Award-winning illustrator and character designer with 8 years of professional experience producing dark fantasy, sci-fi, and character-driven artwork across animation, publishing, and game development. BFA Illustration with a Minor in Animation from Columbia College Chicago. Winner of Best Character and Concept Artist at the ILLO Awards 2019. My work spans hyperrealistic full-color illustration, expressive character design, black and white line art, and concept development. I have contributed to animated series, published children's books, and video game projects including a credit on the TimeSplitters franchise revival in Unreal Engine 5. I bring both the fine art foundation and the production discipline to deliver polished, consistent work on deadline.

Ray Spence

PRO

Award-winning illustrator and character designer with 8 years of professional experience producing dark fantasy, sci-fi, and character-driven artwork across animation, publishing, and game development. BFA Illustration with a Minor in Animation from Columbia College Chicago. Winner of Best Character and Concept Artist at the ILLO Awards 2019. My work spans hyperrealistic full-color illustration, expressive character design, black and white line art, and concept development. I have contributed to animated series, published children's books, and video game projects including a credit on the TimeSplitters franchise revival in Unreal Engine 5. I bring both the fine art foundation and the production discipline to deliver polished, consistent work on deadline.

Available to hire

Award-winning illustrator and character designer with 8 years of professional experience producing dark fantasy, sci-fi, and character-driven artwork across animation, publishing, and game development. BFA Illustration with a Minor in Animation from Columbia College Chicago. Winner of Best Character and Concept Artist at the ILLO Awards 2019.
My work spans hyperrealistic full-color illustration, expressive character design, black and white line art, and concept development. I have contributed to animated series, published children’s books, and video game projects including a credit on the TimeSplitters franchise revival in Unreal Engine 5. I bring both the fine art foundation and the production discipline to deliver polished, consistent work on deadline.

