Game Development

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 Academic Affairs at LCAD. As the Production Manager at Morpheus International, he was able to meet some of his artistic heroes while producing art books, prints, and gallery events. Inspired by their work and encouragement, he went back to school to study illustration, building a firm foundation that has allowed a robust and flexible career in freelance illustration, full time game development, and instruction.

He has worked in the game industry since 2002. He has been a concept artist, environment artist, VFX artist, character artist, team lead, game designer, writer, producer, product director and business development director. He has worked on titles ranging from PS2 licensed platformers with Nickelodeon and Pixar; original PS3 titles at Insomniac Games; and helped launch the Backflip Studios startup by designing the look and feel of DragonVale on iOS and leading that team for years. Thomas continues to work on personal projects and consult on commercial projects.

Thomas is serving as the Dean of Academic Affairs, having also served as part of the permanent faculty in the Game Art program. He has taught classes in sculpting (digital and traditional) and creature and character design, as well as classes aimed at helping students develop portfolios and the skills to transform their art education into careers. When he is not teaching, or attending one of his daughters’ performances, he likes to be sailing, hiking, playing games, or making art.

A lifelong learner, Thomas holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from UCLA , a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Art Center College of Design, and a Master of Fine Arts in Game Design from the Laguna College of Art + Design.

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 has also worked at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, California, where she worked in the Digital Media Conservatory as the Game Design instructor. Other than her Game Art courses, Amanda has experience teaching other various game design classes involving character design, 3D modeling, rigging and animation, and more.

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 artist and later moving into character art and leadership roles, Daniel has contributed to some of the most iconic franchises in gaming, including Dungeons & Dragons, Fallout, Vampire: The Masquerade, Dungeon Siege, and The Elder Scrolls.

With a deep passion for storytelling through design, Daniel continues to push creative boundaries and craft worlds players can truly immerse themselves in.

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 on independent studio projects and app games with indie teams and IMAX. Lauren has been teaching character design and animation courses throughout Orange County for over 6 years, and is now exclusive to LCAD’s Game Art department. She loves the opportunity to share her passion for the entertainment industry and storytelling through fostering a professional and uplifting environment.

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 creature/character/costume/armor/environment/shot designing & World Building from script to screen shots. He has worked with top notch film studios, streaming TV companies, practical effects shops, and AAA video game studios. He is looking forward to helping students visualize their dreams. www.ehsanbigloo.com

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 any tangible level that we can consciously understand. This led him to create a game called Quantum Chess, a variant of Chess built on top of a quantum simulation, that gives players the ability to experience quantum phenomena. After running a successful Kickstarter campaign, he continued work on the game, in collaboration with Spiros Michalakis from Caltech’s IQIM, eventually giving it the ability to run on actual quantum computing hardware. This was demonstrated in 2020, when Quantum Chess was run on Google’s Rainbow chip, housed in Santa Barbara.

In an effort to further lessons learned with Quantum Chess, and to challenge the world to think quantum in games, Chris founded the game development studio Quantum Realm Games. Its focus is creating games that incorporate quantum phenomena as a core gameplay mechanic.

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 Morgana.

He completed his M.F.A at Laguna College of Art + Design and has been an active advocate for both the industry and for game students, lecturing and writing articles on subjects such as selecting a college and how to break into the industry. His work, The Game Developers Dictionary (Cengage Learning) is the first dictionary specifically for the video game industry.

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 compassion and empathy through storytelling. Her teaching experience began with pre-school children, and has extended to college level students; both fun in their own ways. A Pratt Institute alumni, and graduate of Academy of Art University, she now creates games and experiences that transport players into other realms. She is currently employed at Obsidian Entertainment.

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 Last of Us Part 1, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and three VR titles for Sanzaru Games: Marvel: Powers United and Asgard’s Wrath and Asgard’s Wrath II. His work has been featured on the 80.lv homepage & Polycount. Hugh has also taught at other Learning Academies such as CG Master Academy and Academy of Art University.

Dan Cuatt is an environment artist working in games, currently at Unbroken Studios.
He’s been making things since he was old enough to wield scissors and tape and paper — which are still his preferred medium to work in when the computers are down! He draws a straight line from his upbringing surrounded by a creative family, to his time learning and teaching at LCAD, to the person he is today.

Making art and environments isn’t a solitary act for Dan, it’s a hybrid process of
collaborative construction and play. In the past it was building cardboard forts with brothers. Today, it’s between him and the team at the studio, and the players out in the world. The tools may change, but the core remains the same — building a space for players to explore and play in!

