Senior/Lead 2D Concept Artist with 14+ years of experience in mobile and PC games, specializing in character and environment concept art, UI/UX, and icon/asset design. I lead art direction and collaborate closely with designers and animators to turn gameplay needs into production-ready visuals. I’ve art-directed and scaled pipelines for live-ops titles and led teams of up to ~20 contributors on illustration-heavy card and promo projects. I also integrate AI-assisted workflows (Midjourney/Stable Diffusion/ComfyUI) to accelerate ideation and production while keeping the final art consistent and high-quality.

DENIS PETROV

Senior/Lead 2D Concept Artist with 14+ years of experience in mobile and PC games, specializing in character and environment concept art, UI/UX, and icon/asset design. I lead art direction and collaborate closely with designers and animators to turn gameplay needs into production-ready visuals. I’ve art-directed and scaled pipelines for live-ops titles and led teams of up to ~20 contributors on illustration-heavy card and promo projects. I also integrate AI-assisted workflows (Midjourney/Stable Diffusion/ComfyUI) to accelerate ideation and production while keeping the final art consistent and high-quality.

Available to hire

Senior/Lead 2D Concept Artist with 14+ years of experience in mobile and PC games, specializing in character and environment concept art, UI/UX, and icon/asset design. I lead art direction and collaborate closely with designers and animators to turn gameplay needs into production-ready visuals.

I’ve art-directed and scaled pipelines for live-ops titles and led teams of up to ~20 contributors on illustration-heavy card and promo projects. I also integrate AI-assisted workflows (Midjourney/Stable Diffusion/ComfyUI) to accelerate ideation and production while keeping the final art consistent and high-quality.

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Language

Russian
Fluent
English
Advanced

Work Experience

Lead Concept Artist at Side Inc.
March 1, 2025 - Present
Lead concept art for an unannounced project while delivering concurrent concept and asset work for Supercell titles as part of the studio’s client roster. Responsible for concept direction, art consistency, and production-ready outputs aligned with game requirements.
Lead Artist at Red Rift
June 1, 2023 - November 1, 2023
Led art on Cards of Ethernity (dark fantasy CCG), directing a team of 10 in-house artists and 5 freelancers. Managed review/feedback for up to ~20 contributors at peak, structured task tracking and production information, and produced illustrations for the project.
Freelance Illustrator at WINGS Stiftung
February 1, 2023 - August 1, 2023
Produced 60+ dark-fantasy realism card illustrations for Defiance, delivering consistent artwork aligned with the project’s visual direction.
Senior Concept Artist → Lead 2D Concept Artist at 1518 Studios, Inc.
January 1, 2017 - March 1, 2025
Grew from Senior Concept Artist to Lead 2D Concept Artist over 8+ years, art-directing live-ops mobile titles Sweet Escapes and Crushers!. Led teams of 2D artists, structured production pipelines, maintained visual consistency across multiple live-ops titles, and collaborated cross-functionally with game designers and animators to translate gameplay features into production-ready art.
Senior Concept Artist at Fox3D Entertainment
April 1, 2015 - December 1, 2016
Produced character and environment concept art for game production, contributing to pre-production and production needs across game assets.
Concept Artist / UI Artist at RX Media Limited
August 1, 2013 - December 1, 2014
Created player avatars, UI screens, and promotional images, supporting both visual identity and user-facing interfaces.
Concept Artist at Crazy Panda Games
September 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012
Concepted enemy units and player towers and overpainted background art (including Evil Defenders), supporting gameplay-art and environment refinement.
Concept Artist at Freelance
September 1, 2012 - April 1, 2015
Created original characters, landscapes, and UI art for various clients, delivering illustrations and production assets across multiple art requests.

Education

Master's Degree, Graphic Design at National Design Institute
January 1, 2008 - January 1, 2014

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services
    Crystal Age (Gravita Games)

    llustrator for Crystal Age, an upcoming fantasy board game by Gravita Games (creators of Sanctorvm), currently in crowdfunding/pre-launch stage. Delivered 2 key illustrations depicting the game’s creatures and biome-driven fantasy world, matching the project’s dark, atmospheric visual identity. Illustrations created to support the game’s Kickstarter/Gamefound campaign materials, contributing to the visual pitch that helps convert backers.

    Side

    Freelance Lead 2D Concept Artist at Side Inc., delivering ongoing art production for Supercell’s Hay Day and Boom Beach. Work spans UI/UX-adjacent illustration, character and prop art, and seasonal/event content, produced to match each title’s established visual language and Supercell’s high production bar. Balancing fast turnaround with consistent quality across a live-service pipeline serving one of mobile gaming’s top studios.

    1518 Studios — Sweet Escapes

    Art Lead on Sweet Escapes at 1518 Studios for 5 years, overseeing the game’s visual identity across characters, environments, UI, and promotional art. Led and mentored an art team, established and maintained style guides, and worked closely with game design and production to keep the visual pipeline consistent across a long-running live-service title. Combined hands-on illustration with art direction responsibilities — reviewing team output, setting quality bar, and ensuring visual cohesion across hundreds of content updates over the game’s lifecycle.

    Cards of Ethernity

    Illustration artist on Cards of Ethernity, a collectible trading card game (TCG). Produced 6 character and creature illustrations, working closely with art direction to maintain visual consistency across a large card set. Balanced stylized fantasy design language with production-ready detail suited for print and digital card formats, designed to read clearly at small scale and hold appeal as collectible art in its own right.
    https://www.twine.net/signin

    Dfiance (WINGS Stiftung)

    Concept & illustration artist for Defiance, a dark fantasy card game published by WINGS Stiftung. Delivered [60+] full-illustration cards in a realistic dark fantasy style — characters, creatures, and key art pieces built to work within tight card-frame compositions while holding up as standalone illustrations. Focused on mood-driven lighting, texture-heavy rendering, and readability at small print sizes — critical for TCG/CCG art where a piece has to communicate instantly on the table.