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I'm a creative and technically versatile VFX Artist with 5+ years of experience building real-time visual effects for PC, console, VR, and mobile games. I specialize in Unity (VFX Graph, Shader Graph, HLSL) and Unreal Engine (UE5 Niagara), delivering stylized effects that enhance gameplay readability and narrative impact while staying mindful of performance budgets. I'm currently pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science to deepen my programming and real-time rendering know-how, bridging artistic imagination with technical execution. My work spans indie projects through collaborations with studios, focusing on readable, immersive VFX that elevate player experience. I enjoy collaborating across art, design, and engineering teams to translate creative direction into performant, visually cohesive effects across platforms.…I'm a creative and technically versatile VFX Artist with 5+ years of experience building real-time visual effects for PC, console, VR, and mobile games. I specialize in Unity (VFX Graph, Shader Graph, HLSL) and Unreal Engine (UE5 Niagara), delivering stylized effects that enhance gameplay readability and narrative impact while staying mindful of performance budgets. I'm currently pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science to deepen my programming and real-time rendering know-how, bridging artistic imagination with technical execution. My work spans indie projects through collaborations with studios, focusing on readable, immersive VFX that elevate player experience. I enjoy collaborating across art, design, and engineering teams to translate creative direction into performant, visually cohesive effects across platforms.

Cătălin Haldan

2D Animator, VFX Supervisor, Art Director, +7

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I'm a creative and technically versatile VFX Artist with 5+ years of experience building real-time visual effects for PC, console, VR, and mobile games. I specialize in Unity (VFX Graph, Shader Graph, HLSL) and Unreal Engine (UE5 Niagara), delivering stylized effects that enhance gameplay readability and narrative impact while staying mindful of performance budgets. I'm currently pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science to deepen my programming and real-time rendering know-how, bridging artistic imagination with technical execution. My work spans indie projects through collaborations with studios, focusing on readable, immersive VFX that elevate player experience. I enjoy collaborating across art, design, and engineering teams to translate creative direction into performant, visually cohesive effects across platforms.…I'm a creative and technically versatile VFX Artist with 5+ years of experience building real-time visual effects for PC, console, VR, and mobile games. I specialize in Unity (VFX Graph, Shader Graph, HLSL) and Unreal Engine (UE5 Niagara), delivering stylized effects that enhance gameplay readability and narrative impact while staying mindful of performance budgets. I'm currently pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science to deepen my programming and real-time rendering know-how, bridging artistic imagination with technical execution. My work spans indie projects through collaborations with studios, focusing on readable, immersive VFX that elevate player experience. I enjoy collaborating across art, design, and engineering teams to translate creative direction into performant, visually cohesive effects across platforms.

Available to hire

I’m a creative and technically versatile VFX Artist with 5+ years of experience building real-time visual effects for PC, console, VR, and mobile games. I specialize in Unity (VFX Graph, Shader Graph, HLSL) and Unreal Engine (UE5 Niagara), delivering stylized effects that enhance gameplay readability and narrative impact while staying mindful of performance budgets. I’m currently pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science to deepen my programming and real-time rendering know-how, bridging artistic imagination with technical execution.

My work spans indie projects through collaborations with studios, focusing on readable, immersive VFX that elevate player experience. I enjoy collaborating across art, design, and engineering teams to translate creative direction into performant, visually cohesive effects across platforms.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

English

Fluent

Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan

Fluent

Work Experience

VFX Artist at Freelance

November 1, 2020 - June 4, 2024

Collaborated with indie game developers to create real-time visual effects using Unity, Photoshop, and After Effects, contributing to gameplay, atmosphere, and player feedback systems. Led the design and implementation of cohesive VFX art direction aligned with game vision and stylistic goals, improving visual clarity and brand consistency across titles. Refactored and enhanced existing VFX assets to develop high-impact, stylized effects that improved user engagement and project visual quality.

VFX Artist at Flatter Than Earth

March 1, 2024 - August 31, 2024

Developed real-time VFX for stylized PC and console games, collaborating with art and design teams to deliver visually engaging and technically sound effects using Unity and After Effects. Designed and implemented stylized real-time VFX in Unity for PC and console projects, ensuring seamless integration with gameplay systems and environments. Iteratively polished and refined VFX assets based on design feedback and evolving art direction, improving clarity and gameplay readability.

