Drawn to Success
Y11 Digital Technology student, Georgia Ritchie, wins top award, taking 1st place in a senior national Character Design Competition run by GetIntoGames.nz
The Character Design challenge required her to draw what her character looks like and to write a short story about the character. Georgia entered the senior competition for Year 11-13 and so was up against older students from bigger schools from all over the country.
At first she was unsure whether to enter the competition or not, but she went for it because of the encouragement of her DTEC teacher, Matt Harrison, “Initially I asked our Year 7-8 junior DTEC students to enter the competition as part of their Photoshop Pixel Art project, but when I saw her sketching and doodling mahi I knew she had to give it a go too!”
This was an interesting competition for students because writing and illustrating are both core to game development, being able to describe new characters, their powers, to create new worlds and draw/illustrate them are basic building blocks which can be strengthened over time.
Get into Games is a Aotearoa wide initiative which connects and inspires ākonga (learners) from every background to discover pathways into creative and digital tech in one of Aotearoa’s fastest growing creative industries – video games. Interactive video game development is Aotearoa’s fastest growing creative industry and tech sector export sector. At the recent Empowernz.org Te Rangapikikōtuku 2022
Tech Festival in Blenheim, Westland and Greymouth High School students met the people behind GetIntoGames.nz and listened to presenters from Digital Natives Academy and master VFX professionals from WetaFX
During the global pandemic Aotearoa Game Development studios experienced a job growth of 30% job, with a further 331 new jobs to be created in 2022. These are all the types of well-paid technology jobs you can do working from home in Hokitika.
Scan the QR code or click here to see her winning entry which really showcases her amazing artistic talents and technique.
Modest Georgia was amazed to hear she has won the seniors’ 1st prize, which was to the value of $800. She has chosen an Apple iPad, Apple pen and Procreate software. We are really proud of her!
If any of you out there are inspired to give it a go, Georgia, who is a keen skier, may be open to offers if you want to get your hands on these essential tools for a successful career in illustration. If you are drawn to succeed, then choose Digital Technology for your 2023 subject selections.