Art Lead, Video Game Development candidate in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Summary

Im an accomplished Game Art Lead with decades of experience at Warner Brothers Games. I created AAA Mobile and Console games featuring top-tier IPs (Mortal Kombat, DC Comics, Hollywood talent, and more). I completed Mortal Kombat Onslaught, a AAA Mobile Action RPG, where I led end-to-end development from game definition to Live-Ops content cadence. I translated Leadership goals into actionable tasks, defined art styles, prototyped, focus tested, set visual quality, established Best Practices, and validated Pipelines with Cross-Functional leads. I led and managed an Art team (Character, World, Animation, VFX, Cinematics, and Marketing Content). I established communication, schedules, task tracking, integration practices, and Leadership summaries. I established and managed long-term, high-trust Ex-Dev partnerships. I implemented Agile and Kanban frameworks while supporting XFN needs and ensuring deadlines.

ART LEAD, Mobile Game Development, January 2011 - August 2024
- Established Art Direction, style guides, and visual standards. Led creation of hundreds of characters in realistic, stylized, and comic book styles. Ensured performance specs were met utilizing Unreal Engine expertise. Individually contributed concepts, world and character assets, materials, and completed Environments with Lighting.
- Documented Production Pipelines and best practices, frequently revising to match needs. Reviewed asset status daily across in-house teams and outsourced contributors. Developed 3D Art from Design, Concepts, Prototypes, Asset Creation, Engine Integration, Performance, and Marketing.
- Collaborated with cross-disciplinary teams. Reported to stakeholders and created updates based on their input. Led unified development, working closely with UI|UX, Design, Engineering, QA, Production, and Marketing Leads
Skilled in Agile planning and leading organizational Scrum and Kanban. Scheduled Standups, Sprints, and Milestones, and deconstructed large goals into actionable tasks. Utilized JIRA to capture high-level tasks and map out Sprints and Milestones, and Trello to track a high volume of discipline-based subtasks with detailed information and day-to-day feedback.
- Built a multidisciplinary in-house Art Team (from Interns to Full-Timers) that created high-quality real-time assets and met goals and deadlines. Demonstrated core Art Leadership and Production responsibilities across 8 Mobile games.
Established long-term, high-trust External Development partnerships for 3D Assets(Character, World, Anim, VFX). Interacted with key contacts, conducted daily communication with XD staff, vetted XDs, and contributed to asset tracking metrics.
- Operated an Internship Program, mentoring and connecting with young and diverse talent, frequently launching their careers in the industry. Developed FT staff, conducted reviews, and 1x1 check-ins. Recent FT staff: 3 Character, 3 Animator, VFX, and Generalist.

AAA Mobile Games:
Mortal Kombat Onslaught (Action RPG: simultaneous 4 v 4 PVE team-based combat). Full Cycle + Live Ops
Injustice 2 Mobile. Full Cycle + Live Ops
Mortal Kombat Mobile. Full Cycle + Live Ops
WWE Immortals (Consulted 2 3rd-Party vendors on a reskin of Injustice Gods Among Us Mobile)
Batman: Arkham Origins Mobile. Full Cycle + Live Ops
Injustice Gods Among Us Mobile. Full Cycle + Live Ops
The Hobbit Mobile (Adventure RPG). Full Cycle, Unreleased due to theatrical delays.
Batman: Arkham City Lockdown Mobile. Full Cycle + Live Ops

Expectations

I expect to carry over my passion for game development! I also expect to carry over my experiences, practices, and workarounds, and, with leadership's endorsement, carefully add them to the new role. Likewise, Ill expect to keep practicing my Warner Bros. Guiding Principles, Manager Role Training Courses, and Workplace values. I will uphold the values of the new company. I expect to thrive in a cohesive, cooperative environment where challenges are solved by careful and experienced planning that lets Talent thrive. I love interacting with different Departmental disciplines to surface answers to complex problems.

I will lead a team of multi-disciplinary artists that creates high-quality real-time assets and meets goals and deadlines. I'll work with Leadership to define Roadmaps and Milestones, and I'll establish Art Direction, style guides, and visual standards. I will lead the team in the creation of Vertical Slice assets to earm stakeholder buy-in. I'll define efficient, highly-documented, and sustainable pipelines that are validated by Design, Engineering, UI/UX. QA, Marketing, and Finance. I'll establish high-trust long-term relationships with in-house teams and External Devs.

I'll work side-by-side with Production to knock out Agile planning, Sprints, and the mechanics of Scrum. I demonstrated core Art Leadership and Production responsibilities across 8 Mobile games. Ill utilize JIRA to capture high-level tasks and map out Sprints and Milestones, and Trello to track a high volume of discipline-based subtasks with detailed information and day-to-day feedback. Task progress will be transparent to all. I'll own and operate task tracking and metrics for internal and External Dev teams. I'll provide verbal, written, and video feedback, paintovers, and reference material. I'll occasionally contribute concepts, world and character assets, materials, environment assets, and lighting. I'll work closely with Marketing to plan promotional assets, including training marketing staff on how to capture and render from the Engine.

As I expect to carry over my passion for game development, I expect to be blown away with a role at an awesome Game Development company and workplace of passionate individuals and cohesive teams!

Art Lead, Video Game Development

Art Lead, Video Game Development

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