When I do art or animation on my own, I go into a Zone, fully immersed in the mental act of manifesting ideas, and allowing it to flow out as creative assets on paper, or on the computer. The process is quite exhilarating, but very unexplainable.

Or so I thought.

When I started to teach a class several years ago, it gave me a chance to demystify the magic of animation, and game development, and explain the process to the newcomer. Interestingly, I found that the act of teaching a craft, accelerates my own depth in the craft.

At the annual GAMEFEST where students animation and gaming works are showcased, there is a range of product displayed by young minds - the creators of the near future.

So though I started off my career as an animator, today I cover a wide swath of creative terrain around it including 3D modeling, character rigging, and game development.

With each iteration of a class, I get an additional chance to consolidate my understanding in that area. Surrounding myself with eager students, also served as a counterpoint to my lonely existence as an creative-tech entrepreneur.

Currently I serve as a faculty in the animation and gaming program at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt.SAC), California. Classes tend to span the spectrum of the animation and gaming pipeline: 3D modeling, materials, character rigging, and 3D character animation, and some real-time rendering methods. In gaming, I teach the basics of game production thinking, game level design principles, and building game prototypes working in teams collaboratively.

Recently, I led the efforts in setting up the Virtual Reality (VR) program at Mt.San Antonio College. It is arranged as a certificate program with a cluster of classes that range from 3D art assets development, animation, game engine familiarity, story telling and interaction design in VR, and hands on experience with current technologies in the field.