Zach J. Meyer
Hello,
My name is Zach Meyer and I am a 3D digital artist who concentrates on modeling hi-res and low-res models, UVing, and texturing for games, simulations, and other interactive experiences. In developing my career, I have been advancing my skills through education and work experience. My education includes my master’s degree in Interactive Entertainment with a concentration in 3D art and my undergrad degree as an Art and New Media Studies double major, both of which provide me with hands-on skills in the world of 3D modeling. I also have a passion for all forms of art including digital 2D work and animation, UI/UX, and traditional art. I have recently completed courses in UI/UX design to further hone my skills.
I am currently employed with CAE as a Multimedia Technician. I produce high definition photo-realistic and photo-accurate 2D and 3D interactive media to be used in simulation and/or emulation scenarios and procedural tasks as part of aviation courseware and other design assignments. I thoroughly enjoy working for CAE. Previously, I was employed with Adsync Technologies, working on flight training simulation assets and models for government contracts such as the Federal Aviation Administration. I created photorealistic low-res models that accurately depicted airport buildings and vehicles which could efficiently run in simulations. This included studying satellite imagery and ground photos and then replicating the visuals for the simulations. It was an amazing experience being able to be an aid in training programs. Here, I worked with Maya and 3ds Max for modeling and Photoshop for creating photorealistic textures. Adsync has provided me with a great letter of recommendation. In addition, I have been contracted to work on asset and character 3D models in the industry.
I graduated from the University of Central Florida's FIEA Program (Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy), completing my Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment with a concentration in 3D modeling. While there, I was part of the development of several games and interactive experiences such as two capstone projects: Drift Light, where I worked as a concept artist and creature modeler, and Malediction, in which I worked as a UI artist. Both of these games have been successfully published and are now available on Steam. We also created a VR experience called the Tale of Thomas Carnacki and Fantomah, in which I was the character lead. I worked with 3D modelers for character and creature assets and communicated with the art director of the project to keep the art style consistent. I also facilitated weekly meetings with character artists to check on progress of art in relation to the schedule. At FIEA, I also worked on an AR project with a licensed social worker to assist in creating a prototype game that helps children cope when dealing with trauma. I created appropriate 3D assets with the help of Dr. Madsen Thomas. I also worked on a grant project with Professor Dr. Hirumi, an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Central Florida as the graphic artist synchronizing voiceovers and designing renderings of people, anatomy, and graphs that were implemented as tutorials in medical classes through the interPLAY instructional strategy.
I have specifically focused on digital/computer generated art throughout my education. Before my master’s degree, I graduated from Alma College and my double major was in Art and Design, and New Media Studies. At Alma, I took many game/digital art-centered classes (I also earned a minor in psychology because I have always been fascinated by what motivates people). I even attended a fine and performing arts high school, Arts Academy in the Woods, where I majored in Art and Multimedia. In my internship at the University of Virginia, I created content for virtual reality programs for use in a research collaboration with Google VR. My role in this internship involved making assets, rooms, and models in Maya, materials in Photoshop, and animation and code in C# within Unity. I programmed experiments to gather VR user experience data for Google VR to use for hardware and software development in the future.
I am a dedicated digital and interactive artist, and I enjoy 3D modeling, UI art, and all the related technologies. I know the art pipeline and workflow for 3D modeling, along with many programs used for game and digital art. I use Zbrush for sculpting high poly models and Maya or 3ds Max for creating topology and UVs from these Zbrush models to turn them into game resolution assets. I have worked on organic assets such as characters and creatures along with hard surface assets such as weapons, robots, vehicles, and machinery. One of my best skills is creating hard surface assets. Other programs I use often are Marmoset for baking my hi-res models to my low-res assets and Substance Painter for creating textures for the assets. I have learned to use game engines such as Unreal and Unity to render my models. I have been using Unreal since I have been at FIEA, and have used Unity both while working on my undergrad at Alma and during my virtual reality internship at the University of Virginia. At FIEA, we frequently used the control system, Perforce, for all of our projects. I have also been introduced to other aspects of digital art such as rigging and 3D animation, along with basic coding from languages such as Python and Processing. I also have extensive experience with the Adobe Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects, Animate, and Lightroom.
Along with these programs for game and digital art, I have a background in traditional art. I have learned to work with a variety of styles and have a solid understanding of art essentials such as figure drawing, color theory, lighting, and shape language. My artwork has been shown in over 30 exhibitions.
I enjoy working in this field and I will always try my best to make a valuable contribution with my artistic skills to the places I work. Thank you for your time.
