RESUME
MICHAEL YEISER
Senior 3D Artist | 3D Environmental Designer | Creative Director | Graphic Designer
803-850-8751 | yeisermichael@gmail.com | michaelyeiser.com
Washington, D.C. | Columbia, SC
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Results-driven Senior 3D Artist, 3D Environmental Designer, Creative Director, and Graphic Designer with 25 years of experience in high-fidelity 3D modeling, VR/AR/XR development, rigging, animation, real-time simulation, graphic design with successful team based ecosystems. Created 3D environments and assets for AAA video games at Take 2 Interactive in the entertainment industry, followed by 20+ years leading creative direction and delivering immersive training solutions for the U.S. military. Led creative teams and technical direction for major PC/VR/AR training programs supporting the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, USMC, U.S. Secret Service, Iraqi Coast Guard, Mexican Special Forces, Orange County CA SWAT Team and U.S. Navy Surgeon General. Expertise in building production pipelines, delivering complex multi-user VR environments, and producing high-impact graphic design and marketing materials.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
VR | AR | XR | 3D: VR/AR/XR Development, 3D Environmental Design, 3D Modeling, Texturing, Character Rigging & Animation, PBR Pipeline, Real-Time Simulation
Engines | Tools | Software: Unity, Unreal Engine, 3ds Max, Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere), AutoCAD, SketchUp
Design | Production | Layout: UX/UI Design, Motion Graphics, Video Production, Game Design, Graphic Design, Development Pipeline Implementation and Management
Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac, Oculus, HTC Vive Pro, iOS, Android, Playstation, Xbox, HoloLens
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Lead Artist | Lead Designer | 3D Environmental Designer | Creative Director | Graphic Designer | Chief Operating Officer
Fallen Dragon Studios – Broad Run, VA
April 2018 – Present
• Served as Creative Director for a U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) VR training program under the U.S. Navy Surgeon General, overseeing all creative vision, 3D environmental design, and interactive medical training experiences.
• Led development of a fully networked multi-user VR training environment supporting 16 simultaneous users in a 40’x40’ tracked physical space.
• Directed and assisted in creating a patient flow training simulation including a 1:1 scale interactive VR model of the USNS Comfort hospital ship as lead 3D Environmental Designer, modeling 7 decks with fully interactive compartments, working elevators, and patient flow training for 12 departments.
• Designed and created over 500 highly detailed, fully interactive medical equipment assets with PBR materials, functional interfaces, and maintenance/repair capabilities.
• Led all graphic design efforts, developing visual style guides, branding, asset pipelines, and marketing materials for defense training applications.
• Modeled and textured high-fidelity service machinery for a VR mechanical maintenance trainer for the USNS Seawolf submarine program.
• Contributed to UX/UI design and 3D environmental development of an A-10 flight simulator for the U.S. Air Force.
Lead 3D Artist | 3D Environmental Designer | Creative Director | Graphic Designer
Dynamic Animation Systems, Inc. – Fairfax, VA
October 2003 – February 2019
• Served as Creative Director leading art teams and designing production pipelines for large-scale infantry training simulators for U.S. Army Rangers and multiple defense clients including U.S. Marine Corps University, National Guard, Iraqi Coast Guard, Mexican Special Forces, Orange County CA SWAT Team and U.S. Secret Service.
• Directed 3D environmental design, created a custom multi-layer animation systems, rigging, and real-time simulation content, producing thousands of character and object animations.
• Led graphic design and marketing initiatives, creating product logos, promotional videos, print collateral, and presentation materials for simulation training products.
• Collaborated with customers on new product concepts and 3D environmental designs, resulting in multiple U.S. patented objects used in real-time simulation training.
• Directed database design and physically based rendering content development to meet rigorous military specifications incorporating highly technical training requirements.
3D Artist | Environment Artist
Take 2 Interactive / Rockstar Games – White Marsh, MD
August 2000 – October 2003
• Created 3D environments, assets, characters, and animations for multiple AAA video game titles on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC platforms.
• Contributed to environmental design, rigging, character development, and animation pipelines for published video games.
• Produced video game box art, motion graphics, promotional ad campaigns, and marketing materials as Graphic Designer.
• Credited on 5 published video game titles.
EDUCATION
B.A. Computer Animation & Multimedia
Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA — 2000
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH — 1998