Featured Presentations
DAVID McDONOUGH
LEAD GAME DESIGNER
CREATIVITY IN DESIGNING GAMES
Presentation - 1pm-1:45pm - Ampitheater
I am a lead designer at Firaxis Games, makers of the world-renowned Civilization series. My design credits include Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, a full-scale civilization game about humanity's future in space (2014); Beyond Earth: Rising Tide, an expansion pack for Beyond Earth (2015); and Haunted Hollow, an original strategy game from Firaxis for iOS (2013). I have served as a systems designer at Big Huge Games, where I designed and supported large-scale systems for their flagship action RPG, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (2012), and I worked as a Producer at Firaxis Games on multiple projects both AAA and casual.
RYAN GREEN
GAME DEVELOPER
THAT DRAGON, CANCER
2016 IMPACT GAME OF THE YEAR
Presentation - 2:15pm-3pm Ampitheater
Ryan Green (@ryangreen8) is an indie game developer who made a videogame about his young son Joel’s battle with brain cancer. That Dragon, Cancer is an immersive narrative videogame that retells Joel Green’s 4-year fight against cancer through two hours of poetic, imaginative gameplay that explores faith, hope and love. A documentary about the game, Thank You for Playing, screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and aired on PBS. That Dragon, Cancer also won awards at 2016 Games for Change Festival & 2016 VGAs.
KAT BERKLEY
LEAD CONCEPT ARTIST
CREATIVITY IN THE ARTS INDUSTRY
PANEL - 3:30pm-4:15pm Ampitheater
Welcome Kat Berkley for her first time to this year's 2017 Creator Con festival! Kat ( kberkley.artstation.com ) is a Lead Concept Artist at Firaxis Games and an industry veteran. She's contributed to a variety of AAA projects including Sid Meier's Civilization VI, Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
Kat manages a team of skilled artists at Firaxis as they work together to tackle new visual challenges each day. She graduated with a BFA in Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2011. Kat originally hails from the swamplands of Florida but bravely ventured forth into the cold and frozen landscape of Baltimore which she now happily calls home.
POP MHAN
PENCILLER. INKER. COLORIST.
CREATIVITY IN THE ARTS INDUSTRY
PANEL - 3:30pm-4:15pm Ampitheater
Pop Mhan joined Wildstorm Productions in San Diego and studied sequential art under Jim Lee. Pop was the penciller on Spyboy, a comic book written by Peter David and published by Dark Horse Comics, The Dead Seas for Zuda, Blank (at Tokyopop), Batgirl (at DC Comics), He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Bionicle and World of Warcraft.
Pop has worked for WildStorm, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Top Cow, Dark Horse and Tokyopop as well as a few other comic publishers for the past ten years. He also has done Star Wars artist sketch cards for Topps and character design work for Hasbro.
Pop's worked on the Gears of War 3 comic book and is currently working on Injustice: Ground Zero (DC Comics)
PENELOPE R. GAYLORD
PENCILLER. INKER. COLORIST.
CREATIVITY IN THE ARTS INDUSTRY
PANEL - 3:30pm-4:15pm Ampitheater
PENG-PENG (Penelope R. Gaylord) works at Identity Comics Studios as a full-time artist, part-time zombie slayer, & mom of 2 adorable pups. Penelope has created amazing work for Acme Archives Direct, Boom Studios, IDW, and a handful of sketchcard companies as well.
Identity Comics Studios is a group of artists with a love for different art styles and genres who also happens to draw pretty darned well. The studio is based in Maryland and each artist has their own personal projects and freelance work. The studio has come together to create a story from their creative minds called the “Brotherhood of Fighters” with characters designed by each member.
PENG-PENG on ETSY: www.etsy.com/shop/pengpengart
JERRY GAYLORD
ARTIST. VISUAL DEVELOPMENT.
CREATIVITY IN THE ARTS INDUSTRY
PANEL - 3:30pm-4:15pm Ampitheater
TheFranchize (Jerry Gaylord) is a Harvey Award nominated artist for MOST PROMISING NEW TALENT for his work on "Fanboys Vs Zombies" (Boom Studios). He is currently working on the upcoming comic "Bill and Ted's Most Triumphant Return" (Boom Studios). Jerry is the artist on "Loki:Ragnarok and Roll" (Boom Studios) and has done cover art for KaBoom's "Adventure Time" & "Regular Show" books. He has done exclusive cover art for the "TMNT/Ghostbusters" comic (IDW). He has worked as a penciller for "New Crusaders:Legacy" (Archie/Red Circle Comics) and "Sonic the Hedgehog" (Archie Comics). He has done work for the "NFL Rush Zone" comic (Action Lab) as well as other indie press projects. TheFranchize is part of Identity Comics Studios.
POP CULTURE UNCOVERED
PANEL MODERATORS
CREATIVITY IN THE ARTS INDUSTRY
PANEL - 3:30pm-4:15pm Ampitheater
Pop Culture Uncovered!
A place for all things geeky including comics, movies, gaming, cosplay, TV and more.
JONAH LOBE
CHARACTER ARTIST
CREATIVITY IN CHARACTER ART
Presentation - 4:45pm-5:30pm - Ampitheater
Jonah Lobe is a 33 year-old artist specializing in digital painting and 3D art for games. He previously worked as a Character Artist at Bethesda Softworks, where he was responsible for many of the monsters, characters, and weaponry that populate titles like Fallout 3, Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Oblivion: The Shivering Isles.
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Jonah lives with his wife, Julia, in Brooklyn. He is immensely grateful to have found a way to translate his affinity for daydreaming and monster-making into a career.
2017 Creator Con
Featured Presentations
2017 CREATOR CON AWARDS
PRESENTING GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE AWARD WINNERS
TO CELEBRATE THE BEST
VIDEO GAME, ARTWORK, COSPLAY
OF THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL
Presentation - 6:30pm-7:00pm - Ampitheater