Charlotte Cohen

**Charlotte Cohen** is an American polymath. She is noted for her accomplishments in sketching, printmaking, sculpting, computational art, video game development, and design theory. Cohen is the owner and founder of Christmas Day Studios and the creator and developer of *Apocryphon*, a renowned open-word action-adventure role-playing game video game.

## Early Life

Charlotte Cohen was born and raised in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to a wealthy family. Her father is of Israeli descent, and her mother is of English descent. Her maternal ancestors trace back to the prominent Jones whaling family in the mid-19th century. She has an older brother, who is currently a lawyer in Chicago.

Cohen attended New Bedford High School, graduating summa cum laude from the Academy of Honors. As a teenager, she spent most of her time sketching, drawing in total detail the schematics of various objects and people, utilizing her knowledge of geometry, anatomy, and design. She also played a great deal of video games, citing *Metroid Prime*, *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion*, *Shadow of the Colossus*, and the original *Dark Souls* as her favorites, which also subsequently influenced her own game development.

## Education

Cohen attended Yale University, majoring in Computing and the Arts. According to her college roommate and long-time friend Julia Woods, her side of the room was almost always messy, and she was always drawing, sculpting, or gaming.

## Career

After graduating, Cohen opened her own art studio, Christmas Day Studios, with a grant from her parents. Cohen soon gained renown in the art world with her high-quality silverpoint sketches, as well as her sculptures reminiscent of Venetian and ancient Mesopotamian works. At her studio, Cohen has also worked with a wide variety of printmaking, such as etching, aquatint, engraving, monotype, and woodcut.

She then branched out into video game development, creating the renowned title *Apocryphon*.

## Views

### Art

Cohen has explained her preference for sketching:

> I have always felt that the sketch is the most intimate, minimalistic, and essential medium for visual art. Using only a single tool, a single idea can be laid out clearly in a detail that only a pencil or stylus can achieve. I also find silverpoint simply a fun medium that also allows me to demonstrate my skills that I work hard to master.
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Furthermore, she has discussed theory versus practice:

> Many artists ignore the principles and theories behind art, reasoning that internalizing an "arbitrary" structure would stifle creativity. Really, if someone is imaginative enough, they can visualize their art clearly before even moving a finger. Then, they would utilize the principles of design that already exist universally, regardless of whether they were learned or not. True creativity comes from synthesis, the merging of ideas to make something emergent. Knowing the art world and its paradigms is part of this process, even if the artist wished to usurp them and go their own way.
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### Video Games

Cohen has touched on her game design philosophy:

> For me, a video game needs three things for it to be great: freedom and challenge, which combine to create creativity. Nothing is more satisfying than beating a tough boss, especially by using the mechanics of the game in a novel way, giving a sense of accomplishment and confidence. All my games are built on this core idea. Next, I think a game needs to be well-made. Although this seems obvious, there is no excuse for a game to simply not work. Finally, and this is an extra personal bias, I want my games to be beautiful, a work of art even. Not only in graphics, but in story-telling. Minimalism and simple, compelling, and true themes are what drive a great story in my eyes.
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## Personal Life

Cohen lives in New Bedford, where her studio is based, with her Golden Retriever named Brunelleschi, after the famous Florentine architect.

She has stated that her favorite game is *Dark Souls III*.