Art director and concept artist with 20+ years across game and interactive entertainment, leading art style, character, and environment development while coordinating cross-disciplinary teams and outsource pipelines. Experienced in 2D/3D production, art direction, and production-quality workflows from concept through in-game implementation. Strong at translating IP and stakeholder goals into clear visual direction, improving throughput via structured pipelines, and mentoring artists. Proficient with modern tools and collaborative systems (Jira, Git/Perforce, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya/Unity), with a track record of raising output volume while maintaining quality and consistency.

Billy Dallas Patton

VerifiedPro

Art director and concept artist with 20+ years across game and interactive entertainment, leading art style, character, and environment development while coordinating cross-disciplinary teams and outsource pipelines. Experienced in 2D/3D production, art direction, and production-quality workflows from concept through in-game implementation. Strong at translating IP and stakeholder goals into clear visual direction, improving throughput via structured pipelines, and mentoring artists. Proficient with modern tools and collaborative systems (Jira, Git/Perforce, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya/Unity), with a track record of raising output volume while maintaining quality and consistency.

Available to hire

Art director and concept artist with 20+ years across game and interactive entertainment, leading art style, character, and environment development while coordinating cross-disciplinary teams and outsource pipelines. Experienced in 2D/3D production, art direction, and production-quality workflows from concept through in-game implementation.

