Hi there! I'm Shawn Yap, a Lead Visual Development Artist with over 13 years in the games industry, based in Singapore. I specialize in driving visual direction, producing high-fidelity concept art, and leading art teams through new IP development, live features, and stylistic transitions. I enjoy shaping cohesive visual identities and collaborating across disciplines to deliver immersive experiences. My track record includes shipping major features at top studios, mentoring artists, and building scalable art pipelines. I’m passionate about storytelling through visuals, crafting world-building details, and guiding teams to own their craft with clear goals and feedback. I thrive in cross-functional settings and love helping studios elevate their art and narrative quality.…

Shawn Yap

Hi there! I'm Shawn Yap, a Lead Visual Development Artist with over 13 years in the games industry, based in Singapore. I specialize in driving visual direction, producing high-fidelity concept art, and leading art teams through new IP development, live features, and stylistic transitions. I enjoy shaping cohesive visual identities and collaborating across disciplines to deliver immersive experiences. My track record includes shipping major features at top studios, mentoring artists, and building scalable art pipelines. I’m passionate about storytelling through visuals, crafting world-building details, and guiding teams to own their craft with clear goals and feedback. I thrive in cross-functional settings and love helping studios elevate their art and narrative quality.…

Available to hire

Hi there! I’m Shawn Yap, a Lead Visual Development Artist with over 13 years in the games industry, based in Singapore. I specialize in driving visual direction, producing high-fidelity concept art, and leading art teams through new IP development, live features, and stylistic transitions. I enjoy shaping cohesive visual identities and collaborating across disciplines to deliver immersive experiences.

My track record includes shipping major features at top studios, mentoring artists, and building scalable art pipelines. I’m passionate about storytelling through visuals, crafting world-building details, and guiding teams to own their craft with clear goals and feedback. I thrive in cross-functional settings and love helping studios elevate their art and narrative quality.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Lead Visual Development Artist, Illustrator, and Visual Story Teller at King (Activision Blizzard)
October 1, 2019 - August 1, 2025
Led the transition of Candy Crush Soda Saga from 2D to 3D, redefining the game's visual identity, narrative clarity, and UI/UX integration. Established a new thematic direction, shape language, and color system to deliver cohesive, high-fidelity visuals. Directed visual storytelling, UI art, and 3D research, ensuring seamless integration across features. Collaborated with production to align planning and execution, mentoring artists and fostering ownership through empathetic leadership. Oversaw end-to-end art production for major features, driving quality, consistency, and alignment with evolving product goals. Implemented art pipeline improvements, represented the studio in global art networks, and helped shape long-term visual strategy with leadership.
Senior Game Artist (Character Lead) & Narrative Designer at King (Activision Blizzard)
July 1, 2018 - October 1, 2019
Led visual development for character design, shaping the game's artistic identity and contributing to world-building and narrative design. Directed cross-disciplinary collaboration to maintain narrative consistency and alignment with the game’s vision. Served as Lead Artist for character tracking, designing multiple key characters and in-game assets to enhance visual coherence, narrative depth, and world-building. Initiated and optimized the art feedback pipeline, improving collaboration, creative efficiency, and review processes. Produced the majority of illustrations for the project and documented cross-functional workflows for stakeholders and external partners.
Game Artist at King (Activision Blizzard / Microsoft)
December 1, 2014 - July 1, 2018
Contributed to initial art style and visual direction, creating character and environment concepts, model sheets, and animation guidelines to support 3D and animation teams. Shaped the game's narrative design and contributed to world-building and in-game introduction scripting to establish tone and player immersion. Managed cross-team collaboration to maintain consistency and alignment with the game’s story vision.
Game Artist at LambdaMu Games Pte Ltd
September 1, 2013 - November 1, 2014
Defined initial art style and created proof-of-concept mockups for early visual development and stakeholder validation. Produced a broad asset set for the 2014 GDC build, including concept art, in-game assets, characters, UI, marketing visuals, and trailer art, helping generate industry buzz and early interest.
Game Artist at Gumi Asia Pte Ltd
June 1, 2012 - August 1, 2013
Defined initial art style and contributed to Android titles such as Knight Legends (logo design) and Puzzle Trooper, providing concept art, environment concepts, and in-game assets. Worked on city assets and marketing visuals for ongoing updates and launches.
Game Artist at Gambit [Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab]
May 1, 2011 - August 1, 2011
Contributed to the initial art style, concept art, character design, and UI exploration for early game prototypes. Served as a cross-disciplinary liaison to support narrative design, art direction, and production.
Dark Dot at Dark Dot
January 1, 2011 - December 1, 2011
Created concept art and in-game assets for a mobile action game, supporting visual identity and gameplay visuals for early release.

Education

Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts in Visual Communications (Second Class Honors, Upper Division) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2012
Diploma in Interactive Media Design (Animation) With Merit (3rd Best in Course) at Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
May 9, 2003 - April 23, 2006

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet
    uniE621 Letters.
    Self published graphic novel - available on Amazon. Was the creator for this, serving as both writer and artist. View it here- https://www.twine.net/signin branding illustrator comic artist…