He holds a bachelor of science degree in computer science from California State University, Northridge, and has studied numerous courses with leaders in the field such as Scott Spencer, Kevin Hudson, Jeremy Engleman, and Joey Jones at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and Art Center College of Design.

Ara has been passionate about building models from his childhood years. His exposure to VU-3D on the Sinclair Spectrum fueled his passion for computer graphics, which continues to the current day. Ara loves modeling and digital sculpting because he can bring characters and images that fuel his imagination onto a digital canvas and visualize them in three dimensions.

He has written reviews and master classes for publications such as 3D Artist magazine, and has had his work showcased in galleries of several Sybex books.