About
About Adrian
I’m a Technical Artist who designs the systems other artists ship through. 14 years across Sledgehammer Games, Meta, Double Fine, and Ubisoft. Worked on games such as Call of Duty, Horizon Worlds, South Park, and Broken Age. The work has evolved with me: from individual tools to the architectures whole teams ship through. Today I focus on end-to-end pipeline architecture: systems where artists move fast without losing quality. From rigging systems to reactive authoring tools, validation that catches errors before they reach the engine, and ML research into automation. Every project shares the same outcome: shorter handoffs, fewer rebuilds, faster iteration. In parallel, I’ve been deepening my gameplay-systems chops through hands-on C++ prototyping in Unreal, building combat systems, ability components, and designer-friendly tuning workflows. The pattern across all of this work: the best tools and pipelines disappear. Teams using them move faster, ship cleaner, and don’t notice the architecture underneath.ABOUT ME
Communication
Authored internal style guides, tech tutorials, training documents, and pipeline documentation. Frequently collaborated with cross-discipline teams, from art to engineering. Delivered presentations, live demos, and 1-on-1 training to onboard artists and support adoption of new tools.
Leadership
Led Sledgehammer's Character Tech Art team on three Call of Duty titles. Managed, trained, and art-directed internal and offshore artists. Oversaw large-scale rigging and skinning pipelines with consistent quality control. Delegated tasks, reviewed work, and maintained consistency across complex multi-project pipelines.
SKILLS
Disciplines
- Rigging
- Animation
- Modeling
- Tools
- Scripting
- Game design
- Gameplay programming
- Graphic design
Software
- Maya
- Unreal
- Unity
- ZBrush
- Painter
- Git
- Perforce
Languages
- Python
- PyQt
- PyTorch
- C++
- C#
- Lua
- Hugo
EXPERIENCE
- Mar 2026 – PresentIndependent / Personal ProjectsPipeline architecture, gameplay prototyping, ML research
- Designing end-to-end pipeline architecture: declarative rigging frameworks, reactive PySide6 authoring tools, and validation that catches errors before they reach the engine
- Sharpening gameplay-systems chops through hands-on C++ prototyping in Unreal, building combat systems, ability components, and designer-friendly tuning workflows
- Continuing ML research into auto-skinning and rig-setup automation, exploring AI-augmented artist workflows aimed at cutting per-character cost while protecting deformation quality
- Sep 2025 – Mar 2026Camouflaj @ MetaUnannounced Title (2026)
- Designed and implemented advanced Maya tools, studio preference systems, and asset stubbing frameworks to streamline setup, prototyping, and daily artist workflows
- Partnered with Meta internal teams to troubleshoot complex Horizon engine challenges
- Jan 2021 – Sep 2025Sledgehammer GamesVanguard (2021), MW3 (2023), Unannounced Title (2026)
- Led the Character Tech Art team; trained and managed internal and OS artists
- Led the Weapons Tech Art team; trained and managed internal and OS artists and built a modular rigging solution
- Developed and maintained character, animation, and rigging workflows
- Created proprietary tools for animation, rigging, and cloth simulation
- Skinned high-fidelity characters, including celebrity likenesses like Snoop Dogg
- Balanced and optimized character assets for in-engine performance
- Nov 2018 – Dec 2020MetaMeta Horizon Worlds (2021)
- Created artist-facing tools and animation exporters
- Built performance-optimized workflows for VR
- Developed a Figma-to-ReactVR plugin
- Dec 2017 – Nov 2018Nomadic VRArizona Sunshine: Rampage (2018)
- Integrated LEAP Motion VR
- Calibrated OptiTrack & Motive systems
- Prototyped LBE VR experiences and digital-physical rigs
- Jan 2017 – Dec 2017NCSoftUnannounced Title (2018)
- Built main character rigs and batch rigging tools
- Developed a modular auto-rigging system and animation retargeting tools
- Created 30+ rigs for hero and enemy characters
- Aug 2016 – Dec 2016UbisoftSouth Park: The Fractured But Whole (2017)
- Rigged 2D/3D characters
- Authored pipeline and 2D flipbook animation tools
- Oct 2015 – Jul 2016ToyTalk Inc. (now Pullstring Inc.)Unannounced Title (2016)
- Rigged all characters across multiple projects
- Built a pose/animation library, Trax editor pipeline, lip-sync tools, and Maya–Unity exporters
- Authored planetary shaders for procedural galaxy rendering
- Mar 2015 – Oct 2015Perfect World EntertainmentUnannounced Title (2016)
- Rigged and animated characters, props, and buildings for mobile games
- Built Maya to Unity export tools
- Jan 2012 – Nov 2014Double Fine ProductionsMultiple titles
- Costume Quest 2: rigged/skinned 26 of 28 characters, animated gameplay and cutscenes
- Broken Age: modeled, rigged/skinned 40+ characters, built flipbook animation system
- Massive Chalice: created map-editing and randomization tools based on CSV input
- Spacebase DF-9: animation and rigging
- My Alien Buddy: concepted and prototyped gameplay, created all characters, and wrote Lua scripts
- Kinect Party: updated tools, authored animation transfer tools
- Worked on multiple Amnesia Fortnight titles (Little Pink Best Buds, Dear Leader, Black Lake, White Birch)
- Feb 2011 – Sep 2011Concept Art House
- Created MEL-based auto-rigging tools for bipeds and quadrupeds
- Managed outsourcing teams, tracked production, and maintained quality
- Authored style guides, tutorials, and assignments for external partners
- Worked across various social and browser-based games (Zoo World 2, Legacy of a Thousand Suns, Vegas City, etc.)
- Sep 2006 – Dec 2010Art Institute of California, San Francisco
- Best Portfolio Award 2010
- Aug 2004 – Aug 2006SUNY Sullivan, New York
- Coursework focused on graphic design fundamentals
A short bio and the people, places, and projects that have shaped my career.