Meet Cam Drain | Environment Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cam Drain and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cam, why did you pursue a creative career?
Two paths in my life converged, leading me to pursue a career in Environment Art for games.

I grew up in an artistic household. My parents met at the Art Center College of Design; my mother is an incredible Graphic Designer and Creative Director, while my father was a Creative Director for Motion Graphics. They encouraged my sister and me to follow our passions, and from the age of 12, my passion was art. I was heavily into skateboarding and spent much of my time at a skatepark surrounded by graffiti, which intrigued me. My mother, being an artist herself, supported this interest. She bought me spray paint, several 4×8-foot pieces of wood, a respirator, and let me unleash my creativity in our backyard. With her backing, I pursued graffiti as an art form well into high school.

In high school, I joined the digital media department, where an incredible teacher supported and believed in me. I started exploring illustration, and the department specialized in Photoshop. I spent 3-4 hours a day in his class, creating fun and whimsical illustrations. During this time, my mom enrolled me in figure drawing and dynamic drawing classes, recognizing my seriousness about art. I eventually graduated from high school and went on to college. However, I felt lost and took some time off to reevaluate my path.

This is where the second path converged. In my senior year of high school, I won an Xbox in a contest and became hooked on a game called Ark: Survival Evolved. I don’t use the term “addicted” lightly, but I was playing 12+ hours a day, seven days a week, even skipping college classes to do so. While this might sound alarming, it ultimately led me to where I am today. Ark is a survival game that requires extensive exploration of its vast map. I fell in love with the environments and wanted to learn how they were created. One remarkable aspect of Ark is that they provide their dev kit for free. I installed it on my laptop, opened YouTube, and began reverse-engineering their maps. After diving into this process, I decided to shift my career path from Illustration to Game Art. My mom, ever supportive, encouraged my decision.

I discovered Gnomon School of Visual Effects, Animation, and Games through a Google search and toured the campus the following week. The rest is history. I attended Gnomon for two years, earned my Certificate in Digital Production, and two weeks after graduating, I landed a job at my current company, Certain Affinity.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an Environment Artist for Games. So the maps and levels you walk around in video games, is the kind of stuff I do. I am very proud of the career I have been building, which is going 2 and a half years and strong. It was not easy getting here at all. The school I went to is one of the top schools in the world for VFX, Animation, and Games. The courses are exceptionally hard, and it is expected to spend 80 hours a week minimum on school work and projects. We had a teacher who expected 20 hours a week on his class alone… We took 6 classes each term… It was hard, but in the end, my friends and I all walked out with incredible portfolios and ready for our careers.

A lesson I have learned is that it is ok to take a break from your art. After college, and getting a job within weeks of graduation. I burned out really quickly. I love my job, and find it very satisfying, but for the first 8-9 months after I started at work, I didn’t work on a personal project. I felt bad, considering I went from trying to push myself so hard to get better everyday for years, to not doing anything for more than half a year. It is ok to take a step back and rest. After I took a break, I came back with the same passion as before and have done some really rewarding work.

As for my what the rest of the world should know about me or my story, is that its just starting. I have a lot to give and a lot to do, and I know that if I keep my energy up, that good things will come soon!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First place anyone should stop is The Famous Craft Bar in Glendale. My step-sister is the bar director there and her whole menu is amazing. If you are of legal age, it is a great place to stop. As for food, I love a good hole in the wall place. There is a Thai restaurant down the street from me in Studio City called “The Dish” and it is really good. Small little place ran by the nicest couple. I have a handful of friends that work at Kiwami sushi bar on Ventura and Laurel, and it is quite good. There are plenty of good hikes around the Valley and Hollywood area. Being in LA, one of the best places to go are Santa Monica and hang by the beach and find nice little shop to get dinner. Another great thing about LA is that every musician stops by if they are on tour. I would look up whose playing in the city and go. There’s always a good indie or underground rap show going on for cheap.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are many people in my life who deserve more than just a little credit. First and foremost is my mother. She is a graphic designer and art director who has always supported my artistic pursuits. I look up to her both as a person and as an artist. She’s the first person I turn to for feedback when I’m working on a new project.

Next is my stepfather, who was my baseball coach for many years. He instilled a strong work ethic in me from a young age. While he may still believe I was just having fun being a silly kid, I believe that the hours we spent on the baseball field together, working on drills, have influenced my life in countless ways.

My family as a whole deserves recognition as well. Both of my sisters are shining examples of hard work. They excel in their respective fields, and as the youngest of the three, I truly admire them.

In addition to my family, I want to acknowledge three teachers who have significantly impacted my life. First, there’s Vince Campi, my high school digital media teacher, who was the most supportive educator I could have asked for. Next is Anton Napierala; any student in the games course at Gnomon knows this is a no-brainer. He genuinely cares for all his students. Finally, there’s Bobby Rice, who mentored me during my last year at Gnomon. He spent many late nights on calls with me, helping me elevate my work from “decent” to “exceptional.”

Lastly, I want to give a little shoutout to my girlfriend. We have been dating since I was a Junior in High School. She’s been with me through everything, the best and the worst, and has supported me through it all.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/camdrain

Instagram: @camdraindesigns

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cam-drain-a0a462169/