About
I am a 3D artist with 20+ years of experience in game development and over 14 as a team lead.
I was born in England but moved to Scotland at an early age where I developed a fascination for all things science fiction and fantasy. I studied illustration at art school in Dundee and then spent two years working freelance in Edinburgh.
In the mid-90's, I relocated to Maryland, USA where I began my career in game development at Bethesda Softworks, creating environment art for their Terminator titles. Three years later, Northern California beckoned where I went on to work for the likes of Universal Studios, Konami and Crystal Dynamics.
In 2002 I returned to Dundee, Scotland where I spent eight years at Realtime Worlds as lead environment artist on the hugely popular Crackdown. Not content with one move to the US, I returned again in 2011, stopping in Maryland to freelance and teach before finding my way back to Northern California. I worked at Zynga for a number of years , initially as lead artist on Farmville 2 and then taking on the role of 3D art director for the company before moving back to the east coast. I currently reside in Massachusetts with my wife and our pet Whippet, Zeppelin.
Skills
Software proficiency
Experience
Beach Buggy Racing 2 (iOS/Android/PC/Console)
● Designed and created 3D assets for popular multi-platform driving game.
● Provided concept art and 3D content for console version including two additional Hot Wheels licensed levels.
● Conceptualized and constructed console version career map with new and pre-existing 3D assets.Cityville Mobile (iOS/Android unreleased)
● Led team of three modelers for full production cycle on updated Zynga title.
● Worked with art director to define the style of all environment assets and vehicles.
● Collaborated with lead technical artist in the creation of 3D pipeline tools, materials, and shaders.
● Provided asset creation guidelines to outsource vendor and frequent art direction on subsequent deliverables.
● Worked with engineering team to establish and maintain model and texture budgets for hundreds of 3D assets.● Managed and directed 3D modeling team within Zynga’s centralized art department; contributing to various projects across the company including Cityville, Slots, Poker, Farmville: Country Escape and Dawn of Titans.
● Liaised with internal and external game teams to provide leadership, direction, 3D modeling and texturing expertise.
● Collaborated with other department directors to build and nurture Zynga’s art community, develop mentorship program, and offer mentoring and career path management to individual 3D artists.Farmville 2 (Web)
● Assumed lead role within established team of five 3D environment artists on popular social game.
● Worked closely with design, concept, animation, UI/UX and production teams to ensure smooth, continuous production and delivery of environment assets.
● Planned and coordinated transfer of environment art creation processes, pipelines, and documentation to studio in India.● Instructed beginner and intermediate undergraduate courses in 3D modeling, texturing and animation for Simulation and Game Design program.
● Generated 2D and 3D art assets for Maryland-based mobile and PC start-up companies.
● Provided concept art for Abe’s Oddysee: New N’ Tasty (PS3, PS4, Wii U, PC, Mac) developed by Just Add Water in UK.● Created 3D asset renders and animating 2D UI elements for exploratory Facebook games
Project: MyWorld (PC)
● Worked closely with art director in coordinating and managing all art asset production on innovative PC project.
● Built and tracked art schedules, planned sprints, and managed daily scrums.
● Liaised with all discipline leads to maintain smooth cross-team collaboration and clear communication.
● Collaborated in the development of environment art style and specialized shaders.Crackdown (Xbox 360)
● Led a team of 13 artists through full production cycle on award-winning game and subsequent DLC package.
● Worked with art director to realize their vision for the environment through concept sketches and 3D prototyping.
● Lead responsibilities included task scheduling, asset tracking and integration, art reviews, cross-team communication and problem solving.
● Involved in all aspects of environment art creation including modeling, texturing, and lighting of key buildings and locations.
● Assisted in the creation of art asset pipeline, export processes, and shader development.Whiplash (Playstation 2, PC, Xbox)
● Provided concept art for interior environments and props.
Frogger: The Great Quest (Playstation 2)
● Led team of four environment artists through full development cycle on next-gen reinvention of Frogger franchise.
● Worked closely with art director throughout production, providing concepts for more than 100 characters and 20 levels.
● Personally modeled, textured, and lit three level environments.Xena: Warrior Princess (Playstation)
● Worked within 3-person environment art team to design, build, texture and light seven of 21 levels.
Terminator: Future Shock
Terminator: SkyNet
Daggerfall: The Elder Scrolls II (All PC)● Generated models and hand-painted textures for environments and characters on both Terminator titles.
● Responsible for constructing numerous town and dungeon levels for Daggerfall.