Strong at translating IP and stakeholder goals into clear visual direction, improving throughput via structured pipelines, and mentoring artists. Proficient with modern tools and collaborative systems (Jira, Git/Perforce, Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Maya/Unity), with a track record of raising output volume while maintaining quality and consistency.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Art Director (Weekend Freelance) at WeekEnd (formerly Volley)
March 1, 2026 - June 1, 2026
Oversaw art feedback and approval on new versions of smart TV games (Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy). Provided art direction and reviews across UI/UX, sound, and visuals to ensure updates aligned with IP owner and stakeholder goals for improving player experience through advanced technology and cloud gaming. Tracked tasks and assets using multiple programs (Figma, Frame.io, Linear). Coordinated across disciplines and maintained open communication channels so concerns were addressed before senior leadership approval.
Art Director at Wonder Forge Games
August 1, 2025 - May 1, 2026
Partnered with concept and 3D artists plus an outsourcing team to define and evolve a long-term RTS/4X art style that appeals to both existing players and new audiences. Investigated style directions, collaborated with the lead designer on finalizing style/theme, and oversaw creation of the game art style guide. Scheduled and assigned tasks to art team members via a custom spreadsheet, coordinated animation/motion graphics/3D sculpting/modeling/3D animation, created environment concepts, and verified 3D art, animations, and VFX met style and quality expectations for implementation.
Lead Artist at Light and Wonder
July 1, 2025 - July 1, 2025
Lead artist for land-based casino games. Assigned tasks to the art team based on schedule and skill set; collaborated with Head Designer to establish the style and theme; coordinated 2D animation, motion graphics, 3D sculpting, 3D modeling, and 3D animation for the project; created character and symbol concepts for land-based casino slot games; worked with senior leadership to determine best practices, software/hardware needs, and office/WFH setup; scheduled tasks and tracked progress in Jira.
Lead/Advanced Artist at Light and Wonder
October 1, 2024 - July 1, 2025
Lead artist for a land-based casino game. Assigned tasks to art team members based on schedule and skill set, collaborated with the lead designer to establish style and theme, and scheduled artists’ tasks in Jira with the producer. Coordinated 2D animation, motion graphics, 3D sculpting, 3D modeling, and 3D animation. Created character and symbol concepts for land-based casino slot games and produced final in-game art for symbols and character illustrations across multiple asset types. Worked with lead game design to investigate and propose game styles, themes, and approaches; participated in meetings with senior leadership to define best practices, tools, and workstation setups; mentored junior artists on career development through continued education and skill expansion.
Lead Concept Artist (Remote) at Hero Forge / Sky Labs Studios
April 1, 2024 - April 1, 2024
Led concept art pipeline, formalized style guide and concept art format; onboarding of freelancers/contractors; recruited nine freelance concept artists; increased concept art output by nearly 200%; provided clear art direction to maintain production velocity; expanded role of concept artists and emphasized cost savings when solving front-end issues; maintained production calendar for the project; provided final concept art and style guidance as needed.
Concept Art Outsourcing Manager (Remote) at Hero Forge / SkyLabs Studio
February 1, 2023 - April 1, 2024
Built a more efficient concept art pipeline for Hero Forge, including a formalized style guide, concept art format, and freelancer/contractor onboarding. Researched and hired freelance concept artists, managed nine freelancers simultaneously, and increased concept art output by nearly 200%. Provided clear and concise art direction to maintain production velocity set by the senior art director and expanded the role of concept artists in the pipeline with emphasis on cost savings through front-end problem solving. Scheduled concept artists to the production calendar, corrected/provided final polish when cost-effective, and created concept art/illustrations as needed.
Lead Concept Artist (Remote) at Tilting Point / Wicked Realms Studios
February 1, 2023 - February 1, 2023
Lead concept artist (remote) supporting Tilt ing Point, Inc. and Wicked Realms Studios; established art direction, contributed to world concepts and asset pipelines, and coordinated with remote teams and IP holders to ensure alignment with project goals.
Lead Concept Artist (Remote) at T ilting Point, Inc./ Wicked Realm s Studio
January 1, 2022 - February 1, 2023
Provided high-quality concept art for projects, collaborating remotely with the Eugene team and participating in weekly stand-ups and regular meetings via Zoom. Worked within art and outsourcing direction to meet production quality targets and dates, communicating feedback through paint-overs and art direction to multiple outsourcing teams. Partnered with art director and outsourcing manager to set quality targets and production dates; interacted regularly with the creative director and design team to hit quality goals. Participated in Zynga management training, used Force and Git for asset management and source control, and supported art production across environment, character, and architectural concepts for integration into Zynga’s gaming suite.
Senior Concept Artist (Remote) at Zynga, Inc.
January 1, 2022 - January 1, 2022
Led remote concept art development for Zynga titles; collaborated with IP stakeholders to align art direction; managed outsourcing teams and provided feedback; ensured timely delivery and production quality; coordinated with in-house art and design teams; contributed to asset pipelines.
Senior Concept Artist (Remote) at Zynga, Inc.
July 1, 2020 - January 1, 2022
As a senior concept artist at Zynga, delivered high-quality concept art and ideas to add charm and aesthetic excellence to game projects. Rapidly adjusted direction when priorities changed, including temporary support for the FarmVille 3 team for concept issues, then returning to the core team with updated requirements. Iterated on environment, character, and architectural concepts aligned with the unnamed game into the Zynga Eugene gaming suite; began partnering with outsourcing management in Q3 2021 to provide feedback via paint-overs and art direction. Worked with art director and outsourcing manager to define production quality targets and dates, and regularly collaborated with the creative director and design team to meet quality goals.
Contractor Concept Artist & Illustrator at Renton, WA
June 1, 2020 - June 1, 2020
Client work for Hasbro, Proscenium Marketing, Activision, Feel Good Games; produced 2D assets for NFL-related titles; developed concept art for pitches and in-game assets.
Contract Concept Artist & Illustrator at Mixer (Mixer.com) / Microsoft
June 1, 2019 - June 1, 2019
Created concept art and illustrations for Mixer/Microsoft projects; streamlined concept art pipelines; worked with outsourcing studios; set style guides and asset specs; ensured assets met deadlines and quality targets.
Contract Senior Concept Artist & Illustrator at Mixe r.com / Microsoft (Re dmond, WA)
July 1, 2018 - June 1, 2019
Worked across multiple roles with a talented UI/UX design team to help create the next generation of Mixer.com website experience, including Season 2. Collaborated with the creative director and art director to develop background lore for upcoming seasons. Produced concept art around varied Season 2 tasks and created high-quality assets across the Mixer platform. Worked with developers to create particle VFX using the Babylon.js system (similar to Unity).
Contractor (Concept Artist & Illustrator) at Renton, WA (clients included Hasbro, Proscenium Marketing, Activision, Feel Good Games; and CMD Group)
September 1, 2017 - June 1, 2020
Created character and world concepts, storyboarded ideas, produced custom comic books, and consulted on company-wide pitches. Clients included Hasbro, Proscenium Marketing, Activision, and Feel Good Games. Also worked with CMD Group to concept and create in-game 2D assets for an endless runner-style game, including tiling backgrounds, collectible items, and character concepts based on NFL athletes. Produced concepts and final artwork for 65 in-game icons for Final Strike Games rewards/customization screens.
Senior Concept Artist at Jam City / SGN
August 1, 2017 - August 1, 2017
Worked on Kitty City: Harvest Valley (iOS, Android); produced concept art for characters, environments, props; collaborated with engineering and art teams; delivered assets and contributed to cross-department collaboration.
Senior Concept Artist at Jam City
November 1, 2015 - August 1, 2017
Daily collaboration with nearly every department (engineering, game design, animation, UI/UX) for Kitty City: Harvest Valley (iOS/Android). Co-operatively iterated on game designs and art styles with a small team (8-12) during pre-production and prototyping. Produced game-ready 3D assets derived from own concepts, corrected textures for 3D assets, and used Maya and Unity to export/import game assets into the game engine for testing.
Senior Concept Artist at Fat Rascal Games
November 1, 2015 - November 1, 2015
Senior concept artist; collaborated daily with engineering, game design, animation, and UI/UX; iterated on character and world concepts; produced in-game assets; created 3D/2D art and marketing illustrations as needed.
Senior 2D / Lead Concept Artist at Fat Rascal Games
November 1, 2014 - November 1, 2015
Primary artist for Poker Heroes (iOS/Android). Evolved style from a comic book background by blending Western sequential styles with action/kinetic influences from Asia and games like Borderlands/Overwatch. Created 70 unique characters with two additional evolutions (210 total) while meeting a 10-month deadline; trained a junior artist; created marketing/landing page art and contributed gameplay ideas.
Senior Concept Artist at Amazon Games Studio
September 1, 2014 - September 1, 2014
Seattle, WA; produced concept art for Living Classics (Facebook) and The Unmaking (Kindle); collaborated across Engineering, Game Design, Animation, and UI/UX; created 3D assets and guided art direction; exported assets for game pipelines.
Concept Artist at Amazon Games Studio (Seattle, WA)
June 1, 2011 - September 1, 2014
Created concepts for characters, environments, and props for game pitches and games in production for Kindle tablets and Amazon Fire TV. Maintained overall artistic styles/aesthetics for projects and produced illustrations and marketing art as needed. Created pitch documents and presentations used by teams and management throughout the Amazon ecology.
Line Communications Specialist (MOS 31V) at United States Army, Fort Bragg
November 1, 1994 - November 1, 1994
Line Communications Specialist (MOS 31V); cross-functional responsibilities in communications and tactical support; interacted with multiple teams to ensure mission-critical communications.
Specialist (E-4), Line Communication Specialist at United States Army
June 1, 1992 - November 1, 1994
Served in the U.S. Army as a Line Communication Specialist (MOS- Line Communication Specialist).

