Gordon McAlpin

4907 N. Talman Ave. Apt. 2, Chicago, Illinois 60625
email me@gordonmcalpin.com

Education

Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design (Interactive Design track)
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (St. Paul, MN) • September, 2012 – May, 2016
Moving Image Media Studies minor

Bachelor of Science in Studio Art (Graphic Design)
Bradley University (Peoria, IL) • August, 2000 – May, 2001

Bachelor of Science in Studio Art (Drawing) +
Bachelor of Arts in English (Writing, Creative Writing minor)
Bradley University (Peoria, IL) • June, 1992 – December, 1996

Recent Work Experience

For my full employment history, visit my LinkedIn page.

Freelance Design
Self-employed • January, 2003 – present

  • Freelance graphic design (UI and information design, social media and marketing graphics), publication design and production (print and digital), illustration, cartooning, 2D animation, and retouching for a variety of clients and publications. Clients include Beadle & Grimm’s, MCDM Productions, Fablevision Studios, Hunters Entertainment, Demoflick, Land O’Lakes, the YMCA, Upshot, and Commonground Marketing.
  • Freelance writing, TTRPG game design, and editing for clients such as Beadle & Grimm’s, Gamehole Publishing, Twin Drums (The Wagadu Chronicles), and Evil Hat Productions (Apocalypse Keys).
  • Experienced with 2D animation, cartooning/comics, illustration, book cover & interior design/layout (print and ebooks), print & digital production, video editing, motion graphics, packaging, POP displays, point-of-sale collateral, out-of-home, posters, logo & title treatment design, branding and style guides, presentations, and more.

(Adjunct) Lecturer
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities • Fall 2016

  • Graded assignments, lectured (via videos and online posts), and developed additional course materials introducing Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign to prospective College of Design majors for the online DES2101 Design and Visual Presentation course.

Graduate Instructor/Research Assistant
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities • Spring 2012 – Spring 2016

  • Shot and edited video interviews on the Design Graduate program as a graduate assistant for the department chair (Spring 2016).
  • Graded assignments, lectured, and developed course materials introducing the Adobe Creative Suite to prospective College of Design majors as graduate instructor for the online DES2101 Design and Visual Presentation with Jessica Harjo and Dr. Sauman Chu (Fall 2015).
  • Graded assignments, lectured, and lead discussions and critiques as graduate instructor for DES1311 Foundations I: Drawing & Design (Spring 2013 – Spring 2015).
  • Wrote, produced and edited video content for a massive open online course (MOOC) as a research assistant for Dr. Hokanson (Summer 2013 – Summer 2014), currently offered on Coursera.
  • Wrote, reviewed literature, and collected & analyzed data for a research paper on the semiotics of design elements in video games as a research assistant for Dr. Sauman Chu (Summer 2014 – Summer 2015).

Graduate Teaching Assistant
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities • Fall 2012

  • Graded assignments, lead discussions of course readings, and otherwise assisted Dr. Brad Hokanson as a teaching assistant for two sections of DES1111 Creative Problem Solving (Fall 2012).

Production Artist (full-time freelance)
National Geographic School Publishing • October, 2007 – February, 2010

  • Development of book design templates for the National Geographic Science program to ensure efficient production by a team of page layout artists. This included the creation and documentation of all required paragraph styles, object styles, and master pages to ensure a consistent look and feel across dozens of templates and hundreds of titles.
  • Print production and illustration work for a range of packaging, textbooks, and supplemental materials.
  • Cover and packaging concept work and development for NGSP’s award-winning National Geographic Science grade 4–5 program.

Digital Artist (October, 2006 – September, 2007)
Graphic Artist (August, 2005 – October, 2006)
Upshot • August, 2005 – September, 2007

  • Digital production/pre-press work on in-store signage, posters, out-of-home, and a wide variety of print products, for Miller Brewing Company, Disney Vacation Club, Procter & Gamble, Finish Line, and other accounts.
  • Create illustrations and retouch, color correct and/or composite photographs to art director or client instructions and printing requirements.
  • Prepare file mechanicals for release to print vendors using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, or other applications as needed.

Selected Work

The High Magic Sourcebook (D&D 5e supplement). Writer, illustrator, and graphic designer. DMs Guild, January 2022.

Feats Don’t Fail Me Now (D&D 5e supplement). Lead designer, illustrator, and graphic designer. DMs Guild, August 2020.

Death by Goblins! (D&D 5e adventure). Writer, illustrator, and graphic designer. DMs Guild, May 2020.

Multiplex 10: The Web Series (animated web series). Co-writer, executive producer, director, animator, editor, sound design, sound editing, and voice actor. Chase Sequence, January 2018–July 2020.

Multiplex 10: The Animated Short (short film). Co-writer, executive producer, director, animator, editor, and voice actor. Chase Sequence, January 2018.

Multiplex: The Revenge (comic strip collection). Writer, illustrator, and book designer. Chase Sequence: June 2017.

Multiplex: There and Back Again (comic strip collection). Writer, illustrator, and book designer. Chase Sequence: March 2014.

Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show (comic strip collection). Writer, illustrator, and book designer. Chase Sequence: September 2010.

Multiplex (webcomic). Writer and illustrator. Chase Sequence, July 2005–April 2017.

Stripped Books (webcomic). Writer and illustrator. Chase Sequence, October 2004–April 2006.

Selected Awards and Nominations

FirstGlance Film Festivals – Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA), October 12–14, 2018. Official Selection (for Multiplex 10: The Web Series). Nominated in six categories, including Best Director – Web Series (Gordon McAlpin) and Best Comedy!

Minnesota WebFest (Minneapolis, MN), September 28–29, 2018. Winner: Best Animation/Puppetry (for Multiplex 10: The Web Series).

International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) Awards (Los Angeles, CA), August 24, 2018. Finalist, Best Animated Series (for Multiplex 10: The Web Series).

Monmouth Film Festival (Red Bank, NJ), August 10–12, 2018. Winner: Best Web Series (for Multiplex 10: The Web Series).

2017 Student Design & Scholarship Excellence award recipient
2015 Student Design & Scholarship Excellence award recipient
2014 Student Design & Scholarship Excellence award recipient
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities College of Design.

2014 Gold medal for Graphic Novel/Drawn Book–Humor/Cartoon
Independent Publisher Book Awards (for Multiplex: There and Back Again).

Skills

  • Expert design and production skills with Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  • Strong knowledge of Final Cut Pro X, Flash/Animate, Microsoft Office, HTML, and CSS.
  • Working knowledge of After Effects.
  • Working knowledge of Javascript, PHP, WordPress, and other content management systems.
  • Extensive knowledge of printing methods, digital prepress, typographic conventions, dielines & templates, color management, and other areas in print and digital production.