Experience

• Production Artist at Tanzle Inc

  Santa Cruz, United States of America

  September 2013 - November 2022

  My responsibilities include conceptual design, 3D asset generation, rigging and scene construction using Unity 3D. I create a variety of assets from animated characters, scene props, and U.I. elements.

• Senior Visual Designer at zSpace, Inc.

  Sunnyvale, United States of America

  August 2011 - August 2013

  zSpace is a hardware company producting 3D interactive displays. I was part of the software team tasked with creating the user interface and demo applications for this new platform. I also was used in various other capacities for a myriad of other departments that required some form of visual work.

  Duties included:
  
  •Model, uv map, and texture any assets that are needed for our system or related applications.
  
  •Within Unity3D, import models, build environments, build custom materials, setup lighting, and set low level scripting using visual scripting.
  
  •Grahic design for marketing, branding, hardware packaging and hardware labeling.
  
  •Mentor junior visual designers.
  
  •Create visual concepts and mock-ups of early idea creation.
  
  •Act as a central point for information related to 3D modeling and real-time rendering limitation for a virtual stereo 3D environment.
  
  •Work with sales and PR offsite, at conventions or client companies, fielding questions and demonstrating zSpace's capabilities.

• 2D Artist at Escapism Entertainment

  Los Angeles, United States of America

  June 2010 - January 2012

  I created character and environment 2D art assets for 'Seeds of Ralark' project. The project was released for the XBox Arcade as an Indie title.

  Duties included:
  
  •Create visual concepts for playable characters, NPCs, props, and environments.
  
  •Produce final art and prep for use in-game.
  
  •Create supporting visual material for branding, packaging, and web related content.

• Art Director, Game Designer at Blind Squirrel Games

  Newport Beach, United States of America

  September 2010 - June 2011

  I was brought in to lead a small team of visual artists and work with the engineering team to create a proof of concept pitch for a new IP. Also, during my time with Blind Squirrel, I contributed time to fleshing out the game design, and it's documentation, of another potential project.

  Duties included:
  
  •Critique work created by our animators, concept artists, modelers, and level designers.
  
  •Manage outsourcing partners overseas.
  
  •Develop asset pipeline.
  
  •Create documentation for visual bible and game design.
  
  •Handle interpersonal issues within my team.
  
  •Outline goals, present progress, and solve production issues with CEO and Creative Director.
  
  •Create concept art, final assets, and VFX for pitch project.

• Lead Artist at XLife Games

  San Diego, United States of America

  May 2008 - June 2009

  X Life Games was created as a satellite development branch of parent company Metrostar. Myself, a game designer, and engineer were tasked with creating a series of small mobile games for the State Department of U.S.A. The product was intended to act as a tool to bridge the cultural gap between the U.S. and the middle east. I was in charge of providing all visual content for the application. All subsequent material for our website and marketing was drawn from my work. All work was vetted by all members of the team to keep a unified vision of the project.

  Duties included:
  
  •Create concepts for branding material.
  
  •Concept and produce all work for the mobile game modules.
  
  •Work with design and engineering to troubleshoot performance bottlenecks.

• Instructor at Art Institute

  Santa Ana, United States of America

  October 2004 - April 2008

  I was an instructor for the Art Institute of California, at the Orange County location. I taught courses inside the Video Game Art major. I also taught a few classes outside for the major also. Though I was base in Orange County, I was loaned out to other AI school locations, Los Angeles and Riverside, for a few semesters.

  Duties included:
  
  •Successfully teach/convey key concepts and processes for creating eye catching and efficient/clean artwork.
  
  •Design syllabus outlining coursework for the classes.
  
  •Work with department head and industry professionals to map out a successful course progression for the major.
  
  •Work one on one with students to help further their understanding of course work.
  
  •Perform graduating portfolio critique to determine if the student is prepared to enter the marketplace.

  Classes taught:
  
  •Intro to 3D modeling (3D Studio Max)
  
  •Intermediate 3D modeling (Maya)
  
  •Game modeling and texturing (Maya and/or 3D Studio Max)
  
  •Materials and lighting I
  
  •Background design and layout
  
  •Conceptual design
  
  •Modeling for interior design
  
  •Intro to 3D animation
  
  •Into to filmography
  
  •Portfolio creation
  
  •Environment design (Maya and/or 3D Studio Max)
  
  •Character modeling (Maya)

• Environment Artist at The Collective (now Amazon Games)

  Irvine, United States of America

  December 2004 - August 2005

  The Collective (now Double Helix Games/Foundation 9) is a third party, AAA, game developer. I was a mid level environment artist. I worked on two titles, Mark Echo's Getting Up and The DaVinci Code, during my time. Both titles were developed for the Playstation 2 and then ported to other platforms.

  Duties included:
  
  •Model, uv map, and texture assets for in-game level use.
  
  •Work closely with level designers to determine what assets need to be produced.
  
  •Collaborate with UX designer on 'subway' menu system and produce final 3D work for project.

• Environment Artist at Electronic Arts (EA)

  Marina del Rey, United States of America

  February 2004 - October 2004

  I was brought on as a short term contracted artist to help ship 'The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth' real-time strategy computer game for the PC. The team was around 90 staff with 30 being artists. I worked primarily as an environment artist creating any number of 3D assets required for the project. I also was tapped to create concept art for assets not yet finalized.

  Duties included:
  
  •Produce final 3D artwork for in-game environements (Items include natural outdoor items, faction buildings, NPC buildings)
  
  •Pick up extra conceptual or mockup work to facilitate the art directors vision.
  
  •Assist the technical artist with .xml data.
  
  •Use Alienbrain and Perforce for subversion control.

• Environment Artist at Rapid Eye Entertainment

  San Diego, United States of America

  December 2001 - December 2003

  Rapid Eye Entertainment was a third party game developer for the PC. Sony Online Entertainment was the sole publisher for our projects. After 'Lords of Everquest' was shipped, Rapid Eye closed it's doors. I was originally brought on for a first person perspective MMO project. The project was abandoned and the team moved onto 'Lords of Everquest'. The title was an RTS spin off of Sony's Everquest Online franchise. I was tasked with concepting and creating most of the environment models we would need for the project. This included anything from small details, like rocks and trees, to keystone assets, like faction buildings. This was an extremely successful project, from a developers viewpoint. We shipped on-time with only a total team size of 14.

  Duties included:
  
  •Produce concept art for all faction buildings, NPC buildings, and level props.
  
  •Work with lead game designer and level designers to provide any visuals required to support planned game mechanics.
  
  •Communicate the vision for the environment assets to animators and technical artists.
  
  •Adapt the franchise look into the project.
  
  •Coordinate with character artists on visual connect between faction troops and buildings.

• Junior Environment Artist at Novalogic

  Calabassas, United States of America

  August 2000 - December 2001

  I worked on modeling, uv mapping, and texturing for anything that wasn't a character. Novalogic was my first paying position as a game artist. I learned quite a bit about asset creation and optimization here.

  Duties included:
  
  •Model, uv map, and texture final assets for in-game environments.
  
  •Hand create LODs for objects and set distances using in-house tools.
  
  •Digitally paint portraits of player characters for manual.
  
  •Work with level designers testing in-game structures for proper game mechanics.