Portfolio

Rees Edwards is an artist from the Pittsburgh area with a broad range of skills; including but not limited to, video editing, animation, music production, game design, and an understanding of traditional arts. Rees has sold many of his works of art at various festivals in recent years, as well as several commissions for large acrylic pieces on canvas. He has always had a love for animating, and even as a child he would make stop motion animations with Lego. Rees' passion for stop motion has led him to create a variety of different types of animation, including key framed animation, and animating over live action video. His personal passion project, titled Soleil of Earth, blends all of these animation and filmmaking techniques together.

Soleil of Earth Intro Animation/Live Action

Planetarium View Animation

Invasion

My modular board game, Invasion, was originally inspired by an experience in class with virtual games that introduced me to the concept of socially aware game design. One of the games that sparked my interests was Factorio, a game centered on resource extraction and automation. While its gameplay mechanics are impressive and engaging, I found myself disagreeing with the underlying narrative: the player's advancement depends on the destruction of the planet's native ecosystem, which is portrayed as an endless horde of alien bugs. This depiction not only dehumanizes indigenous resistance but also reinforces a colonial exclusive mindset that doesn't give the Natives any true chance to win. So, I took it upon myself to introduce a similar concept, only this time with two opposing sides; each with advantages and disadvantages attributed to their culture.