Game Development

Chair of Game Development

Thomas Olson

Game Development, Game Design MFA '18 Thomas Olson grew up in the mountains of Southern California, spending many summer days in Newport Beach whenever possible. Laguna's Sawdust Festival and Festival of the Arts were an inspiration, and he is thrilled to now be part of the art tradition of Orange County as the Dean of…

Associate Professor

Amanda Fisher

Amanda Fisher is a graduate from Laguna College of Art & Design with an emphasis in 3D art for games. Amanda has worked as a 2D and 3D freelance artist for over 10 years, working with both teams and individual clients creating character concepts and illustrations, as well as assets and characters for games. Amanda…

Adjunct Faculty

Noah Alonzo

Adjunct Faculty

Daniel Alpert

Daniel Alpert has worked in the game industry for over two decades, shaping worlds and characters that define memorable RPG experiences. Currently serving as Art Director at Obsidian Entertainment, he recently led the visual direction for The Outer Worlds and its sequel, bringing distinctive style and personality to these acclaimed titles. Starting as a concept…

Adjunct Faculty

Lauren Benavides

Lauren graduated from the Animation Major at Laguna College of Art + Design with a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Art in Animation. She specializes in 2D character and environment design, 2D and 3D animation, and visual development and storytelling. She has experience as a freelance artist for over 10 years, and as an art lead…

Adjunct Faculty

Ehren Bienert

Adjunct Faculty

Ehsan Bigloo

Ehsan Bigloo has been a Sr. Character and Creature Designer/Developer in the entertainment industry for 10 years. He resides in Los Angeles, California. He is an active member of Local 800 (ADG) IATSE. He comes from a figurative traditional art background with a bit of practical effects, and also digital artworks. He is focused on…

Adjunct Faculty

Christopher Cantwell

Chris studied quantum computing, and high performance computing, at the University of Southern California, where he graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, B.S. in Physics, and a M.S. in Physics. During his studies, he came to believe that the reason quantum phenomena seem confusing is that we don't interact with it, at least on…

Adjunct Faculty

Dan Carreker

Dan Carreker has over 10 years of teaching experience in game arts and sciences. He has industry experience as both a Database Manager for Activision's Production/QA department and as a freelance Game Designer and Programmer. He has worked on over 80 different commercial products; his credits include Medieval: Total War, Star Trek: Armada, and Pizza…

Adjunct Faculty

Travis Castillo

Adjunct Faculty

Adriana Catarino

Adriana Catarino is a contemporary artist who uses multiple mediums to encourage others to think about gaming in a narrative and explorative manner. She focuses her professional time as a Lighting & Technical Artist, and spends a lot of her personal time painting. She is fascinated by technology's potential in creating immersive experiences that evoke…

Adjunct Faculty

Hugh Trombley

Hugh is currently working as a Material Artist at Playstation Studios Visual Arts, a Sony Playstation team dedicated to developing and supporting First Party studios across the Playstation Studio network. He has worked on numerous environments on various AAA productions and projects for over 8 years. He's worked on titles such as Naughty Dog's The…

Adjunct Faculty

Anh Dang

Adjunct Faculty

Casey Dockendorf

Casey Dockendorf is a creative professional with nearly 20 years of experience, whose love of reading comics, playing video games, and collecting action figures fostered a love of the creative development process. Over the course of Casey's career he has had the opportunity to release titles on major publishing platforms (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo), and…

Adjunct Faculty

Giselle Dougan Santos

Giselle is a game developer who focuses on UI design and programming. Currently working in the XR industry and wireless industry, she strives to create content that inspires the next generation of engineers and designers. She is committed to promoting mental health awareness and support, as well as uplifting marginalized voices.

