Laptop needed for casual gaming, digital art, and college.

As of right now, I'm using an HP Elitebook8470p, I don't know how old it is but I'm sure it's somewhat outdated. since I'll be off to college soon, it's time for an upgrade. I'm not tech-savvy so I need all the help I can get. I've researched laptops long enough to understand the general gist of things but not down to a science.
I know some people would buy a standard laptop for school, then build a desktop for gaming, but that's not something I'm interested in doing, and I don't think I'll have the money for.

1. What is your budget?
700-800 USD, and I'd like to stay in that range. As of right now I have $720 saved just from birthdays and Christmas over the past 5 years. Hopefully I can save more money by this summer before my first semester of college. Maybe I can save up 900 USD by then.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
I prefer 15.6" but not a monster 17.3"
13-14" works too.

3. What screen resolution do you want?
The best I can get for my budget.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
I need a laptop that's fairly portable, since I'd probably be walking around campus a lot. I don't know how often I would be in my dorm.

5. How much battery life do you need?
As much as possible for my budget, but I'm sure I'll need 5-8 hours.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
I will mainly do casual gaming. I've been dying to play Sims 4, and will probably play that on medium-high settings.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
I hope to get into digital art using an intuos tablet, though I'm not sure what program to be using with that (suggestions are welcome.) probaly be taking notes and writing essays, as well as some casual gaming. Of course, there are desktops computers available on campus I could use for school work too.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
As much as possible for my budget.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links
Most likely Amazon, but suggestions are welcome.

10.How long do you want to keep your laptop?
I'd like for it to last through the 4 years of college. If it lasts longer than that, fantastic.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
DVD-ROM I suppose. I'm not totally sure...

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.
I'm kind of lax about brands since I'm not very tech savvy. I've heard good things about ASUS (my mother has owned one and the only reason she had to purchase a second one is because her 2 year old pulled on the charging cord and it shattered on the floor.) and she also suggested HP. No Macs, they seem incredibly expensive, and I've actually used my sister's school issued one and it just confused me to no end.

13. What country do you live in?
USA

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.
A back-lit keyboard would be nice but isn't required.
graphics and storage is top priority. I need a laptop that will display colors accurately and have enough storage for artwork and games.
Battery and portability is 2nd priority.
I can be flexible about these specs since I don't have a large budget.

Thank you.