Anthea Zammit

Review

Please introduce yourself! What inspires you? What brought you to digital art?

My name is Anthea, I am a freelance concept artist/coffee lover from Malta. I love to draw, I have been drawing for as long as I can remember.
Designing characters with their unique element and learning vast ways to communicate ideas is my jam. When I am not working, I like to take my mind off by playing video games, read books, write, watch movies and most importantly eat cake.

There are a lot of things that inspire me, but if I had to choose it would be video games, RPGs especially. Exploring their stories, characters and gameplay design truly inspires me to create.

League of Legends led me to digital art. After discovering an artist on YouTube who worked in Riot games I learned from his tutorials and motivational talks. I used to think that video games were magically just there and not created by anyone, but discovering this was not the case changed everything for me.

Odyssey Wukong

A cosmetic concept skin for Wukong from League of Legends

What problems did you experience when you were at the beginning of learning digital art?

At the beginning of my journey, it was most difficult for me to understand where to start. There were so many subjects and art fundamentals to tackle, It was overwhelming. At that time there were no art schools back home in Malta that specialized in entertainment design, so online learning was the way to go. Plus I didn’t know what I wanted to achieve with my work. My confidence was slowly dwindling as I saw amazing work online.

variation 1 of “Fei the keeper of secrets”

A character concept for a League of Legends Champion with a cosmetic skin to match called Blood Moon Fei.

How did your skills improve during the mentorship and what were the tasks like?

Technical skills such as rendering and line art have improved but what I think I leveled up mostly in is the understanding of character design. Designing was an unknown element for me but from the tasks in the concept art mentorship, I feel I’ve grasped a better understanding of it.

The tasks were challenging but fun. It was tough getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new but it helped me build confidence and the ability to challenge myself even more. Dissecting issues and problems with paint overs and exploring different ways how to push design through shape language. I learned that there are so many things to consider in designing characters and refreshed my understanding of other topics too.

Wukong odyseey concept design variation 5

Another wukong variation of wukong in the style of League of Legends

How did you feel about your mentor and mentorship?

At first, I was shy, but the more I worked with my mentor, the more I felt like I was working with a friend and collaborating with them on these projects. Geeking about all kinds of art and games was a bonus.

The CGVerse online art mentorship was a great experience for me. I was able to overcome challenges and achieved a level of confidence in my work that I never had before. Every week had a deadline that needed to be met and that helped by giving me structure. I was also able to learn from my classmates and made new friends too.

Wukong odyseey concept design variation 3

Wukong character concept in the style of League of Legends

What would you say when you recommend us to an artist?

I would say take the mentorship, it’s completely tailored for each artist and helps them tackle their weaknesses to push themselves. You will meet people with common interests and goals. You will learn new ways to achieve your vision and push it further. You will build up your skills and portfolio. You will level up.

Wukong odyseey character design final

Final version of a Wukong Odyseey character in the style of League of Legends

What motivations do you have for the future?

I want to take what I learned in this mentorship and increase the value of my new portfolio pieces. I am aiming to try and join Riot Games so I will tailor my portfolio more towards their style.

Initial Wukong odyseey character sheet

goal was to get closer to the style of league of legends