Gabriel Maung's Autobiography

Hello everyone. My name is Christopher Gabriel Maung, but I go by Gabriel now. Growing up this is what my mother always called me and I feel more like a Gabriel than a Chris, if that makes any sense. I'm half Mexican and half Burmese which gives me a unique perspective on the world.

I was born in Natick, Massachusetts but lived in Mexico City for the first 5 years of my life before returning to Natick where I spent my childhood and adolescence. My father taught finance at Boston College and I spent quite a bit of time on that campus as a youngster. I can still remember playing Loderunner and Backgammon while waiting for my father to finish teaching for the night.

I have always been interested in art. My grandfather was an exceptional artist and my half-brother, Michael Maung, is an amazing fantasy artist. Having these kind of role models, I began drawing and studying art at an early age. I am mostly self taught, with some help from my brother, and of course, Bob Ross. I don't really have a favorite medium, but I love oil painting and pastels for their flexibility. I discovered Photoshop when I first went off to college and have embraced the digital medium. I then discovered Bryce and a whole world of 3D opened up to me. Being a nature guy I would play around in there for hours on end creating vast landscapes. I love photography and usually I take macro pictures of fungi when I'm out hiking in the woods or where ever I can find them.

I went to school for Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University for 2 years until I decided to follow my dreams and pursue a more artistic endeavor. My passion is gaming and entertainment and I wanted to find a way to make it my career. I took some film classes at Pittsburgh Filmmaker and then transferred to Emerson College, to be closer to my family. There were many bumps along the road, but I stuck with it and attended many different schools over the years. When life finally settled down for a little while, I found the perfect fit to my lifestyle/schedule at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh - Online. I graduated in June 2013 with a Bachelor's of Science in Game Art & Design.

Some of my favorite games are Starcraft, Rock Band, and Assassin's Creed. Some old school games that I like are Crawl, Zelda, R-Type, Galaga, and of course Super Mario Brothers. I also can't resist a pinball machine no matter what. There's just something about the physical interaction and moving pieces that you can't get from a controller.

-Gabriel