Melissa Cummings

Inspired by the show 'Pimp My Ride' and my love for vehicles, I started my career pathway desiring to work as a custom car designer. At the beginning of my studies in Transport Design back in 2009, I discovered the work of concept artists Daniel Simon, Scott Robertson and Syd Mead which opened my eyes to the world of concept art. From this point, I focused on obtaining skills that would allow me to pursue a career as a vehicle concept artist following completion of my degree.

After graduating, I gained my first job in the games industry as a QA tester for TT Games, working on Lego Dimensions. I continued to work for TT Games, eventually completing a secondment period as a VFX Assistant on Lego Marvel Avengers before working on Lego Star Wars in QA.

Jumping into the deep end, my next move was to start up as a freelance concept artist, gaining my first few clients from Australia and Canada. Work followed in the forms of indie games, board games and vehicle based commissions. Later I had the pleasure of designing vehicles, props and weapons on titles such as Marvel’s Secret Invasion, Apex Legends, PUBG and Battlefield Mobile.

Driven by a desire to support aspiring artists from underrepresented groups, I have partnered with organisations such as Limit Break, Game Academy and ScreenSkills to encourage, educate and empower others. Prior to joining the University of Staffordshire, I had mentored over 20 talented individuals, spoke across 20 locations nationwide, given talks at 3 game festivals, guest lectured at 3 universities, and shared with audiences totally over 2000 students across 11 schools and colleges. I continue this work now, both through my role as a lecturer and as an aspiring researcher looking into Black Representation in games.