Adjunct Faculty

Kari Dunham

Kari Dunham is originally from the Pacific Northwest. She now calls Orange County home, and serves as an adjunct in the Game Art Department at Laguna College of Art + Design. Additionally, she teaches at Biola University, Concordia University Irvine, and Irvine Valley College and earned her master’s degree from Laguna College of Art +…

Adjunct Faculty

Omar Field-Rahman

Adjunct Faculty

Kelly Gilley

Kelly recently graduated from Laguna College of Art + Design (LCAD) with a BFA in Game Art, and has worked in the games industry as a 3D artist since, on projects both photorealistic and stylized. She finds joy not only in teaching others industry-relevant skills and techniques, but also in guiding them to find their…

Adjunct Faculty

Alexander Gonzalez

Alexander Gonzalez is passionate about creating interactive settings and worlds as a Game Artist. He is currently an Environment Artist at High Moon Studios and an adjunct professor for LCAD Game Art. At High Moon Studios, Alexander is responsible for creating maps for the Call of Duty franchise. Along with his experience on Call of…

Adjunct Faculty

Nicholas Harvey

Adjunct Faculty

Bobby Hernandez

Adjunct Faculty

Jacqueline Jocson

Jax is an Art Director and Concept Artist with 15+ years of experience in the Entertainment Industry, specializing in design and storytelling for film, games, TV, and IP creation. She has worked with clients such as Apple, Fortnite, Capcom, MachineZone, Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment, SyFy Channel, Digital Domain, Wizards of the Coast, Super Evil Megacorp,…

Adjunct Faculty

Eli Joteva

Eli Joteva (b.1990) is a Bulgarian intermedia artist, researcher and educator. Joteva has exhibited internationally across Europe, the US, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia including at Ars Electronica, Linz; Noor Riyadh, Riyadh; Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede; Fosun Foundation, Shanghai, and the Queensland Centre for Photography, Newstead. She has been a resident artist at STEAM Imaging…

Adjunct Faculty

Kyle Kane

Adjunct Faculty

Sebastian Kings

Sebastian Kings is a concept artist who specializes in environment, transportation, and prop design. An Orange County native, he was the first graduate from the Digital Media conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts and received his BFA in Game Art from LCAD in 2018. He strives to create designs that are…

Adjunct Faculty

Alexander Lee

Alexander Lee is a sculptor, animator, and technical artist with over a decade of experience in the game and visual effects industries. He has contributed to projects for leading companies like Apple, Survios, and Pure Imagination, including video games like Alien: Rogue Incursion, Alien: Descent, The Walking Dead, and Creed. Alexander has demonstrated his ZBrush…

Adjunct Faculty

Wesley Lin

Wesley Lin has been an adjunct professor at LCAD for nearly two years. A concept artist and storyboard artist with 10 years of experience, he graduated from LCAD's Game Art program in 2015. His professional work includes concept art for mobile games, an internship at Walt Disney Animation, and illustration for cards. When he's not…

Adjunct Faculty

Nadine Malan

Nadine Malan is a 3D Character Artist specializing in garment creation for games. They most recently contributed to the Star Wars Jedi team at Respawn Entertainment. Their passion for the game industry's future drives them to explore innovative techniques and share knowledge and insights with fellow creatives. They are also an alumni of LCAD, having…

Mentor

Seth Marinello

Seth Marinello is currently a Principal Designer at Double Fine Productions where he led design on Psychonauts 2 and serves as an Adjunct Professor of video game development classes at LCAD. He previously worked at EA Visceral Games on titles such as Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3 and Battlefield 4. Additionally he has been…

Adjunct Faculty

Dean May

Dean May is a game developer and technical artist with a broad range of industry experience. He is the Lead Technical Artist at Aquifer Motion and an adjunct instructor for the LCAD Game Art program. At Aquifer Motion, Dean optimizes television CG assets for Unity, and uses the engine tools to create convincing environments for…

Adjunct Faculty

Brad McBrearty

Brad McBrearty is a creative leader with a background in Technical Art, serving in leadership roles across the video game industry for over 15 years. His past experience includes leading diverse projects spanning cutting edge mobile development, Web3 platform efforts, and traditional AAA game development from ideation to live support. He is renowned for collaborative…

Adjunct Faculty

Don Ott

Don Ott is a seasoned industry veteran, currently working as the Modeling Art Lead on the hit MMO New World, published by Amazon Game Studios. He has at least a dozen shipped AAA games under his belt ranging from the Transformers series, Deadpool, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny 2, and more. Don is the…

Adjunct Faculty

Javier Perez

With 15 years of experience, Javier is currently a Lead Material Artist at PlayStation Studios Visual Arts. Throughout his career, he has worked at studios such as Infinity Ward, Kojima Productions, and Sony Online Entertainment. Beyond his professional work, Javier shares his passion for Substance Designer by teaching at Laguna College of Art and Design…

