willemvdsresume

Willem van der Schyf

Character Artist

Mobile 617.435.9338

chaoseidolon@gmail.com

Summary:

I am a skilled, ambitious and motivated artist/designer with a passion for interactive media and game design. I have experience and a strong personal interest in traditional studio art, 3d modeling, world design, conceptual design/character development and a well-developed sense of aesthetics. I am able to approach problems with a collected and objective mindset, and resolve them quickly and effectively. I'm experienced with group based project development and understand how to deal with the unique challenges that this environment presents, at the technical as well as the interpersonal level. Most importantly, I am personally committed to achieving the highest levels of excellence and constant improvement in my art on both a private and professional level. I wish to do so within a team environment that allows me to both grow myself and teach others, and contribute to a project that I can feel truly proud of and passionate about.

Experience:

Turbine, Inc. (March 2007 - Present)

Supervisor: Todd Demelle

Title: Production Artist

Projects:
Lord of the Rings: Online - Shadows of Angmar
   Production and Live Support

Lord of the Rings: Online - Mines of Moria (Expansion)
   Production and Live Support

Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach
   Production and Live Support

Unannounced Project
   Prototyping and Production

Savannah College of Art and Design e-Learning, Savannah GA (June 2005 � February 2007)
Supervisor: Mona Meyer
Title: Media Designer

Worked with a team of Instructional and Media designers in the creation of web content for SCAD's award winning distance learning courses. Work produced was of a high standard of quality and was highly detail oriented. Dealt with all aspects of the design process including media creation, text and graphical formatting and overall quality assurance. Experience working on long-term projects requiring high levels of organization under strict deadlines.

Education:

Savannah College of Art and Design:

Bachelors of Fine Arts � Interactive Design and Game Development (Graduated 2005, Magna Cum Laude)

Relevant Skills and Proficiencies:

Software Proficiencies include:

Maya, 3d Studio MAX, zBrush, Headus UV Layout, xNormal, BodyPaint, Photoshop, Crazybump and constantly adding new proficiencies as the need arises.

Proficient in the creation of game character art within tight MMO deadlines.

"Next-gen" as well as standard low-poly pipelines.
An understanding of visual aesthetics in popular game culture, and how realism versus stylization affect mood within the game world.
Optimization and efficiency requirements and procedures for current generation MMO avatars and NPCs.
Experience prototyping pipeline techniques for future generation MMO's for both console and PC limitations.

Interpersonal/Studio/Problem Solving:

Experience working closely with world builder team members to ensure faithful translation from game vision to final realization.
Working closely with concept artists to bring theirs creations to life, and coming up with creative solutions when concepts runs into conflict with technical limitations or performance. Also able to work without concept if necessary, or create concept art myself.
Working with technical artists to create character assets with the best compromise between visual design and technical efficiency.