About

Animation and 3D art has captivated me all of my life, from flip books and the earliest flying logos to immersive storytelling and virtual reality. I feel very fortunate to work on fascinating projects and create immersive worlds while practicing my crafts and further developing my artistic sense.

While much of my portfolio shows modeling, texturing, lighting, rigging, animation… all the usual skills we perform, often the real challenge is implementing our work so everything follows a matching design language and supports the story.

I’m also a huge fan of change. Unlike most art forms, ours changes incredibly quickly; we’re always learning new software, platforms, techniques, presentation hardware, and delivery pipelines. Still, it’s imperative that we share and listen to each other and remain adaptable and open to the unconventional. It’s dangerous to feel too comfortable with any of the tools we use, or even feel like an expert. I believe that if you feel like an expert with a tool or technique, you’re probably missing something important.

Key Skills:

Rapid creation of quality art assets: real-time and fully renderable models, PBR textures and shaders, characters, props, vehicles, in-game VFX, rigging, character animation, and modular UI elements
Tailoring models and assets to match visual styles and efficient platform requirements: lowering draw calls, refining polycounts, optimizing UVs and shaders, and baking texture and lighting data
Professional experience with a wide range of media and production technologies: AAA games, VR/AR/stereo-view, mobile games, educational software, film, broadcast video, and many game engines
Managing production pipelines: directing external vendors, organizing schedules, updating documentation, organizing complex asset libraries, and maintaining consistent look for all assets

Career Highlights:

Visual Concepts, Austin (Take-Two Interractive)

Senior Artist

Modeling, texturing, lighting/baking, rigging, design, white-boxing environments, in-game effects, motion graphics, asset management, and scene optimization for NBA2K franchise (X-Box, PlayStation, PC, Switch). Crafted and implemented game-ready assets and refined environments using Maya, Max, ZBrush, proprietary game engine, and studio tools. Lead development of several new levels and environments, working closely with designers while directing junior artists. Also prototyped additional project concepts and investigated reported issues that impacted gameplay.

Worked with team to develop immersive environments while maintaining high frame rate and visual fidelity
Further optimized character, environment, and lighting assets for various platforms
Documented procedures and helped train new team members on use of proprietary software, best practices, and studio requirements for efficient and integrated artwork

Lexia Learning (Rosetta Stone)

3D Artist | Animator

Modeling, texturing, character animation, character rigging, in-game effects, art pipeline setup, motion graphics, and scene optimization for new game engine.

Collaborated with small team to recreate Flash-based art assets as real-time 3D sequences, maintaining existing style while adding depth and fluidity
Introduced game industry best practices: optimized atlas textures and color swatches, combining geometry for lower draw calls, significantly reducing polycounts on existing assets and footprint of level architecture, and resulting in both increased framerates and faster download times
Defined approach for use of modular characters and level geometry as x-refs, established a home scene hierarchy, and customized assets and approach around evolving engineering direction as well as pedagogical and product design refinements

Imagine Learning

3D Artist | Animator

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, concepts, level design, UX design, rendering, in-game VFX, art pipeline maintenance. Other priorities included organizing asset library, prepping and managing assets and prefabs within Unity3D, streamlining existing models and textures to increase overall efficiency.

Maxis (Electronic Arts)

Outsource Coordination Artist (contract)

Direction of external teams, modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, in-game VFX. Managed production, delivery, and implementation of assets from external vendors on aggressive schedule while providing feedback and reference materials. Other priorities included final polish with proprietary tools, creating LOD variations and alternate states, and integrating assets into game.

Coco Studios

Senior Artist (contract)

Modeling, texturing, in-game VFX, animation, rigging, concepts, level design, UX design, art pipeline maintenance, documentation. Developed game-ready assets and animation in Unity3D for PBSKids online educational titles. Managed small team of artists and directed outsource talent while coordinating schedules.

Backbone Entertainment

3D Artist | Generalist | Lead

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, level design, rendering, lighting, in-game effects, art lead. Created textured props, vehicles, characters, and digital landscapes for multiple game projects, occasionally leading a small team and managing outsource talent. Other priorities included tracking production, scheduling, documenting delivery requirements and techniques, and training junior artists.

Toys For Bob (Activision)

Environment Artist | Technical Artist (contract)

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, digital landscaping, in-game VFX. Generated in-game assets and promotional materials for multiple AAA titles. Created natural and architectural terrain elements, characters, props, and blended assets naturally into game environments.

Lucas Learning (LucasArts, LucasFilm)

Senior Artist | Lead Artist

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, in-game VFX, concepts, level design, UX design, rendering, video editing, visual effects. Created detailed articulated models, textures, and pre-rendered sequences from sensitive concept art, assisted LucasArts, ILM, and GLEF with their workloads, managed small teams on multiple projects, and trained junior artists.

Digital Phenomena, Inc.

Senior Artist | Animator | TD | Lead (contract)

CG Mercenary: modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, 3D tracking, rendering, visual effects, video editing, compositing. Managed small team of artists to create animation and visual effects for film, television, games, and print media.

Cyberlab 7 (Paramount Pictures)

3D Animator | TD | Team Lead (contract)

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, 3D tracking, rendering, visual effects, compositing, practical visual effects, on-set support. Produced special visual effects and animation for Paramount Pictures feature film projects. Primary duties focused on realistic character animation, prop replacement, camera tracking, pre-visualization, planning approach for shots, and render-farm management.

Autodesk, Inc.

Animator | Artist

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, rendering, visual effects, compositing. Created animation for video use and showcasing new software features, provided high-resolution print images for international marketing and product representation, assisted software clients to problem-solve software issues in their studios, and providing practical-use feedback to internal product developers.

Dragonwyck Teleproductions

Artist | Animator | Editor

Modeling, texturing, animation, rigging, rendering, visual effects, practical make-up effects, compositing, video editing, camera operation, set production, lighting, stunts, voice acting. Primarily produced commercial broadcast animation for broadcast video and film, but as a small studio we all wore many hats. Miscellaneous awards received, including recognition at ’92 and ’93 Addy Awards for outstanding animated visual effects.

Education:

Memphis College of Art

1987 – 1990
Majored in metal sculpture, illustration, and digital animation.

Indianapolis Art League

1986 – 1997
Majored in traditional illustration techniques and graphic design.

Software Experience:

Maya, Max, ZBrush, Blender, Substance Painter, Photoshop, Unity 3D, Unreal, Godot, World Machine, Gaea, After Effects, Premier, Illustrator, InDesign, BouJou, SynthEyes, VRay, Mental Ray, KeyShot. Managing production with Perforce, Jira, Tortoise SVN, Shotgun, MS Office, and other tools. Comfortable in both Windows and OSX environments, working on-site and remotely. Additional experience with countless plug-ins, renderers, proprietary and studio-specific game engines and tools. Currently expanding my experience with C++, photogrammetry, and modeling designs tailored for manufacture and 3D printing.

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