Welcome to My Mess
About Me
I hate this part, so I'll just copy and paste the "About Me" excerpt used for my books.
"Codey Cross is a creative mess. For as long as he can remember, he has been drawn to imaginative outlets. He started out with illustrating & writing both short stories & chapter books while young. By his teens, he picked up the guitar which quickly lead to becoming a multi-instrumentalist, composer, & songwriter. Post high school, he decided to explore game design, video editing, & animation, soon earning him a Bachelors in Game Art and Design.
After graduating, he kept the momentum going by co-finding Stray Cat Studios. Beginning from an empty apartment where he slept on the floor by his computer, to a mobile studio in a van where he lived briefly, all the way to where SCS is at today.
None of this came easy, but while his life since a child has been full of losses from the likes of mental illness, cancer, & addiction, he always makes it clear how much love & passion life has. He began Same Vein to share his mind with others hoping to hear back & create a community to grow with."
Stray Cat Studios & Same Vein
I don't love making myself the focus of any of my work. Ironic, I know, making an entire website about myself. Ultimately, though, my goal is for my work to make an impact. I do not need, nor necessarily want, my name to be widely known. This is partially my goal in separating my work between projects like Stray Cat Studios and Same Vein. Let those names be used instead of my own.
Being said, both projects are technically on hiatus since 2025. Between corrupted harddrives and tarrifs affecting merch sales, I needed to move on for a bit. The biggest nail in the coffin was the hosting site for all of the project websites lost my account, and so all of the related websites were wiped. I simply do not have the time to bring it all back right now.
So, for the time being, all of my work will simply be under my name. All game design is on hold. Merch involving my illustrations are on hold. Blogs are on hold. But creating is not taking a break! I will continue to produce work in all mediums just as I always have, and I will collaborate with other creators whenever possible as I still believe in the community. I recommend following me on facebook for any future updates, or make sure to visit this page often as I intend to keep it up to date.
Below were the little "About" excerpts for Stray Cat Studios and Same Vein. Thank you for the immense of support these projects have had over the years and I look forward to bringing them back some day.
"Stray Cat Studios is a community of creators working for creators. Too many artists, musicians, writers, game designers, and creators alike struggle to make ends meet despite the hard work and passion put into their incredible work. Our goal is to bridge the gap between company and community, bringing together the support and funds creators need to keep doing what they love while lifting each other up at the same time. The arts are not about competition, it is about cooperation. We're all in this together!"
"Same Vein is a blog & community using creative outlets & communication to handle & understand mental wellness. Whether it be poetry, art, music, game design, or any other medium, join in on the conversations! Check out our guided journals & mandala coloring and activity books as well for self-improvement exercises."