VFX Artist at Cortopia Studios

January 1, 2024 - June 30, 2024

Specialized in real-time VFX creation for VR platforms, delivering optimized, immersive visual experiences using Unity. Focused on performance-sensitive development for head-mounted displays (HMDs), adapting effects to VR’s spatial and interaction constraints. Designed and optimized real-time VFX in Unity for VR environments, balancing visual fidelity with performance constraints across Oculus and standalone platforms. Refactored existing VFX to meet VR-specific interaction and field-of-view requirements, improving frame stability and user immersion.

VFX Artist at Amber

May 1, 2021 - November 30, 2023

Led the development of real-time VFX in Unity for multiple game titles, creating stylized and high-performance effects that enhanced gameplay and player immersion. Worked cross-functionally with art and design teams to ensure seamless integration and technical scalability. Integrated VFX into Unity-based game systems by collaborating closely with designers, artists, and programmers to ensure functional, aesthetic, and technical consistency. Created stylized real-time particle systems (fire, explosions, weather, spell FX) in Unity’s VFX and Shader Graphs to enrich moment-to-moment gameplay. Performed VFX performance profiling and GPU optimization to maintain 60+ FPS targets across platforms while preserving high visual fidelity. Researched and applied emerging VFX techniques, tools, and asset optimization workflows to maintain visual quality while improving production efficiency.

2D Animator at Playtika

October 1, 2018 - November 30, 2020

Delivered 2D animation and VFX support for slot games and marketing assets using Spine 2D, After Effects, and Photoshop. Balanced visual appeal and performance while collaborating across art, dev, and marketing teams. Created dynamic 2D animations for characters, symbols, and UI elements using Spine 2D and After Effects, enhancing visual storytelling in slot game titles. Designed and optimized 2D VFX particles (glows, bursts, transitions) for in-game feedback using Photoshop and After Effects. Produced animated promotional content and trailers for marketing campaigns, aligning with brand direction and game art style. Collaborated with animation and design teams to iterate on assets and shared animation techniques to improve workflow and consistency.

Customer Service Specialist at Playtika

October 1, 2018 - November 30, 2020

Supported live game operations by resolving user issues and monitoring gameplay feedback loops, building foundational insight into player experience and in-game behavior patterns. Handled player support tickets for game-related issues, gaining valuable insight into UX pain points and game system design from a user perspective. Flagged recurring gameplay or technical issues to QA/engineering teams, improving response time and feature awareness. Built empathy for end-user experience and sharpened attention to in-game flow, which later informed VFX and gameplay design decisions.

Level Designer at BigBlue Studios

November 1, 2014 - July 31, 2018

Designed and implemented levels for time-management games in collaboration with Gamehouse, focusing on pacing, difficulty tuning, and immersive audiovisual integration to support gameplay flow. Designed levels and gameplay sequences for titles such as Parker and Lane – Criminal Justice, aligning player progression with narrative pacing and challenge curves. Integrated 2D scenes, animations, and sound effects into the game engine, enhancing immersion and consistency across levels and cutscenes. Calibrated difficulty curves and tested minigames to ensure balanced player progression and replayability. Synchronized music and ambient audio with animations and gameplay events to reinforce mood and gameplay cues.

Technical Artist at BigBlue Studios

November 1, 2014 - July 31, 2018

Supported art and design teams by scripting gameplay systems, integrating 2D assets, and developing visual content pipelines for Hidden Object and narrative-driven games. Collaborated with developers and publishers (Eipix, Artifex Mundi) to implement scripted interactions, 2D animations, and visual effects for Hidden Object and narrative adventure games. Integrated assets from the 2D art pipeline into the proprietary engine, ensuring technical compatibility and visual consistency. Developed minigame logic using in-engine scripting tools to improve player engagement and puzzle variety. Contributed to content creation by photographing/posing characters and modeling high-poly props to support cinematic sequences and environment storytelling.

Quality Assurance at Electronic Arts (EA)

June 1, 2013 - October 31, 2013

Provided QA support for live game projects, focusing on bug identification, reproduction, and verification to ensure quality standards and gameplay consistency. Identified, documented, and reproduced functional and visual bugs across multiple game builds, contributing to stable development sprints. Verified and validated bug fixes through regression testing, collaborating with development teams to resolve issues. Executed end-to-end playthroughs and test plans to ensure smooth gameplay experience and high-quality release candidates.