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 lend his artistic talents to both big and small game companies across the industry, including one of the biggest game development studios in the business, Electronic Arts. At EA, Casey received the opportunity to work with Illumination Entertainment and NBC/Universal on the mobile title Minions Paradise, and work directly with the leads of the franchise. Casey now works as Art Director for the Carlsbad based Mobile games development studio Redemption Games, alongside the original creators of the hit mobile title Cookie Jam.

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.

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 + Design in 2013. Kari paints in oil and acrylic and works both figuratively and in small intimate still life paintings. Through her practice of painting ordinary inanimate objects, she gives voice to the quiet corners and objects of the home, describing the thingness that is these objects and how they embody human presence and absence.

With over 10 years of experience at Blizzard Entertainment, Ariel served as a core artist in creating memorable in game character assets for World of Warcraft, taking the role as a forefront for new, innovative content and thriving within a cross-disciplinary team-oriented environment in a variety of leadership roles. She’s been employing her skills in both 2D and 3D disciplines to create whimsical and captivating characters that enrich gameplay experiences. Within her time working for Blizzard she has onboarded employees as well as mentoring interns and college seniors. She loves sharing her knowledge learned over her career and thrives watching her peers and students grow as artists.

Justin “Goby” Fields is a creative director, concept artist, and illustrator for Feature Films, Video Games, and the Broadcast Industry. As a freelance concept artist, Justin has created design content and illustrations for Jupiter Ascending, Maleficent, Noah, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Marvel’s Spider-man PS4, Bright, Falling Skies, The New Mutants, League of Legends, The Wolverine, Star Citizen, Goosebumps, Max Steel, Prey, and Black Adam.

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 own passions. She holds a deep appreciation for the road less traveled – understanding everyone’s path is unique – and teaches through compassion and encouragement.

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 Duty, Alexander has created props for the Destiny franchise and vehicles for Armored Warfare at Obsidian. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Art from LCAD. Alexander teaches Modeling For Game 1 to help students learn current industry asset creation for the video game industry. Alexander loves exploring architecture, cities, and nature on his travels that he can introduce into the work he creates.

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, Hi-Rez Studios, Adobe, and Psyop. Founder of Chimera Studios, providing art outsourcing for games.

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 III with Ars Electronica & Fraunhofer MEVIS, Vermont Studio Centre, ACRE, and a member of UCLA Art Sci Centre | Lab. Her work has been included in DA Fest, xCoax, Currents New Media, SciArt Initiative, ComeAlive, and GOGBOT, amongst others. Joteva holds a BA from USC Roski, an MFA from UCLA, and completed The New Normal postgraduate research program at Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture, and Design. Most recently she was a Visualization Research Artist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, and an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University. Currently she is a visiting lecturer and advisor at the SCIArc EDGE Program, and teaches XR principles internationally at GEC Academy, houdini.school and with her collective current.cam. Joteva lives and works in Los Angeles.

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 not only appealing
and engaging, but functional within their world, with strong visual storytelling — values
he also emphasizes to his students. Sebastian has done prop and concept work for
both games and animation, with past projects including Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital),
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Titmouse), and Fast & Furious Spy Racers (DreamWorks
Television Animation).

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 techniques at Lightbox Expo, IFCC Croatia, and Maxon’s live events. He also shares his expertise as an instructor at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, through masterclasses, and as a contributor to Proko’s art education series.

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 teaching, Wesley creates countless “Break Time” animatics, short, imaginative vignettes of the adventures that might unfold during class breaks. Outside the studio, he can usually be found with a camera, capturing the world around him.

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 majored in Game Art.

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 a part of the level design community for over a decade, helping run the GDC Level Design Summit and Level Design track at Gamecom Dev.

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 real-time rendering animation. Previously, Dean has worked as a Senior Environment Artist at Pocket Gems, and as 3D Art Lead at Broken Circle Studios. He has also worked in the board games industry, producing sculpts for 3D printing professionally and at a hobby level. Dean holds a bachelor’s degree in Game Art from LCAD. He is passionate about 3D design, and is excited to help students find their own path through the industry.

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 projects with major players including Apple, Disney, Sony, Xbox, Roblox, and EA, excelling in fostering creative, open, and efficient team environments. His approach encompasses crafting and executing clear roadmaps, content pipeline planning, meticulous scheduling, and risk management, all while prioritizing team well-being and aligning with no-crunch cultures.

Enya Oreshkin is a passionate 3D Artist who specializes in Environments and Props. She moved to SoCal from New Jersey following her dream to work in the game industry. She graduated from LCAD and is currently working at Blizzard Entertainment as an Associate Environment Artist on Overwatch 2.

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 founding owner of the game art tutorial website 3dmotive.com, and has been an Adjunct Faculty member here at LCAD for nearly 14 years. Don’s classes are historically a rigorous introduction to creating game-ready props, assets, and scenes and work to transform students from humble beginners into confident 3d artists.

