An art director who has worked on several hit Playstation 3 games will be visiting Glyndŵr University on Thursday 12 February. He is among the guests at a unique event designed to give university students an insight into the creative industries.
Glyndŵr University Careers Centre has organised a four-day programme of workshops as part of its Creative Futures event, for students from the North Wales School of Art and Design.
The line up of animation experts, freelance artists and art directors who will be delivering the sessions includes Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s Art Director, Neil Thompson.
Mr Thompson, who has worked as art director on Wipeout HD and the PS3’s Formula 1 franchise, will speak to students on Thursday 12 February about artists’ roles within the computer games industry. He will also give a practical demonstration of artistic techniques relevant to the industry.
Other speakers at Creative Futures, which started on Monday 9 February, include Paul Roberts, creative director at London-based design agency JP Creative, and Tracy Simpson, project manager at Safle, one of the UK’s largest public art organisations.
David Gill, subject leader in Design Communication at Glyndŵr University, said: “If you look at the contribution which the creative industries makes to the overall GDP of the UK it’s enormous – bigger than even the construction industry.
“Getting our students to understand the importance of it and giving them a chance to meet practitioners and professionals from the industry will set them up well for their careers. The event will give them a real insight into what’s out there for them as artists and designers.”
Creative Futures is made up of four themed days. Students were given some tips on how to market themselves on Employability Day, Monday 9 February, with former students visiting on Tuesday 10 February to speak about their careers to date.
The event rounds off with Entrepreneurship and Ask the Expert themed days on Wednesday 11 February and Thursday 12 February.
