About Me
-
Art Direction: Established compelling visual directions on numerous projects and DLC, closely aligned with narrative, design, and dev. Directed all disciplines and have driven those teams through all phases of development, as well as growing single products and large franchises well beyond launch.
-
Creative Direction: Authored game design documents, narrative outlines, UI / UX direction, player experience goals and project pillars. I led the initial design and content strategy for the character creator and DLC marketplace for the Bedrock version of Minecraft leading to a multimillion-dollar ecosystem.
-
Technically Minded: I have a wide breadth of working knowledge in the Unreal Engine. I have singlehandedly developed entire product demos and prototypes. I am extremely comfortable in blueprints to create a variety of features like PCG graphs, inventories, as well as questing, combat and health systems. Understanding how things technically work together gives me a deep insight to art direct wholistically.
-
Team Management: I have built and led internal and external art teams, managing career development, team health, and production quality with clear direction, extensive documentation, and constructive feedback.
-
Expansive Leadership: I have held leadership roles at an executive, studio, project, and individual team levels. I have presented project goals, plans, and progress across organizations and departments.
-
Brand Management: I have represented brands such as Minecraft to uphold franchise goals, ideals, and to enforce project pillars. Collaborated with other large brands such as Lego, Mattel, Wizards of the Coast, Target, Walmart and many others.
-
Beyond the Product: I have directed merchandise, store displays, marketing materials, as well as physical events. I have also been featured in print media, video interviews, as well as panel talks.
-
Alternative platform Experience: I have directed projects, demos, and showcase experiences on alternative platforms including VR, AR, and HoloLens
My 30-year career has taken me from an intern artist working on racing simulations to a Principal Art Director at Microsoft | Xbox and leader on the Minecraft franchise. I simply love making games. I love the process. I love the people. I love the journey and after all this time, it is exciting to see what each day will bring.
The breadth of my experiences has given me an extremely well-rounded view of making games and I use that to craft the best creative direction that meets the project’s needs and shines the light on what makes the experience special.
As a leader, my role has always been very dynamic. Some days I gave reassurances that someone’s quality is meeting the mark and some days I guide them when it is not. Some days I worked to maintain our team’s schedule and some days I pushed beyond it. Some days I direct exactly how things need to be done while most days I support others while they make those choices for themselves. On the days I must make tough decisions, I make those decisions out of a commitment to be fair, balanced, and to strive for growth.
I feel privileged to have gotten to work with and to support a diverse group of amazing people. I do everything I can to provide them chances for growth and encourage them as they flourish and find their place in this industry and beyond.
You will find in me a leader that values different viewpoints and listens before speaking. A leader that drives teams through collaboration, inspiration and trust. A leader that is not afraid to bring together teams, removing all obstacles, and then letting them shine.
I am excited to bring this experience to new projects or new situations and work through the wonderfully complex journey that creating world class entertainment is.
Download My Resume