Adjunct Faculty

Daniel Platt

Adjunct Faculty

Lou Police

Graduated Art Center College of Design LA/Pasadena in 1978 with a BFA in Illustration. Most influential instructors: Harry Carmean, Gregory Weir-Quiton, Vern Wilson, Kathy Wirch, Ward Kimball, Herb Ryman and John Asaro. Freelance illustration assignments include movie poster designs, book illustration, magazine illustration, advertising storyboarding and comps, fashion illustration, matte painting, and live action production…

Adjunct Faculty

Patrick Raines

PJ Raines is a 16-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Disney Animation Studios, Warner Bros Animation, Obsidian Entertainment, and Jam City are among his credits. He is a 9-year adjunct professor at LCAD. He is currently a Principal Artist at Zynga. PJ is based in California.

Adjunct Faculty

Brandon Ray

Brandon works at Blizzard Entertainment as an associate 3D Environment Artist working on the game World of Warcraft. He is passionate about the hand-painted style of games and specializes in 3D hand-painted environments. He was featured on the Games Artist website for his piece "Adventure Inn." He is also a fellow alumnus of LCAD and…

Adjunct Faculty

Gavin Rich

Adjunct Faculty

Michael Rocchio

Michael Rocchio is an architectural historian and an archaeologist. Michael has undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Classical Civilizations from Indiana University, a graduate degree in Greek and Roman Archaeology and another graduate degree in Architecture and Urban Design from UCLA. Michael's main areas of research are Roman urban infrastructure and his particular area of expertise…

Adjunct Faculty

Zoe Smith

Zoe is a 3D Character artist currently working at Obsidian Entertainment on Avowed. Some of her past titles include Star Wars: The Old Republic, Breach, and The Outer Worlds DLCs. She graduated from Laguna College of Art + Design in 2017, with a BFA in Game Art, and has been working in the industry since.

Adjunct Faculty

Robert Stacy

Adjunct Faculty

Nicole Tan

As an artist, it was always Nicole's dream to create worlds and immersive experiences. Games happened to be the perfect medium for her, and has been her passion since starting her education at LCAD. After graduating from LCAD, Nicole started working as an environment artist at Crystal Dynamics on the Tomb Raider reboot games, as…

Adjunct Faculty

Ning Tang

Adjunct Faculty

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor is an animation director and 3D artist. Currently, a technical animator and Houdini artist at international advertising studio FutureDeluxe, and adjunct professor for LCAD Game Art. Earlier in his career, in LA and London, he worked as head of character pipeline for video game commercials and animation director for design agencies. He holds…

Adjunct Faculty

Emmanuel Valdez

Emmanuel Valdez is an award-winning art director, game designer, artist, and educator with more than 30 years of experience in interactive entertainment across console, PC, mobile, and arcade development. He has held creative leadership positions at Visual Concepts/2K, High Moon Studios, Midway Home Entertainment, Daybreak Game Company, Machine Zone, and Appy Entertainment. As a co-founder…

Adjunct Faculty

Kyle Valentin

Kyle graduated LCAD in 2016, since then he has worked on a short film rendered in Unity, Sonder. He helped create new Real Time VFX for SMITE, before moving to Riot Games to work on League of Legends. He currently works at Riot Games on VALORANT. His favorite games are Apex Legends, Final Fantasy XIV,…

Adjunct Faculty

Patrick Ward

An alumnus of Otis College of Art and Design, Patrick is an Environment Artist in the videogame industry currently employed by Sony Interactive Entertainment and Sucker Punch Productions. He's worked at Xbox Game Studios, The Initiative and most recently a part of Santa Monica Studio's team on the upcoming God of War Ragnarok. He's excited…

Adjunct Faculty

Nicholas Williams

Nick Williams is an LCAD alumni (2016) currently working as a 3D artist in the video game industry. He specializes in prop/environment modeling and texturing, with experience working in both AAA and indie studios for projects shipping on all platforms. He keeps up to date with the latest industry asset creation techniques both within and…