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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Senior Production Artist & AI R&D Specialist at Huntr ess (via Curricula)
January 1, 2021 - Present
Senior vector illustrator and visual director on “Huntress” — a flagship animated cybersecurity awareness training series used enterprise-wide. Organic development and now dual role as the department’s sole AI R&D Specialist, driving adoption of AI tools across a 10-person illustration team. Built AI-powered production tools including a SAP Story Ad Lib Generator, automated shot breakdown system, and an interactive animator handoff tool with color-coded triage. Reduced shot breakdown time from 60+ minutes to under 2 minutes using LLM-driven automation; reduced storyboard creation from days to ~5 minutes using image generation AI. Designed and documented repeatable AI workflow playbooks (SKILL.md format) for team-wide use in Claude Code. Developed an Animator Feedback Ticketing System and an Automated Asset Organization & Tagging System for Illustrator files. Responsible for scene composition, character design, UI design, prop illustration, and production handoffs to animators i
Texture Artist at TimeSplitters Rewind
January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024
Created game-ready textures for the fan-made remake of the TimeSplitters series, built in Unreal Engine. Captured the look and feel of the original franchise while working within modern real-time rendering constraints.
Production Artist at Curriculum
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Member of the illustration and animation creative team for a cybersecurity awareness training platform focused on story-driven employee education. Contributed character illustration, scene work, and production assets for animated training content.
Children's Book Illustrator & Animator at ROOTED in LLC
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Illustrated and animated interactive eBooks for grades K–5, combining education with engaging visuals storytelling.
iOS App Illustrator at Texties
January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020
Created character illustrations for a short-story reader app spanning genres from sci-fi and horror to romance and comedy.
In-House Designer & Illustrator at The Print Lounge Inc.
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2019
Created logos, branding, and merchandise designs for clients; cleaned and vectorized graphics for production; operated flatbed vinyl cutter and ran the in-house apparel production line.
Senior Production Artist & AI R&D Specialist at Huntr ess (via Curriculum)
January 1, 2021 - Present
Lead senior vector illustrator and visual director on the flagship Huntr ess cybersecurity awareness training series used enterprise-wide. Dual role as the department’s AI R&D Specialist, driving adoption of AI tools across a 10-person illustration team. Built AI-powered production tools including a SAP Story Ad Lib Generator, automated shot breakdown system, and an interactive animator handoff tool with color-coded triage. Reduced production timelines from 60+ minutes to under 2 minutes using LLМ-driven automation; reduced storyboard creation from days to ~5 minutes using image-generation AI. Documented repeatable AI workflows playbooks for team-wide use in Claude code. Developed an Animator Feedback Ticketing System and an Automated Asset Organization & Tagging System for Illustrator files. Responsible for scene composition, character design, UI design, prop illustration, and production handoffs to animators in After Effects. Actively advocated for formal recognition and compensat
Text Artist at TimeSplitters Rewind
January 1, 2024 - Present
Created game-ready textures for the fan-made remake of TimeSplitters, built in Unreal Engine. Captured the look and feel of the original franchise while working within modern real-time rendering constraints.
Senior Production Artist & Character Designer at Huntress (via Curricula)
January 1, 2021 - Present
Designed original characters for an animated series, developing full turnarounds, expression sheets, and visual references that defined each character’s look, personality, and emotional range across a 24-episode production run. Maintained strict character consistency and visual continuity across all episodes, ensuring every character read correctly across different scenes, lighting conditions, and emotional beats. Created expressive, cinematic illustrations that captured action, emotion, and atmosphere, translating written scripts into compelling visual narratives. Directed a complete visual identity redesign, pushing the show’s illustration style to a more graphic, expressive language with stronger silhouettes and a more deliberate visual palette. Developed prop illustrations, environment designs, and scene compositions that supported sequential storytelling and guided the viewer’s eye through each episode. Interpreted scripts and production briefs to deliver clear visual direct
Children's Book Illustrator & Animator at ROOTEDin LLC
January 1, 2021 - Present
Illustrated and animated interactive eBooks for grades K–5, developing original characters and visual narratives that engaged young audiences across sequential digital formats.
Senior Production Artist & AI R&D Specialist at Huntress
January 1, 2021 - Present
Designed and produced large volumes of themed visual assets with consistent layouts, typography, and graphic elements across multiple production cycles. Created print-ready and export-optimized files for digital delivery, ensuring quality and consistency across hundreds of deliverables. Developed cohesive visual systems including layouts, typography treatments, and graphic elements tailored to specific audience and brand themes. Translated provided written content into engaging visual designs, interpreting and enhancing copy through layout and illustration. Maintained strong attention to detail across high-volume output, delivering polished files on tight deadlines independently. Built visual style guides and templates to ensure consistency across entire asset collections.
Production Artist at Curricula
January 1, 2021 - Present
Designed and delivered production assets for a digital platform, maintaining brand consistency across concurrent projects and deadlines.
Children's Book Illustrator and Animator at ROOTEDin LLC
January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2021
Created illustrations and animations for children's educational content, designing characters and scenes that were warm, expressive, and accessible to young audiences. Developed a consistent visual style across a full set of assets, balancing clarity with personality throughout the project. Worked directly with the client to refine concepts, incorporate feedback, and deliver final files on schedule.
Senior Production Artist at Huntress
January 1, 2021 - Present
Fully remote Produced illustration and design work across a wide range of formats, consistently applying brand and visual guidelines across large volumes of assets. Created character designs, storyboards, expression sheets, and turnarounds with a focus on recognizability and visual clarity. Collaborated with cross-functional teams including subject matter experts to ensure creative work met both artistic and functional requirements. Prepared print-ready and production-ready files to exacting specifications.
In-House Designer at The Print Lounge Inc.
January 1, 2017 - January 1, 2019
Prepared print-ready files for a wide range of physical products, with close attention to color accuracy and production specifications.
Senior Production Artist / AI R&D Specialist at Huntress
January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2026
Designed and produced original characters with full turnaround sheets, expression sheets, and pose libraries for a long-running animated series, maintaining visual consistency across hundreds of episodes. Created dynamic action sequences and expressive character moments for animated content, applying principles of weight, energy, and readability to every panel and frame. Developed and maintained a reusable asset library that allowed the team to adapt and repurpose characters efficiently across new scenes and episodes. Collaborated closely with writers, animators, and directors to ensure visual storytelling aligned with narrative intent and character voice. Met consistent deadlines in a high-volume production environment while maintaining quality across all character and scene work. Built AI-assisted concept and illustration workflows that accelerated early ideation without replacing the hand-crafted quality of final deliverables.
In-House Designer and Illustrator at The Print Lounge Inc.
January 1, 2017 - January 1, 2019
Produced illustration and design work for retail and event clients, adapting visual style to match client brand and creative direction across multiple projects.
AI Trainer at micro1
January 1, 2026 - Present
Evaluating AI-generated creative outputs for an unreleased R&D project under NDA, providing structured feedback that shapes how AI systems interpret visual quality, craft, and illustration principles.
Senior Production Artist / Character Designer at Huntress
July 1, 2021 - April 1, 2026
Produced original character designs, concept art, creature designs, and full-color illustrations for a 25-episode animated series, developing stylized characters with strong visual identity, consistent design language, and cinematic presence. Created detailed character sheets, turnarounds, and expression studies ensuring visual consistency across an ongoing roster of original characters across multiple production seasons. Developed storyboards, shot breakdowns, and visual narratives, translating written descriptions into compelling sequential artwork aligned with the project's tone and aesthetic. Produced book cover-style hero illustrations and key art assets used across marketing channels, applying compositional principles rooted in classic fantasy and sci-fi illustration traditions.
Texture Artist at TimeSplitters Rewind (Free Radical Design / Dambuster Studios)
January 1, 2024 - January 1, 2024
Contributed to the TimeSplitters franchise revival, producing game-ready surface assets in Unreal Engine 5, working within a stylized aesthetic rooted in the franchise's distinctive visual identity.
Texture Artist at Future Perfect (Indie Revival Project)
January 1, 2021 - January 1, 2021
Applied textures and color palettes to 3D models for a next-generation revival of the PS2 classic Future Perfect, maintaining tonal consistency with the original game's sci-fi visual language.
Children's Book Illustrator & Animator at ROOTEDin LLC
February 1, 2018 - Present
Developed original character illustrations across ink, digital painting, and mixed media for a published children's educational series, producing full-color and black and white line art for print and digital delivery.

