Experience

• Senior 3D Artist at Level Ex

  Chicago, United States of America

  January 2018 - May 2020

  As Senior 3D Artist, establish best practices and art pipeline to support and maintain high standards for realism and visual fidelity in both mobile and VR products. Skills and responsibilities continually expanding, from the development of procedural tools and art generated within Houdini, to developing and testing for the latest in Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality environments.

  Responsibilities Include:
  
  ● Establish organic and hard surface asset development pipeline, from modeling tools to material generation and visual effects.
  
  ● Research and disseminate best practices for art development throughout the company.
  
  ● Work closely with graphics engineers to develop state-of-the-art visual effects and rendering techniques, achieving AAA-quality art within the confines of mobile and AR platforms.
  

• Lead Character Artist at Phosphor Studios

  Chicago, IL, United States of America

  September 2017 - January 2018

  As Lead Character Artist, manage a small team of 3D artists in the development process and best practices of character modeling, texturing and rigging.
  
  Responsibilities Included:
  
  ● Establish character development pipeline, from modeling tools to rigging methods for mo-cap animation.
  
  ● Investigate and promote best practices for art development pipeline throughout the company.
  
  ● Streamline best practices for a small team to deliver a wide variety of customizable character assets such as shirts, pants, and accessories.
  
  ● Investigate and develop a system for creating damage and wounds to characters on the fly, in real time.

• Associate Lead 3D Artist at Scientific Games

  Chicago, United States of America

  November 2015 - September 2017

  As Associate Lead Artist, manage a team of 3D specialists in the development process and best practices of 3D art development over several simultaneous projects.
  
  Responsibilities Included:
  
  ● Ensure style and quality of art is maintained at every level of development.
  
  ● Investigate and promote best practices for art development pipeline throughout the company.
  
  ● Coordinate with customers' teams to ensure clear communication between designers and 3D artists throughout development cycles.

  Highlights of 3D Projects:
  
  ● The Simpsons slot machine. Contributed to the development of the City of Springfield in 3D, as well as a 3D Homer Simpson arm to be operated by players using the Leap Motion controller.
  
  ● Wizard of Oz: Munchkinland slot machine. Helped create some of the 3D Munchkins, and managed the development of other 3D characters and the Munchkinland environment.
  

• Senior 3D Artist at WMS Gaming

  Chicago, United States of America

  April 2010 - November 2015

  As Senior Artist, take the reigns in the development process of bonus games and 3D art development. Primary
  
  responsibilities include initial concept and pre-visualization of slot bonus games, carried throughout the production
  
  process. Design characters, props and environments, then take those designs through to complete, game-ready
  
  assets for in-house engines and Unity 3D.
  
  Highlights of 3D Projects:
  
  ● Reel 'Em In: Supercast​slot machine. Modeled, textured and animated the four pickable real-time
  
  characters, as well as various props and other assets.
  
  ● Wizard of Oz: Haunted Forest Gamefield XD​slot machine. Responsibilities included animation, camera
  
  direction, lighting effects, compositing for the Haunted Forest pick bonus game.
  
  ● Wizard of Oz: Ruby Slippers 2​slot machine. Redesigned Flying Monkey character models for modern
  
  engines and resolutions; rigged, and animated said model. Designed and choreographed Flying Monkey
  
  bonus feature, from pre-visualization to animation, then final render and compositing.
  
  ● Hasbro's Clue​slot machine. Concept development for many of the bonus games, creative design, character
  
  design, development, and animation. Scripting design concurrently with engineers to develop character
  
  "investigations" and interactions throughout environment during game-play.
  
  ● Warner Brother's Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King​slot machine. Pre-viz development for major bonus
  
  game aspect of the slot machine. Design, modeling, texturing, and animation for various assets throughout
  
  the game.
  

• Freelance Artist at Freelance

  Chicago, United States of America

  May 2008 - January 2018

  Covered various roles as a freelance artist, from children's book illustrator to art lead on volunteer game projects, to design consultant and character artist on mobile platforms.
  
  ● Developed character and prop assets for Rocketcat Games' “Dad By The Sword”​, coming soon to PC.
  
  ● Designed and developed art style and assets for Bouncy Drop​, a mobile game for iOS by Important Little Games
  
  ● Designed & animated graphic animations for team strategies for Third Pillar Racing​, a cycling team based out of San Francisco, CA.
  
  ● Designed game-play and art styles for various mod projects. Maintained art style and developed pipelines for asset design and development.
  
  ● Illustrated children's book based on the Irish mythological deity Manannan mac Lir, coming soon.
  
  ● Design Consultant for Pipeline, developed for Windows 7 phones by Evil Button Games.