Adjunct Faculty

Damon Woods

Damon Woods has been a leading 3D Character Artist for the games, film, TV, and advertising industries. His work includes contributions to such titles as "Star Wars: Jedi Survivor," "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," and "The Flash" TV series. Through the years, Damon has collaborated and art directed for many clients including Marvel…

Adjunct Faculty

Eric Young

As a child, Eric could always be found playing with his action figures, drawing, or making movies. When asked at a young age, ""What do you want to do when you grow up,"" there was only one answer: ""I want to make cartoons!"" Over the years Eric has had the privilege of working at studios…

Adjunct Faculty

Zhang Zeyan

Adjunct Faculty

Allan Huang

Adjunct Faculty

Madeline Humphrey

Adjunct Faculty

Andrew Erickson

Andrew is a Concept Artist at Obsidian Entertainment and has worked in the video game industry for nearly a decade. He has contributed to shipped titles such as Overwatch, Pillars of Eternity, Avowed, and The Outer Worlds 2, among others. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with studios including Blizzard, Obsidian, Adult Swim, Mattel, Crayola,…

Adjunct Faculty

Brandy Hwang

Brandy Hwang is a graduate from the Laguna College of Art + Design with a BFA in Game Art. She has a specialty in concept and visual development with an emphasis in Environment Design. Residing in Los Angeles, Brandy has been honing in on her skills as a 2D and 3D concept artist with freelancing…

Adjunct Faculty

Dawnson Chen

Dawnson Chen has been working as an Environment Artist for over a decade in the video games industry. Currently he works at Blizzard on World of Warcraft as a Dungeon artist, his focus is on modeling and texturing Dungeons, Raid and any architecture found in the world. Before Blizzard, he was working on stylized mobile…

Adjunct Faculty

Stephen Carter

Stephen Carter is a digital artist and fine artist with over 20+ years of designing experience in the gaming industry, working at companies like Bally’s, Gamesys and Konami in the areas of character design, environment, props and more. He has a passion for Gouache and Oil painting, portraits and plein Air. His creative journey began…

Adjunct Faculty

Angelica Silva

Angelica Silva is a VFX Artist on Overwatch, specializing in vibrant, playful, and stylized effects. After graduating from LCAD in 2020 with a focus in concept art, she pivoted into real-time visual effects two years later, blending her background in visual development with dynamic game art. Angelica is excited to share her industry experience and…

Adjunct Faculty

Russell Chong

Russell G. Chong has been a production artist for 38 years and has worked in animation, feature animation, and live-action. Some of his notable accomplishments include Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2006-2013) as a general concept artist, Emmy Award winning, Batman: The Animated Series (1990-1995) as a background designer and painter, HBO’s Spawn (1997-1999) (Emmy…

Assistant Professor of Game Development

Rana Jahani

Rana Jahani is a game designer, UX researcher, and educator with a strong background in both academia and industry. She served as an Adjunct Lecturer at Northeastern University, where she designed and taught courses in game design, level design, procedural content generation for games, and XR applications. With a focus on immersive storytelling, user experience,…

Adjunct Faculty

Travis Reid

Travis Reid is a former-AAA-game-programmer-turned-educator and indie game designer. He previously worked on mobile games at Blizzard and EA, and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of video game development classes at LCAD and UC-Irvine, where he's also the faculty advisor for the Video Game Development Club. His indie game, are we good , was…

Adjunct Faculty

Kristy Doan

While going to LCAD I was able to land my first gig in the industry before even graduating. Now almost six years later I've worked on and shipped a variety of different titles. From AAA games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Valorant to smaller games like Wildgate, Outerworlds 2, and Wreck Runners.

Adjunct Faculty

Hikari Oishi

Hikari Oishi is a Laguna College of Art and Design Game Art BFA alumni and a technical artist working in the game development industry. She attended Rio Hondo College for her AS in Animation and Studio Arts before achieving her BFA in Game Art from Laguna College of Art and Design. She is currently working…

Adjunct Faculty

Christina Drake

Christina Drake is a dedicated faculty member at the Laguna College of Art and Design, where she specializes in talent acquisition, business strategy, and leadership development within the creative industries. With over a decade of experience, her professional journey spans executive administration, human resources, and strategic planning, underlined by a kindness-centric approach to professional growth…