over extend myself, or trap myself in the purgatory of creating a terribly long project that doesn’t go anywhere, was super important for keeping myself sane, knowing things, with time, will eventually get done.

My overall advice to any inspiring creative is to understand that even small victories mean something. Set the barrier of entry to whatever field/project you’re trying to create, fairly low. For example, if you want to improve at art, but don’t enjoy the process of studying, simply try to draw the things you actually enjoy for awhile, and then gradually phase in elements of what you are trying to get better at into the pieces you enjoy creating. This will slowly but surely build your confidence which will increase your desire to try new things in your work. This is virtually the same advice I’d give to any form of media. Get comfortable creating things that may not be good, but are fun for you, and then slowly build from there.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Perfectionism. I’m sure most artists struggle with this in some way, shape or form, but perfectionism had always been a very big road block for me up until a couple of years ago now. Once I realized that it was largely overrated and that my favorite shows, games and music all had imperfections scattered across them, I realized I was chasing a goal post that kept on moving. I have always felt like it’s better to have a project out there and imperfect, than in my head and perfect. Because at least with the former, the project may be experienced by others, which I think is far more valuable than it only being experienced by myself.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All images belong to @chrismason_01

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