RESUME
MICHAEL YEISER
Art Director | Creative Director | Senior 3D Artist | 3D Environmental Designer | Graphic Designer
803-850-8751 | yeisermichael@gmail.com | michaelyeiser.com
Washington, D.C. | Columbia, SC
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Results-driven Art Director, Creative Director, Senior 3D Artist, 3D Animator, 3D Environmental Designer and Graphic Designer. Focused 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. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Secret Service, Iraqi Coast Guard, Mexican Special Forces, Colombian Army, 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 Modeling, 3D Environmental Design, Texturing, Character Rigging & Animation, PBR Pipeline, Real-Time Simulation
Engines | Tools | Software: Unity, Unreal, 3ds Max, Maya, Blender, 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
Art Director | Lead Artist | Lead Designer | 3D Environmental Designer | Graphic Designer | Chief Operating Officer
Fallen Dragon Studios – Broad Run, VA
April 2018 – Present
• Served as Art 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 with custom real-time training variables and after action review capabilities.
• Directed and assisted in creating a patient flow training simulation for the U.S. Navy 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 3D 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 digital twin high fidelity service machinery for a VR mechanical maintenance trainer for the USNS Seawolf submarine program.
• Contributed to hardware implementation, UX/UI design and 3D environmental development of a VR based A-10 flight simulator for the U.S. Air Force located at Sheppard Air Force Base.
Creative Director | Lead 3D Artist | 3D Environmental Designer | Graphic Designer
Dynamic Animation Systems, Inc. – Fairfax, VA
October 2003 – February 2019
• Served as Creative Director leading art teams, creating content and designing production pipelines for large-scale infantry training first person simulators for multiple defense clients including U.S. Army Rangers, U.S. Marine Corps University, U.S. National Guard, Iraqi Coast Guard, Mexican Special Forces, Colombian Army, Orange County CA SWAT Team and U.S. Secret Service.
• Assisted in successful completion of design compliance and training in a multi year effort to establish the first FPS dismounted infantry trainer for the U.S. Army Rangers at Fort Benning, Georgia as Program of Record.
• Collaborated directly on concept, design and training requirements with international customers including the Mexican Special Forces and Colombian Army on large scale training installation projects in Monterrey, Mexico and Cartagena, Colombia.
• 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 and Defense Department Special Programs.
• Collaborated directly 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 | Graphic Designer
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 multiple published video games.
• Produced video game box cover art, motion graphics, promotional ad campaigns, and marketing materials as Graphic Designer.
• Selected for the GTA Vice City art team with DMA in Edinburgh, Scotland
• Selected to work in studio with the Deer Hunter franchise team at Sunstorm Interactive in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• 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