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration (Minor in Animation) at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - April 7, 2026
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - April 17, 2026
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration, Minor in Animation at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - April 24, 2026
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - April 27, 2026
BFA in Illustration, Minor in Animation at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - May 1, 2026
BFA Illustration, Minor in Animation at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - January 1, 2017
BFA Illustration with a Minor in Animation at Columbia College Chicago
January 11, 2030 - June 15, 2026

Qualifications

Best Character and Concept Artist, ILLO Awards
January 1, 2019 - May 1, 2026
HayStack Craft School Scholarship
January 1, 2019 - May 1, 2026
Portrait Show Exhibition, Glass Curtain Gallery Chicago
January 1, 2018 - May 1, 2026
Best Character and Concept Artist, ILLO Awards
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2019
HayStack Craft School Scholarship
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2019
Portrait Show Exhibition, Glass Curtain Gallery Chicago
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2018
Best Character and Concept Artist
January 1, 2019 - June 15, 2026
HayStack Craft School Scholarship
January 1, 2019 - June 15, 2026
Portrait Show Exhibition
January 1, 2018 - June 15, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other, Gaming
    Portfolio website https://raysgallery.me/

    https://www.twine.net/signin

    Senior UI Specialist and Lead Concept Artist on an animated series, responsible for guiding visual direction, evolving scene composition, developing narrative structure, and creating detailed shot breakdowns. Skilled digital artist with expertise in 3D modeling, game development, and traditional painting. Adept at bridging storytelling and design to deliver engaging visual experiences.
    RnD AI Integration-Developing AI Agents to speed up production pipelines for my current production team.