Email: rthompson@whizbangdw.com

Summary:

With a serious passion for art, I strive to craft captivating worlds that incite emotion and produce a completely immersive user experience. An accomplished, dedicated leader and artist with almost 20 years in the video game industry, I am looking for a studio with and imaginative, inspired team to join forces with and create amazing content.

Qualifications:

  • Proficient in all aspects of game art creation and implementation from initial creative concept work through final in-engine setup

  • Skilled in both hard surface and organic modeling

  • Excellent at setting and driving a vision

  • An exceptional understanding of architecture as it applies to level design, light, and color

  • A thorough understanding of the level design process

  • Works closely with game design to ensure art enhances the player experience

  • Asset pipeline creation and documentation

  • Project planning – including estimating, task assignment, scheduling, resourcing and workflow management

  • Leading and managing artists, providing actionable constructive feedback as well as mentoring fellow artists

  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate between design, art and programming

  • Extensive experience with 3D Studio Max, Adobe Photoshop CS 4,5,6, Zbrush 4R7, CrazyBump, XNormal, NdO and Hero Engine

  • Experienced with Substance Designer 5, Marmoset, Unity 5

Experience:

04/2011 to 12/2014 - Senior Biome Artist - Zenimax Online Studios

  • Created models and textures for numerous prototypes, setting and driving the visual standards for various environment assets

  • Established a new asset creation pipeline with the assistance of a teammate. This new pipeline greatly enhanced the visual quality and realism of the terrain for the Craglorn expansion and for future environments

  • Designed and built multiple Biome Alpha pockets, effectively capturing the look and style of environments as well as providing a visual guide for terrain/world building artist to use in the creation of various zones

  • Collaborated closely with Level Design to create key areas of Elder Scrolls Online, including the Elden Root, the Aldmeri Dominion Capital City, creating and translating 2d layouts into fully realized 3d spaces

  • Reviewed asset dailies and provided constructive criticism to team members, always pushing for quality and consistent aesthetics

11/2009 to 04/2011 - Senior Artist Level II - Volition Inc

  • Designed and built numerous levels for Red Faction Armageddon, from early 2d conceptual phase to final in-game product. Worked closely with Level Designers and Art Director, executing on feedback and ensuring that visual targets, key game play requirements and console budgets were met

  • Created various game ready low poly terrain assets for Red Faction Armageddon.

  • Built various city areas for Saints Row the Third

07/2004 to 10/2009 - Lead Dungeon Artist/Environment Artist - Mythic Entertainment/Electronic Arts

  • Led a team of 5 to 15 artists in creation of numerous dungeons and dungeon assets for Warhammer Online, including but not limited to The Bastion Stairs, Altdorf Sewers, Sigmar Crypts and the Call to Arms expansion.

  • Responsible for managing and maintaining a consistent look to all artwork throughout each dungeon set

  • Identified and implemented pipeline processes and standards – Streamlining workflows by making use of reusable and modular building sets and assets

  • Worked with Outsourcing Lead, reviewing and providing constructive feedback and art direction for dungeon related art assets

  • Worked with Lead Designers in level design and preproduction phases for Warhammer Online: Call to Arms (Tomb Kings), work included creating and translating 2d layouts into fully realized 3d spaces

  • Created game ready production assets for various dungeons for Warhammer Online

  • Mentored junior staff by providing training, guidance, and feedback

03/2002 to 06/2004 - Environment Artist -  Stainless Steel Studios

  • Created various low poly environment art assets for AAA RTS titles

  • Responsible for all phases of asset creation, from initial creative concepts, modeling and texturing of assets, animations and final in engine setup

2000-2001 - Project Lead/Lead Artist - 3dvillage.com/Medascope.com

  • Led a team of 5-8 artist throughout all production stages for various multimedia projects, clients including GlaxoSmithKline and Federal Express

  • Managed field research and on site reference gathering for projects, then responsible for creating highly detailed model and texture assets from reference data

  • Project planning – including estimating, task assignment, scheduling, resourcing and workflow management

  • Modeling and texturing of low poly assets for various architectural and pharmaceutical multimedia projects

1996 to 2000 - Artist/Lead Artist - Random Games Inc

  • Created various assets for a number of PC titles

Education:

1994 to 1996 - Associates Degree – Computer Animation/Multimedia,  Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Shipped Titles:

Zenimax Online Studios

  • Elder Scrolls Online

Volition Inc

  • Red Faction: Armageddon

  • Saints Row: The Third

Mythic Entertainment

  • Warhammer: Age of Reckoning

  • Warhammer: Call to Arms

  • Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs

  • Dark Age of Camelot: Epic Collection

  • Dark Age of Camelot: Darkness Rising

Stainless Steel Studios

  • Empires: Dawn of the Modern World

  • Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War

Random Games Inc

  • WarHammer 40K: Chaos Gate

  • Upwords

  • Scrabble 2