Zach J. Meyer
Hello,
My name is Zach Meyer and I am a 3D computer 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 undergrad degree as an Art and New Media Studies double major and my master’s degree in Interactive Entertainment, both of which provide me with hands-on skills in the world of 3D modeling within the video gaming field. My work experience in the field has most recently been being a Graphic Technical Support/3D Graphic Artist, in which I created models for Department of Defense agencies and FAA flight training simulations. I also have a passion for all forms of art including digital 2D work and animation, UI/UX, and traditional art. I am even currently taking courses in UI/UX design to further hone my skills.
I have been employed with Adsync Technologies for over a year, working on flight training simulation assets and models for government contracts such as the Federal Aviation Administration. I have been in charge of creating photorealistic low-res models that accurately depict airport buildings and vehicles which can efficiently run in simulations. This included studying satellite imagery and ground photos and then replicating the visuals for the simulations. It has been 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.
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. During my time on FIEA, I worked with Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter and Designer, Marmoset Toolbag, UE4 and Unity, and the Adobe Suite.
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.
I am very passionate about digital and game art, and enjoy 3D modeling, UI art, and all the related technologies. One of the essentials I have learned is the art pipeline for 3D modeling, along with several programs used for game and computer art. I use Zbrush for sculpting high poly models and Maya 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 was introduced to Unreal 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. 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. 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, and After Effects.
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.
Art is an incredibly important part of my life, especially in the computer world. I love 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 taking your time reading a little bit about me. Please, enjoy my art!