Smule – Technical Art DirectorSep 2018 – Present
- Unity Rapid Prototyping (C#, UI, Shader Graph, and VFX Graph).
- Helped define and implement Smule’s gifting (2D stickers) pipeline (Lottie).
- Worked with Design to implement and test a complete UI redesign of the Smule app.
- Helped implement a 3D Globe search mechanism tying midi data to VFX.
- Implemented a mobile video browser that allowed selection on 2 axises using data retrieved from json.
- 3D content, texturing, lighting and pipeline implementation of Smule’s AR initiative.
PixelBug – Unity Developer / Art / DesignMay 2017 – Present
- Partnered with a major 3D Avatar provider to bring their system to a leading MMO VR social platform using Unity / HTC Vive
- Developed mobile games including Atom Pop.
IMVU – Technical Art Director / Unity DeveloperMar 2012 – May 2017
- IMVU Unity API: Proposed the idea, then worked with a team to implement, bringing IMVU content into Unity. (WebGL, iOS, Android)
- Avatar 2.0: Brought in partners Morph3D. Implemented a whole new avatar system. (Async and server based)
- Developed numerous games, prototypes and technologies based on Unity and IMVU’s avatar technology
Electronic Arts: EA Mobile / EA Pogo – Art DirectorOct 2008 – Feb 2012
- Acquired by EA to bring our #1 game, Surviving High School, to iOS (first Episodic game for mobile)
- Directed an inhouse team and multiple external contributors on the follow up title High School Story
- Directed outsourced teams to bring Pogo’s Poppit, Phlinx, First Class Solitaire, Word Whomp, Mahjong Safari and Turbo 21 to iOS.
- Made 100+ environments (3D Modeling, Texturing, Lighting and Rendering) as well as new UI / animations
Vivendi / Activision Blizzard – Senior Artist / Lead Technical ArtistAug 2004 – Oct 2008
- Developed graphics for the mobile gaming market (both 3D and pixel pushed content)
- Work with artists, designers and programmers to achieve the best visual experience on each handset. (J2ME / BREW)
- Developed website and multiple marketing sub-sites using PHP, CSS, DHTML, Javascript, Flash and MySQL.
- Shipped games include: Surviving High School – (orig, 07, 08 and 09), Cakemania 2, Surviving Hollywood, Spin Blocks 360, Alone: The Horror Begins, Office Wrestling, Aquarium Pets, Amy’s Hangman (winner 2004 Mobie award), Amy’s Jigsaw, Elimimatch, Yahoo’s Dominoes, and NBA 3Point Shootout
THQ – 3D Modeler / Technical ArtistDec 1997 – Mar 2003
- Instrumental in the success of this start-up. Modeled the majority of the geometry for our flagship product JetMoto3
- Company’s technical art liaison on a joint project with BlueShift (HydroThunder).
- Shipped 3 titles in our first 2 years. Subsequently we were acquired by THQ.
- Then became the company’s System Administrator and Web Developer supporting 70+ employees local and remote.
- Titles JetMoto3, Nuclear Strike 64, Road Rash 64, MX2002, MX Superfly, WWE CrushHour
Disney Interactive – Technical ArtistApr 1997 – Sep 1997
- Worked on Disney’s Aladdin 3D for the PC, integrating animation and geometry into a custom 3D engine
Academy of Art College – Teacher1997
- Developed and taught curriculum on 3D Modeling
Renderhaus – Senior Animator / Founder1993 – 1996
- Co-founded this company which provided award-winning animation content for marketing, advertising and instructional purposes.
- Worked with clients including: Sony, LSI Logic, Hewlett Packard, Varian, Intel, Cirrus Logic, Schlage, Philips, and NASA
EDUCATION
Computer Engineering, San Jose State University
Java, Advanced Java, Java Networking, Berkeley Extension
“Rob is an outstanding guy to work with! He is conscientious, precise, knowledgeable, flexible and
affable. He has a deep knowledge of making 3D art, grasps all the technical requirements of game technologies old and new, and he can push pixels, too! He is hard working, focused and he is eager to work on whatever needs to be worked on (however unglamorous) to get a job done. Rob thinks on his feet and not only finds issues that may cause problems down the road but also finds solutions. I hope that Rob and I will work together again someday in the future.”
Rick Schmitz
Art Director, Activision Blizzard - VGM
“I worked with Rob for five years at Centerscore working on mobile games. Rob was a pleasure to work with, he always delivered quality work and was willing to do whatever he could in order to improve the games we were working on. I will definitely miss working with him.”
Scott Dods
Senior Software Engineer, Vivendi Games Mobile
“Rob was an excellent co-worker, and a great idea man to bounce designs off of. Shouldering more than his fair share of work he always managed to delivered assets above expectations in both the creative (3d environments), and more technical (UI assets and fonts). With his upbeat attitude it would be a great pleasure to work alongside him again."
Bryce Gunkel
Artist, EA Mobile
“Having worked directly with Rob on several projects over 4 years at Centerscore Studio, I can say that Rob is a gifted artist with a strong technical backbone. As a software developer myself, this coupling of abilities and backgrounds made Rob a joy to work with when we worked together on projects. Additionally he has a focused work ethic and an honest to goodness enthusiasm for his work that was terrific to have
around.”
Jeremy Biddle
Software Engineer, EA Mobile
“Rob is a pleasure to work with. As his manager, I value his strong work ethic and his ability to deliver consistent results. His combination of art and technical background make him a valuable asset to any production environment.”
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Late Kan
Creative Director, EA Mobile
“Rob is a conscientious and capable artist. His work is always top-notch and delivered on time. I would work with Rob any time and know the job will be done right.”
John Duggan
Senior Artist, Centerscore - Vivendi Games Mobile