OBJECTIVE
To obtain a secure position that allows me to fully utilize and grow my skills in artistic direction, in management, and in developing strong, productive art teams.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Art and Management Software:
3D Studio Max, Maya, Z-Brush, Photoshop, Unreal, Topogun, Crazy Bump, X-Normals, Dreamweaver, Jira, Hansoft, Perforce, Shotgun, Excel, Powerpoint, and Microsoft Word
Familiar with Substance Designer/Painter, Marvelous Designer, and various photogrammetry methods.
Traditional Art and Management Skills
14 years running art teams in various capacities. Strong team building and management skills. 12 years with Scrum/Agile management and how it relates to art production. Excellent foundation in traditional illustration, painting, drafting, layout & design, composition, printing, cartooning, and storyboards
EXPERIENCE
Aspyr Media Inc Austin, TX. 05/2019 – 07/2022
Art Director
Project: Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic Remake
Building and organizing the art team from the ground up
Coordinating Art needs with design, engineering, marketing, and upper management
Scheduling and managing the needs of the art team
Setting up internal and external tracking
Working with leads to establishing directory structures and naming conventions
Working with tech art to develop procedural pipelines and processes
Establishing previz and research to establish the proper foundation for the game
Writing the Art Bible and establishing the visual language to maintain game vision and the overall art direction
Spec determinations and final review of all assets to maintain existing art quality and style
Overseeing other studio art projects
QC Games Inc Austin, TX. 06/2017 – 03/2019
Senior Art Producer/Outsourcing Manager
Project: Breach
Established and managed the Outsourcing Pipeline for Breach and the studio.
Coordinated three external vendor studios and provided feedback and direction to maintain consistency in art style.
Worked with the Finance Director to maintain quality outsourcing within the established budget.
Worked with the Art Director to establish and clearly communicate the art style guide and the art pipelines
Worked with the Art Director to grow and develop the art team, streamline their process, and foster strong cross-disciplinary relationships for high-functioning teams across projects.
Creation and management of the art content schedule for the art team. Tracking tasks and identifying dependencies.
Coordination of feedback and approvals to ensure clear, consistent, and timely feedback for internal artists.
Regular communication of the art team’s needs and progress to the production staff and management team.
Coordination of art development meetings.
BioWare Austin Austin, TX. 04/2014 – 06/2017
Art Director
Project: Star Wars, The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan, Rise of the Emperor, Knights of the Fallen Empire, Knights of the Eternal Throne, The War for Iokath, Crisis on Umbara, A Traitor Among the Chiss
Promoted to Art Director (overseeing 32 artists)
Worked closely with the Creative Director to redefine the overall art direction and story for SWTOR expansions and content
Wrote and developed the art bible and style guide for the expansions and game as a whole.
Coordinated Art needs with Design, Programming, Marketing, and upper Management.
Maintained and drove the Cartel Market in support of the live product.
Worked closely with production to schedule the art team’s tasks and manage their needs
Drafted first-round contracts for external vendors
Hired artists and external vendors within budget and headcount constraints
Created parameters and gave final reviews of all assets to maintain existing art quality and style
Working with Programming to further the graphic quality of the live game.
Creation, review, and support of Marketing art, both internal and external
Art Director
Project: Unannounced Frostbite ProjectDeveloped several Vision Proposals and Art Direction for an unannounced game at Bioware.
Led a small team of 6 to develop an initial pitch and demo
BioWare Austin Austin, TX. 10/2006 - 04/2014
Lead Character Artist
Project: Star Wars, The Old Republic: The initial release, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, Galactic Strongholds, Shadow of Revan
Oversaw 8 in-house artists and 34 outsourced artists.
Worked with the Art Director and Lead Concept artist to develop the look and feel of the characters.
Scheduled the Character team and scoped the Character needs for the entire project
Worked with Design, Programming, and Tech Art to determine the best tools and pipeline for Characters and Creatures.
Modeling and texturing of characters and creatures.
Sony Online Entertainment Austin, TX. 11/2005-10/2006
Art Director
Project: Star Wars Galaxies: Live Team
Promoted to Art Director (overseeing 12 artists)
Coordinated art needs with Design and Programming
Scheduled and managed the art leads and artists
Spec creation and final review of all assets
Creation of a style guide
Tools investigation and evaluations
Outsourcing budget management
Gold Standard art asset creation.
Art Director
Project: Unannounced Unreal ProjectSet artistic style and direction for the Demo
Lead 6 artists in the development of the Demo
Sony Online Entertainment Austin, TX. 10/2004 - 11/2005
Character Lead Artist
Projects: Star Wars Galaxies: Rage of the Wookiees, The Trials of Obi-Wan, New Game Enhancements, and Live Team
Promoted to Character Lead Artist (overseeing 5 artists)
Managed and refined the character pipeline
Scheduled and organized character and creature assets needs
Technical and aesthetic review of assets
Modeling and texturing of creatures and NPCs and several environmental assets.
Sony Online Entertainment San Diego, Ca./Austin, TX. 2/2001 - 10/2004
Creature/Character/Environment Artist
Project: Star Wars Galaxies: Original Launch, Jump to Lightspeed expansion, and Live Team
Hired as an environment artist but eventually moved to the character team. Transitioned to Austin when the San Diego division of SWG was shut down.
Terrain creation and world-building
Prop modeling and texturing
Character and Creature modeling and texturing.
Basic Animation
Helped to develop the game's elaborate clothing system and other internal processes
Modeling and texturing of spaceships, planets, skyboxes, etc.
Pioneered the method of creating extremely large and detailed capital ships.
Kinesoft Development Austin, TX 5/2000 - 1/2001
2D/3D Artist/Game Designer
Project:MageLords (unreleased)
Project:MageLords (unreleased)
Hired as a concept artist. Promoted to Creative Designer and Lead Concept Artist (with 3 artists under me). Created the company and game websites.
Concept development and coordination with the Art Director to establish Concept direction.
3D modeling and texturing.
Designed primary UI
Developed, with lead Designer, story elements, back-story, and several gameplay issues
Developed websites for Kinesoft and their two games
Freelance Work Various 11/1987 - 5/2000
Graphic Artist
Self-employed as a freelance graphic artist
Produced work for various Comic Book, Card, Gaming, and Toy companies
Among these were; DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Inc., White WolfPublishing, Five RingsAEG Co., Hasbro Toy Group, and Mattel.
Hired and managed several assistant artists
EDUCATION
Kubert School for Cartoon and Graphic Illustration 1990 - 1993
REFERENCES
Upon request
LinkedIn Reviews: