APRIL SCHMIDT

Experience

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Thought Pennies Inc.
Role: Art Manager (May 2024 – November 2024)

Titles: Unannounced fantasy RPG development

• People development, production, and management. Enabling, supporting, and collaborating with TechArtists, Art Leads, Engineering, Narrative Designers, and creative ICs.

• Art development pipeline, process, and best practice building and coordination.

• Engagement at studio organizational level, deep Production collaboration, and facilitation of Game Director vision through Art department guidance and support.

• Supporting studio-level relationship with Publisher and IP representatives.

• Development game art, demo building, pitch coordination, aesthetic review, feedback, and art direction.

• Facilitating relationships and processes with contractors and external service providers.

 

Cryptic Studios
Role: Director of Core Art (January 2023 – April 2024)
Titles: Neverwinter Online (GaaS), Star Trek Online (GaaS), Champions Online (Gaas), Unannounced Developments

• Cultivated centralized art org, made up of concept, marketing, and multi-disciplined XDev artists. Included shared management and coordinated production of technical art and associated production staff.

• Organizational level leadership. Identified and anticipated studio-wide art needs and employed strategic art staffing solutions, budgets, and roadmaps.

• Mentoring, supporting, and collaborating with studio art leaders, creative/art directors, and ICs.

• Identifying and anticipating cross-project, studio art needs, employing strategic art staffing solutions, and investing in people and relationships. Enabling artists to deliver game art consistently, at high fidelity, on time, in a sustainable way that supports the vision of the products and development teams.

• Continued external art development responsibilities (see Senior Art XDev Manager below.)

 

Role: Senior Art XDev Manager (January 2018 – December 2022)
Titles: Neverwinter Online (GaaS), Star Trek Online (GaaS), Champions Online (Gaas), Magic: Legends (Open Beta, 2021)

• Spearheaded a studio-wide external art development program. Included role creation and team building,
  strategic partnerships, talent acquisition, mentoring, budgeting, contract building and management,
  negotiation, scheduling and planning, and establishing pipelines and practices best fitting the needs of the
  studio.

• Established and implemented aesthetic and technical art standards. Art content creation and support, source control, engine implementation, tooling, pipeline, and game development related training.

 

Boneyard Studios LLC.

Art Manager

January 2018 – November 2018

Titles: Unannounced VR development

 

• Coordinated with interdisciplinary project leadership.

• Art leadership, people management, production scheduling, budget management, contract management, negotiation, talent acquisition.

• Art, aesthetic, and technical direction for concept, character, and environment art for VR.

 

Ignite Studio (IGT)

External Art Manager

July 2016 – December 2017

Titles: Griffin’s Throne (2017), Ocean Spirit (2017), Babooshka (2017), Cleopatra Gold (2017), Fortune Coin (2017), Phoenix (2017), Sea Cash (2016), Ascent of Queen (2016), Wheel Shot 2 (2016)

 

• Established and maintained art outsourcing best practices, processes, and pipelines.

• Coordinated with art leadership and external devs. Art review, aesthetic, and technical direction.

• Coordinated with accounting/finance, contract management, negotiation, external partnership acquisition and maintenance.

• Art content creation and support, source control, engine implementation, tooling/pipeline and game development related training as needed.

 

YouKickAss, LLC.

Lead Artist

2015 – 2016

Titles: 3D Face Software (2016), Unannounced software development

 

• People management, production scheduling. Overseeing, approvals, coordination with in-house pipeline and process and external team-members.

• Individual contribution. Included ux/ui, concept, 2D/3D character art, animation, 2D/3D environment art, 3D printing, R&D, and art development for VR.

 

Turn 10 Studios (Microsoft Gaming Studios)

2008 – 2015

 

Senior Vehicle Outsource Artist (Car Team)

Titles: Forza Motorsport 6 (2015), Forza Horizon 2 (2014), Forza Motorsport 5 DLC

• Vendor asset management, documentation, and communication between in-house and vendor artists.

• Individual contribution. Included asset creation, engine implementation, polish, bug fixes.

 

Lead Environment Outsource Artist, Senior Environment Artist (Environment Art)

Titles: Forza Motorsport 5 (Xbox One Launch Title, 2013)

• Vendor asset management, documentation, and aesthetic direction. Outsourcing and QA staffing, mentoring and leadership.

• Individual contribution. Included asset creation, engine implementation, polish, bug fixes.

• Prototyping, software testing for future use in pipeline. Tutorial, document, and Wiki creation for in-house pipeline usage.

 

Outsource Artist, Associate Environment Artist, Quality Assurance (Environment Art)

Titles: Forza Motorsport 3 (2009)

• External art facilitator. Coordinated with art leadership and external devs. Art review, aesthetic, and technical direction.

• Individual contribution. Included asset creation, engine implementation, polish, bug fixes.

 

Young Rembrandts

Fine Arts Teacher

2015 – 2016

• Teaching, traditional arts, drawing, tradeshows.

 

FXVille, Inc.

World Builder

Title: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Wii, 2011)

• Port track artist for three levels (two multi-player, one single-player).

 

Northwest Orthopedic Institute

Freelance Illustrator

Title: SAIL Brochure 2007

• Concept and ideation through final illustration for print and web content.