Portfolio – Chronicle of Accomplishments

I am a Staff Writer at Final Weapon, with over one year of tenure and more than 495 articles under my belt. My time with Final Weapon has cultivated my skills with WordPress, SEO, and Photoshop.

My Final Weapon Author Page

I write for Final Weapon, with a focus on Reviews and Guides. I occasionally write Features and news articles as well. Many of my pieces have trended, with some even receiving commendations from publishers.

Open Critic Page

• FF Pixel Remasters
• Star Ocean: The Second Story R
• Trinity Trigger
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Guides
• Dragon Quest – The Uncertain Future of the Soundtrack

Link to Review

I was tasked with reviewing the console versions of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters. These games are important to the RPG genre and myself. I discuss the quality of the ports while divulging my personal history with the series. My review was even featured in official Accolades marketing material from the software publisher! This particular article is quite possibly my quintessential review, taking and combining the elements of writing I value; flaws and all.

Link to Review

This was an extremely high-effort review. The game itself is an interesting cult classic RPG that ignited my passion deeply. Reviewing this game was a joy and the love I forged for it yielded a refined format heaping with concise detail. I consider this to be one of my best pieces.

Link to Review

Trinity Trigger was a game I was lucky to review. Its dedication to recreating a classic-style JRPG was outstanding. I enjoyed my time with it immensely. A few of my guides even trended for it! Thanks to XSEED for the excellent localization and FuRyu for another spectacular game.

Link to Guide Compendium

I didn’t do this Guide effort alone, but I did provide over 25 guides. I covered several boss battles, game mechanics, collectibles, and even made guides about the developers!

The thumbnail work for each guide was also another of my major contributions to this effort. As I created the PSDs. I used our official Final Weapon assets along with other media assets to create an easy-to-use and attractive file.

Link to Feature

I wrote this Feature when Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince launched on Nintendo Switch. I also reviewed the game. During my time with that amazing game, I had a nagging question that I just had no answer to; “What will the next mainline DQ game’s OST be like”? This question was spurred by the major lack of new compositions that not only plagues DQM: TDP but also the most recent entries in the series. I toy around with some ideas and even offer some suggestions in this Feature.

Final Weapon relies on its strong branding and no-nonsense approach to Japanese media content. I have chosen to push that strong visual identity further by creating many of my thumbnails and images for my content. This helps not only the network stand out, but also myself amongst my peers. that special additional touch communicates my investment in my work.

The following gallery is a comprehensive timeline and showcase of my growth editing images for Final Weapon thumbnails. I used Photoshop and Clip Studio Paint to create these.

My early attempts at creating thumbnails had heart… Not much else!

Luckily the next batch of my thumbnails were more technically sound.

I started getting much better around here.

I’d say this era marks the start of my current style. I even made the Final Weapon Logo edit and border.

This is one of my few non-game reviews.

I started experimenting with text and game logos much more here., aiming for cohesion between them.

This is one of my best thumbnails. It incorporates a strong use of game art and font.

I continued the style trend I started with my TotK coverage. FW started providing with new assets, ending my era of using my logo edit and border.

These guides exhibit a more claustrophobic feeling, but the art is very eye-catching. These guides scream “we are for FFXVI!”

My simple go to flair started here. Editing down artwork in to an overlay is worth it, but the simple visual pleasure of character art is charming.

I took my work on Silent Hope to the next level here.

Editing colors and using effects smartly can really make an image pop.

My Another Code guides features crisp art while allowing the background to breathe. That really adds to the foreboding tone featured within the game.

I feel that proper font choice can really make the entire thumbnail. Personality and practicality.

My best work to date. The full PSD features over a dozen pieces of diverse character art, clipping masks, subtle effects, and ease-of-use.

My early attempts at creating thumbnails had heart… Not much else!

Luckily the next batch of my thumbnails were more technically sound.

I started getting much better around here.

I’d say this era marks the start of my current style. I even made the Final Weapon Logo edit and border.

This is one of my few non-game reviews.

I started experimenting with text and game logos much more here., aiming for cohesion between them.

This is one of my best thumbnails. It incorporates a strong use of game art and font.

I continued the style trend I started with my TotK coverage. FW started providing with new assets, ending my era of using my logo edit and border.

These guides exhibit a more claustrophobic feeling, but the art is very eye-catching. These guides scream “we are for FFXVI!”

My simple go to flair started here. Editing down artwork in to an overlay is worth it, but the simple visual pleasure of character art is charming.

I took my work on Silent Hope to the next level here.

Editing colors and using effects smartly can really make an image pop.

My Another Code guides features crisp art while allowing the background to breathe. That really adds to the foreboding tone featured within the game.

I feel that proper font choice can really make the entire thumbnail. Personality and practicality.

My best work to date. The full PSD features over a dozen pieces of diverse character art, clipping masks, subtle effects, and ease-of-use.

1/1

Airspeed3D

My time at Airspeed 3D was brief due to them dropping out of their VR Training Program venture, but I learned a lot about 3D Modeling.

This was my first foray into 3D Modeling outside of a school setting. I modeled everything in Blender and used free textures from Poliigon.

I was working on creating a model for a single phase induction motor (with two less-than-stellar reference images provided) before Airspeed shifted gears and abandoned the project.

Arkansas Tech University

Associate’s Degree, General Studies: August 2018 – December 2021

I attended Arkansas Tech University for 3 years. I completed my General Studies Associate’s Degree and took several art classes, game design courses, and creative writing.

Final Project: March 2021 – April 2021

This was my final for my Game Dev I course at ATU (2021). It is a dating sim prototype inspired by Tokimeki Memorial. It was created in UE4 with blueprints and features pixel art created by me.

I used Adobe Audition to edit tracks, create music using samples/loops, and learn how to clean up and preserve music.

The following was my final, where I used provided samples/loops to create a music piece.

Next up is a digitization of a vinyl record. First is the original, followed by the cleaned-up version with metadata added.

This gallery will expand over time, but currently, I have a 3D and Pixel Art study piece.

For some additional personal projects of mine check out my Art X (formerly Twitter).