More of Don’s work can be seen at https://www.artstation.com/donott

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 and Gnomon School of Visual Arts, as well as speaking at industry events like GDC.

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 art. Clients include: Tony Seiniger, TV Guide, The LA Times, ILM, and Introvision Systems.

Animation companies worked for: Ralph Bakshi Animation, Richard Williams Animation in Los Angeles, DIC, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Feature, Walt Disney Television, Disney Toon Studios, Walt Disney Feature and Fox. Responsibilities at these companies include: character design, background design, background painting, storyboarding, visual development and art direction.

Teaching experience: Art Center College of Design, Cal Arts, Laguna College of Art & Design, Woodbury University and The Fashion Institute of Los Angeles.

Western themed fine art gallery work represented by Trailside Galleries in Scottsdale AZ and Jackson Hole Wyoming.

Currently teaching at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach.

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.

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 majored in Game Art.

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 is in the perception of Pompeian intersections and how they served as navigational tools in the ancient world.

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.

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 well as Avengers. Over her time there, she had a wide array of responsibilities including modeling, texturing, world building, optimization analysis, and more. Over time, she became more focused on world building and what it means to use art and layout to create experiences for the player beyond just the visuals.

In 2018, Nicole started her job at Arkane Studios as a senior level architect and pursued further specialization in world building and visual development. She is excited to see how the industry evolves and to share her experiences with students.

Poe Tan is a Professor, Instructor and Concept Designer, helping students and professionals realize their creative potential. Poe balances two roles professionally, alternating between concept artist with over 23 years in the animation field as a background and prop designer. Poe works tirelessly as a professor and instructor educating and mentoring college-level students at some of Southern California’s most accomplished art schools including: Art Center College of Design, Otis College of Art, Pasadena City College, EIDO (An industry conduit between individuals and the local entertainment unions), Computer Graphics Masters Academy (CGMA) and Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art (LAAFA). He is also working on several book projects and developing a new intellectual property for independent publishing.

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 an MA in animation from the Royal College of Art and a BA from USC. This is the second year Matt is teaching an expansive Houdini course at LCAD.

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 of High Moon Studios, Emmanuel served as Game Director on The Bourne Conspiracy and co-created Darkwatch. He was also the creator of the Ready 2 Rumble Boxing franchise. His recent work includes LEGO 2K Drive, Skullgirls Mobile, and NBA 2K25: Gravity Ball.

Emmanuel earned his degree in Environmental Design from ArtCenter College of Design and has taught in LCAD’s MFA Art of Game Design program since 2015. A founding contributor to the MFA curriculum, he teaches Player-Centric Design, Management Psychology, and Thesis Project Design. His current interests include visual storytelling, game development, emerging AI-assisted creative workflows, and mentoring the next generation of creative leaders.

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, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

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 about joining the faculty teaching GA304. He has a love for sculpting in zbrush, storytelling in the 3d medium, and looks forward to helping students craft their own projects this upcoming semester.

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 outside his field of expertise.

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 Studios, Lucas Film, Warner Brothers, HBO, MGM, and AMC. At the same time, he has also taught and mentored some of the top up and coming artists in the industry. Damon is currently the Lead Character Artist at Respawn Entertainment.

After graduating from LCAD in 2022 from the Game Art program as a tutor and an intern at Visual Concepts 2K, I went on to work at 2K as a full-time environment artist. I then went on to work at Misfits Gaming Group as a 3D Artist and have been following a path of teaching. Sharing knowledge about the game industry and the process that goes behind it is very meaningful to me. I love helping to inspire other artists and giving them the tools to succeed.

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 like Rockstar San Diego, Sony Online Entertainment, Majesco Studios, and Zya. Currently he is knee deep in VR development, rigging and animating at Dreamscape Immersive. Along with his daily development role, he teaches here at the Laguna College of Art + Design. As a teacher Eric loves being a part of building the students’ foundations, helping to provide them with the tools to seize their futures.

Debra Isaac is a Visual Artist, Animator, and the Founder of houdini.school. She loves community building, hosts Houdini Battle, and co-organizes The Los Angeles Houdini User Group (LAHUG). She has over 10 years of experience teaching Houdini. She is passionate about animation, scientific visualization, motion graphics, and emerging technologies. Her clients have included Intel, Mattel, and The UCLA Art|Sci Center.

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, NBC Universal, and 9B Collective.

An alumnus of Laguna College of Art + Design, Andrew earned his BFA in Game Art and has previously taught courses such as Concept Sketch and Digital Painting. He emphasizes solid fundamentals, driven by passion, discipline, and creative exploration.

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 experience of over five years. With core beliefs in storytelling, Brandy is thrilled to teach and pass along skills learned throughout the years to LCAD students.

