JC Cappelletti is one of our earliest graduates from our Game Art & Design diploma program, who has since enjoyed a varied and illustrious career in both teaching and working for the gaming industry.
After graduating from VanArts, JC pitched a game concept and secured an investor & partner for a company called Veda Games. He assembled a production team, made up largely of other fellow VanArts graduates, to move to India and work for two years on a proof of concept. The project was ultimately received well at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco. Although strict policies from publishers at the time prevented the concept from moving forward, the experience was still very good for those involved, and many of the other grads who worked with JC are also still active in the industry.
Upon his return to Canada, JC gained experience working with Offload Studios on R&D for creating high quality 3D-printed statues, and taught courses in clay sculpture, character modeling, Photoshop and ZBrush for VanArts, the Art Institute and VCAD.
Most recently, JC has moved to Toronto to work for Ganz Studios, where he served as Senior Tech Artist specializing in the Unity 3D engine, writing shaders and solving technical problems. Currently he is the Art Lead for their mobile games group, just recently completing production on the Facebook game Amazing World Friends.
JC shares with us, “Attending VanArts was a crucial step in my career. It gave me a great foundation of skills, but more importantly I gained the contacts needed to advance. Many of the job opportunities I later received were a direct result of the friendships I made with my teachers and fellow students.
If I could give any advice to new students, it would be to lend equal or more weight to honing your fine art skills while you learn new computer skills. It’s essential to lasting success.”
Thanks for the update JC! We’re proud to celebrate your achievements!