Erica Wetch
Game Art, Design
and Illustration
About the Artist
Erica Wetch was born in the Bay Area and grew up in northern California for most of her life. She has been playing games since the age of four and drawing even earlier. Her love of storytelling blossomed as she read books on epic fantasy worlds and through video games experienced them. She chose drawing as her means of bringing her ideas to life.
As an adult, she hopes to transform her passion for storytelling and character design into a career in video games or animation. She moved to southern California in 2012 to attend CSU Channel Islands, majoring in art and minoring in Computer Game Design. There she learned how to animate in 2D and 3D as well as refined her digital illustration skills.
She currently lives in Camarillo, CA with her boyfriend and two close childhood friends. When not drawing, writing, or playing games, she enjoys pretending to be a high class chef and cooking gourmet meals.
Artist's Statement
As much as I love video games, artwork, and books, the most impactful part of my childhood was when my mother came up with the idea to have me tell the bedtime story. I immediately fell in love with the power I experienced creating characters and worlds for them to live in. Drawing came out as an extension of my love for stories since it was only natural as a kid that I would want to physically see the ideas I came up with.
While I loved drawing, video games quickly became a pastime I couldn't live without. The narrative component of games stood out to me. I saw the potential games had to be the next big form of artistic expression. I quickly realized I wanted to be a part of the game making process. My biggest influences are the games that break barriers and showcase unique ideas or concepts in a way previously thought to not be possible in games.
When I design characters, I always end up trying to defy what I have previously seen done. My interest in social causes definitely ends up affecting my creative decisions in this way. I believe the world needs more characters of different races, sexualities, and gender identities. More importantly, it needs characters that are all these things, but at the same time defined by none of them.
Too often we see the same kinds of characters created in order to be safe in a competitive industry. I want to combat that trend by adding my own perspective as well as being an ear for the experiences of other underrepresented people. I can then use what I have learned to create characters more reflective of reality.
My ultimate goal is to do a little good in the game industry. I want to be a force for change in an industry that desperately needs progress to reach the artistic heights I know the medium is capable of.