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 games in Montreal for Gameloft and Kabam.

Dawnson went to school in Toronto, Canada at Sheridan College where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Animation. Following Sheridan he went to Seneca College for a one-year Game Arts program.

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 Award) as a background artist and Dragons: The Nine Realms (2020-2023) (Emmy Nominated) as a development artist. He also worked as a pre-production illustrator with Brad Bird on Ray Gunn (1996) at Turner Feature Animation, production illustrator on the live-action Little Nicky (2000), preproduction illustrator and concept artist on the live-action reboot of Battlestar Galactica (2004). In 1997 he became a member of the Society of Illustrators and the Air Force Art Program which gave him the opportunity to do a painting for the United States Air Force which still hangs in the halls of the Pentagon to this day. He also designed and illustrated several book jackets including: The special edition of the Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Fighting on All Fronts: Profiles of Chinese Americans from the Golden State, Pyramid Power, and Power of Pyramids.

He worked at most of the major studios which include Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, HBO, Disney, Dreamworks, Universal, Sony, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Since he attended college before the digital era, he has garnered skills in traditional media and digital. His skills include prop artist, background designer, background painter, art director, 3D vehicle design and 3D set design.

He attended San Francisco City College for 2 years as an art major, won a scholarship to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco studying illustration for 1 year. He then moved to Pasadena and attended Art Center College of Design where he studied as an illustration major for 2 years. His portfolio can be viewed at artrgcportfolio.com.

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 at age nine. Drawing skateboarding stick figures on sticky notes, turning them into flip books. These little animations eventually led Stephen to 2-D animation school and on to digital artist & painting.

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 introduce students to the creative world of VFX.

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, and technical prototyping, she mentored student teams through hands-on project development, fostering critical thinking and creativity.

Her industry experience includes working as a Level Designer at Baka Bros Entertainment, where she contributed to Chaos Kart, a published multiplayer racing game on Steam, using Unreal Engine. She has also developed a wide range of prototypes in Unity, including cross-platform, VR games, and escape rooms, and has worked across the full game development pipeline from ideation to user testing and iteration.

As a researcher at Northeastern’s GhostLab, Rana has led UX and playtesting efforts for VR and AR projects, applying both qualitative and quantitative methods to improve player engagement and learning outcomes. Her work has been recognized in publications presented at CHI and Cureus, focusing on extended reality learning environments and serious games.

Rana holds an MS in Game Science and Design from Northeastern University and a BS in Software Engineering. Her work has earned awards such as the Neurath Outstanding Social Relevance Award and a Graduate Scholarship from CAMD at Northeastern University.

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 selected for the 2023 WINGS x Netflix ELEVATE fund, a grant and mentorship program.

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.

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 and team development. Christina holds a Master of Arts in Leadership, Learning & Technology from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies and Communication from Defiance College. Her academic background is a testament to her commitment to lifelong learning and her ability to leverage technology to enhance creative and leadership skills. Throughout her professional tenure, particularly at Naughty Dog LLC, Christina has overseen comprehensive studio hiring, recruitment strategies, and operational improvements, contributing significantly to organizational growth and efficiency. Her expertise in talent recruitment has garnered widespread recognition, evidenced by her status as a LinkedIn Community Top Voice in multiple sectors and her impactful work in increasing diversity and efficiency within the industry. As a fervent advocate for working mothers and inclusivity in the workplace, Christina has founded and actively participates in various industry and community groups, including Moms In Gaming and Women in Animation. Her work emphasizes building supportive environments and opportunities for underrepresented voices in the creative sector, aligning with the mission and values of the Laguna College of Art and Design.

Claire Fingerhut is a technical game designer with a strong focus on game feel, mechanic design, and artistic experiences. In her designs, Claire strives for satisfying and responsive tactility, which she believes is an essential part of guiding players into a flow state. With a strong background in game art and collaboration and 3 years of game dev experience, Claire is knowledgeable about interdepartmental pipelines and have led small teams of game developers in creating cohesive, scope-informed, and artful game experiences.

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 at Obsidian Entertainment as an Environmental Technical Artist. Hikari has also worked at Rio Hondo College as an instructor for the Game Art and Design program.

Hikari’s recent titles are Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2.
ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/hikarioishi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hikarioishi/

Heather Wright is a UX Designer and UI Artist with a passion for games as an art medium. She has worked
in both mobile and console game development since her graduation from LCAD, where she received a BFA in
Game Art. In her time at LCAD, she also founded the Game Development Club, and won several awards for
her game projects. Heather brings both professional and practical knowledge to her lessons, and hopes to
foster an environment for students to explore and grow into their careers, while also better
understanding their own personal place in an ever-changing industry. You can learn more about her at
lefthandedheather.com