Big Arts Sanibel Island - International Society of Experimental Artists - Florida, Don’t Fall Asleep - pen on paper, 2017
Northville Art House - West of Center - Michigan, Loss of Her Self Control - pen on paper, 2017
Pine River Anthology - Alma College, Demon Possession – animation, 2017
Alden B. Dow Museum - Greater Michigan Art Exhibition, Millennial - oil on canvas, 2016
Tangent Gallery - Damned IX Exhibition - Detroit, Michigan, Loss of Her Self Control - pen on paper, 2016
Marin Society of Artists - Dreams Exhibition - San Rafael, California, Don’t Fall Asleep - pen on paper, 2016
Chris Sorensen Studio - Geek Artistique Exhibition - Fresno, California, Your Best Friend – digital, 2016
Gallery 194 - Steampunk Show - Lapeer, Michigan, Fresh, Seasoned, Midst, and Ready to Fly – digital, 2016
Tangent Gallery - Damned VIII Exhibition - Detroit, Michigan, Unseen - acrylic on canvas, 2015
Meekers Classic Sheepdog Art Exhibition – Colorado, Puppy Love - acrylic on canvas, Children’s
Choice Award, 2015
Pine River Anthology - Alma College, The Haunting - pencil on paper and Pumpkin - colored pencils, 2014
Museum of Contemporary Art - Detroit, Michigan - AAW Exhibition, 20 of my art pieces, 2013
Clinton River Day Logo Contest - Michigan, First Place, design used for promotional materials, 2013
SAMPLING OF ADDITIONAL PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS AND AWARDSCrop calendar for Clarkston, Michigan Fruit Market
Trader Joes art exhibition
Rackham Symphony Peace Postcard, 1st place
AIM Exhibition, Cranbrook Museum
Stevenvlog - personalized artwork
Landmark Editions Logo Contest, 1st place
State of Michigan, DEQ Earth Day Poster
State of Michigan Severe Weather Awareness Contest, 1st place
Arts and Apples, grand prize winner
Anton Art Center, AAW exhibition
Lion’s Peace Poster, 1st in state
Detroit Zoo Year of the Frog, best in class
NewsCurrents Cartoon Contest, 2nd place
National Zoo Stomp Out Carbon
Red Vines - artwork copied in candy boxes
My Feenix art competition, 2nd place
My first competition at 9 years old:
International Environmental Children’s Drawing Contest, 1st place USA, exhibited at the United Nations in New York and Japan
I also illustrated for Stone Soup magazine from 2006 - 2009
I also self-published a book at age 14: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Buddies-Adventures-Dragon-Story/dp/0557829615/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483369983&sr=8-2&keywords=dragon+zachary+meyer
Technical Skills
- Creator of assets including props, environments, and characters for simulations, games, and other interactive experiences
-Builder of high poly models to bake and low poly game resolution models to make topology and materials for game assets
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• ZBrush - Creating high poly character and environment assets for video games
• Maya - Creating UV Maps, low poly and hard surface character and environment assets for video games
• 3ds Max - Creating UV Maps, low poly and hard surface character and environment assets for video games
• Substance Painter/Designer - Creating materials, textures, and baking for character and environment assets
• Marmoset Toolbag - Baking high poly models into low poly game models
• Unreal - Rendering models in engine and creating interactive experiences.
• Unity - Rendering models in engine and creating interactive experiences.
• Interpret Conceptual Art into 3D Models - Projects developed throughout graduate work
• Virtual Reality - Working with Unreal and Unity engines to develop VR experiences and research test instrument
• Adobe Suite - Including Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Flash, Lightroom, and Illustrator - Extensive use over several years
• UI Art/Figma/Miro - Creating 2D and 3D assets to use for UI such as Corss-Hairs, Health Bars, and Menu Screens
• Tiling/Pixel Sprite Design/2D Animation - Introduced to in classes, personal use for video games, joint projects, and for fun
• Figure drawing, character design, color theory, composition, concept art/multi-media, and promotional art - Extensive experience
• Pipeline and Workflow
• Game analysis and theory
• Paper prototyping
• Unreal Lighting and Post Processing
• Teamwork and art lead positions
• Introduced to in FIEA classes - Rigging and skinning, 3D animation, Unreal Blueprints,
• Other programs and computer languages - Internship, classwork, personal experience in - GameMaker 7, GamerMaker 8, and GameMaker Studio 1.4
• Introduced to 3D printing, Processing, Python using Pygame, C# within Unity