Portfolio: _Website not available. Sign in: https://www.twine.net/signup_ / Twitter/Bsky: @anearbycat I'm Ash Kirk, a senior artist and illustrator with 15 years of experience as a professional artist in games, licensed design, and education. I love conceptualizing and collaborating with art directors and teams to deliver high‑fidelity visual content and brand‑consistent art styles. I have a particular interest in capturing the look of classic, realistic art digitally with a hand-touched charm while pushing my boundaries and trying as many new styles as I can.…

Ash Kirk

Portfolio: _Website not available. Sign in: https://www.twine.net/signup_ / Twitter/Bsky: @anearbycat I'm Ash Kirk, a senior artist and illustrator with 15 years of experience as a professional artist in games, licensed design, and education. I love conceptualizing and collaborating with art directors and teams to deliver high‑fidelity visual content and brand‑consistent art styles. I have a particular interest in capturing the look of classic, realistic art digitally with a hand-touched charm while pushing my boundaries and trying as many new styles as I can.…

Available to hire

Portfolio: Website not available. Sign in: https://www.twine.net/signup / Twitter/Bsky: @anearbycat

I’m Ash Kirk, a senior artist and illustrator with 15 years of experience as a professional artist in games, licensed design, and education. I love conceptualizing and collaborating with art directors and teams to deliver high‑fidelity visual content and brand‑consistent art styles. I have a particular interest in capturing the look of classic, realistic art digitally with a hand-touched charm while pushing my boundaries and trying as many new styles as I can.

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Skills

Experience Level

Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Mentor/Teacher at Huckleberry Art Academy
September 1, 2023 - Present
Taught over 50 mentees ranging from beginners to industry professionals, with strict guidelines directing mentees to be the best version of themselves artistically. Developed educational courses for lighting, texture, color, and composition. Created short-form videos to educate aspiring artists. Delivered in-person lectures on the Huckleberry Discord server.
Concept Artist at Atmos Labs
December 1, 2021 - March 1, 2023
Hired and managed outsourced concept artists for an unreleased game called Atmos and hired a new art director. Created concept art for exosuits, race hub, pit planes, machinery, and various regions throughout the game. Designed maps for world.
Art Director at Grimstar Entertainment
October 1, 2020 - May 1, 2023
Managed artists and coders to implement artistic vision for an unreleased indie title Beatdown using Unity. Created character and creature concepts. Built in-game mockups and pitch documents. Textured 3D creatures and characters. Designed menu interface and icons.
Senior UI Artist and Illustrator at Arenanet, LLC
July 1, 2018 - June 1, 2024
Trained team members on asset creation and helped develop style guides for Guild Wars 2 Gem Store and maps; used a proprietary engine. Collaborated with designers to create icons for End of Dragons, Secrets of the Obscure, Janthir Wilds, and Living World Season 3 through 5. Created and painted complex multi-zoom, multi-level interactive maps. Designed hundreds of banners for the Gem Store. Illustrated splash screens. Created weapon and creature concept art for Guild Wars 2 Living World and an unreleased title. Produced in-game video content for Guild Wars 2 blog. Designed comic panels and t-shirts for the official Guild Wars 2 website.
Multimedia Artist at Arenanet, LLC
July 1, 2016 - June 1, 2018
Collaborated with art departments to produce content for the Guild Wars 2 official website, advertisements, and art book. Painted and photo-bashed illustrations and screenshots to evoke in-game visuals. Created icons for Heart of Thorns expansion and an unreleased title. Developed assets for Living World Season 3 episodic trailers.
Senior Illustrator and Designer at Fifth Sun Licensed Designs (now Mad Engine)
October 1, 2011 - May 1, 2015
Trained and managed designers. Designed licensed, non-licensed, and original brand graphics. Edited assets of established brands to match specific styles for merchandising. Worked with over 60 licensors including Nintendo, Ubisoft, HBO, FX, DC, Star Wars; produced thousands of t-shirts; managed licensors accounts and presented style guides. Illustrated in-game assets used in Rovio’s Angry Birds franchise.
Multimedia Artist at Arenanet, LLC
June 1, 2015 - June 1, 2016
Interface with marketing teams to produce content for the Guild Wars 2 official website, advertisements, and art book. Painted and photo-bashed illustrations and screenshots to evoke in-game graphics. Created icons for Heart of Thorns expansion and an unreleased title. Created and painted complex multi-zoom, multi-level interactive maps. Generated hundreds of banners for the gem store and promotional materials.
Mentor / Teacher at Huckleberry Art Academy
September 1, 2023 - Present
Taught over 50 mentees ranging from beginners to industry professionals; developed educational courses for lighting, texture, color, and composition; produced short-form videos to educate aspiring artists; delivered in-person lectures on the Huckleberry Discord server.
Art Generalist at Arenanet, LLC
July 1, 2016 - June 1, 2018
Trained marketing team to create imagery for the official site; collaborated with designers to create icons, maps, and multi-zoom interactive maps; produced banners for the game store and concept art for key weapons and expansion visuals; contributed in-game art and promotional assets.
Conference Associate at Game Developers Conference (GDC) - San Francisco
January 1, 2012 - January 1, 2014
Member of a highly selective volunteer/work-exchange program; trained other associates to run GDC SF; assisted speakers, answered questions, monitored sessions, and helped other associates find work in the game industry.
Guest Speaker at Fairview Teaching Program
January 1, 2012 - January 1, 2014
Gave educational presentations to high school students interested in a career in design.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Graphics at California State University, Chico
February 1, 2007 - May 1, 2011
Minor in Communication Design at California State University, Chico
February 1, 2007 - May 1, 2011
Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Graphics at California State University, Chico
February 1, 2007 - May 1, 2011
Minor in Communication Design at California State University, Chico
February 1, 2007 - May 1, 2011

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Education, Professional Services

Skills

Experience Level