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts at Bowling Green State University
December 12, 1997
Bachelor of Fine Arts at Bowling Green State University
January 1, 1993 - December 1, 1997
Two-Dimensional Studies (Graduate coursework/field) at Bowling Green State University
January 1, 1997 - December 1, 1997

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet, Professional Services
    "Sugah, we are a long way from home."-- X-men 97 Savage Land Rogue
    Personal project demonstrating my skill in creating fully inked, fully digital comic book style art. illustrator comicbookart comicbook digitalart
    "You Can't Catch Me, Greeny!" -- Spiderman Fan Art
    Digital Linework for a personal project.
    Spiderman/Green Goblin Grayscale/halftones
    Personal project to expand my comic book illustration skills.
    X-Men '97 Fan Art
    I started my professional art career as a comic book penciled. I worked for Marvel several times but was young and was not set up to be successful then. I transitioned to video game art. I have been inspired by the X-men '97 animated series that came out this spring and here are my ongoing experiments and pushing my comic book illustration style. Pencils, inks, colors, and layout all by me. Xmen comicbookart illustrator digitalart artdirector
    The Snow Queen: Spiderverse style art for Trading Card Game

    A style test to see if I can land some card-illustration gigs. Making a version of “The Snow Queen” from old fairy tales using graphic elements like half-tones to add a Spiderverse art quality to it. About 3 days of work, once I figured out the style and kicked off the rust.

    Illustration Image process

    This was an art test for a job at Light And Wonder, Inc. I was tasked with creating a final illustration for a Character in a Casino Slot game with the direction of making it bright, vibrant, and indicating wealth and success.

    Mech Pilot
    Personal Illustration exploring Manga-influenced painting techniques https://www.behance.net/gallery/58363181/Mech-Pilot-2017
    Tyche, Goddess of Fortune
    I was asked to create an image that would work with a slot-style game with a character based on Tyche, the Greek Goddess of Fortune. I had not painted anything like this for over 2 years, but I dove in and gave it my best. Below is the process I walked myself through to get to the final image https://www.behance.net/gallery/208066985/Character-Design-Tyche-Goddess-of-Fortune
    Zynga City Life (canceled game): Homes
    https://www.behance.net/gallery/171331657/Unreleased-Zynga-Mobile-Game-Homes-and-Apartments City Life was a merging city builder game where the player built a city by harvesting resources, placing buildings, then merging the buildings to level them up. I was a Senior Concept Artist on this project, and one of the ongoing challenges was making the most common elements of the game seem charming from level 01 to level 15 (max levels). conceptart gameart illustration
    Character Design Exercise: Create a character for FPS game
    As a mobile game artist, I work on the projects at hand. Currently, the game I am working on doesn't involve creating characters, so to keep the muscles from atrophying, I gave myself an assignment: Create a character in an Overwatch type of FPS game. I used the process of creating silhouettes to see the big shapes and readability, followed by a linear exploration, Color Roughs, a Turnaround with Action Pose, and a final, fully rendered image. The final work could be better, but I set a time limit for the project and I am happy with the techniques I rediscovered and some new ones to add to the toolbox. Full concept page: https://www.behance.net/gallery/134481783/TOXIN-Character-Concept-Exercise
    Rocket Arena Icons
    https://www.behance.net/gallery/101044335/Rocket-Arena-In-Game-Icons Icons I created for Final Strike's ROCKET ARENA console game. Each icon represents a boost/buff for a character. Some were character-specific, and some are general and available to all characters. I had a lot of fun and I really enjoyed working in an area that was new to me (Icon work) but thanks to my AD (Dev Madan) for giving me the chance to contribute. I am not even sure these made the final cut into the game, but I am proud of them all the same