Hi, I’m Katy Arrington, an illustrator specializing in stylized and semi-realistic characters, painterly rendering, and atmospheric storytelling. I bring ten-plus years of experience creating polished artwork for games, apps, themed entertainment, and digital media. My background as an art director helps me align illustrations with established worlds, collaborate across teams, and deliver visuals that support a project’s creative vision. I’ve directed the visual style of projects from a stylized sci‑fi shooter to character identities for indie teams, and I’ve worked closely with concept and 3D teams to maintain silhouettes, materials, and mood. I love developing lighting, atmosphere, and mood paintings to communicate biome tone and narrative—whether for game assets, theme-park installations, or digital products—and I thrive on iterative feedback to refine character appeal and storytelling.

Katy Arrington

Hi, I’m Katy Arrington, an illustrator specializing in stylized and semi-realistic characters, painterly rendering, and atmospheric storytelling. I bring ten-plus years of experience creating polished artwork for games, apps, themed entertainment, and digital media. My background as an art director helps me align illustrations with established worlds, collaborate across teams, and deliver visuals that support a project’s creative vision. I’ve directed the visual style of projects from a stylized sci‑fi shooter to character identities for indie teams, and I’ve worked closely with concept and 3D teams to maintain silhouettes, materials, and mood. I love developing lighting, atmosphere, and mood paintings to communicate biome tone and narrative—whether for game assets, theme-park installations, or digital products—and I thrive on iterative feedback to refine character appeal and storytelling.

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Katy Arrington, an illustrator specializing in stylized and semi-realistic characters, painterly rendering, and atmospheric storytelling. I bring ten-plus years of experience creating polished artwork for games, apps, themed entertainment, and digital media. My background as an art director helps me align illustrations with established worlds, collaborate across teams, and deliver visuals that support a project’s creative vision.

I’ve directed the visual style of projects from a stylized sci‑fi shooter to character identities for indie teams, and I’ve worked closely with concept and 3D teams to maintain silhouettes, materials, and mood. I love developing lighting, atmosphere, and mood paintings to communicate biome tone and narrative—whether for game assets, theme-park installations, or digital products—and I thrive on iterative feedback to refine character appeal and storytelling.

See more

Work Experience

Art Director / Illustrator at Rogue Rooster
January 1, 2018 - Present
Created stylized and semi-realistic character illustrations for clients across games, publishing, apps, and themed entertainment; delivered final-quality artwork for theme park installations and digital products; directed the visual style of a stylized sci-fi shooter; developed character identities and lighting concepts; collaborated with clients to refine mood through iterative feedback.
2D Artist Intern at Disney Interactive
February 1, 2015 - September 1, 2015
Collaborated with concept and 3D teams to maintain silhouettes, proportions, materials, and motifs; developed lighting/atmosphere sketches in Unreal to communicate biome tone; produced UI visuals within Disney brand guidelines; contributed concept and style development for projects.
Concept Artist at Microsoft
January 1, 2016 - August 1, 2016
Illustrated character concepts and early style-development paintings supporting Emoji Blitz; developed lighting/atmosphere sketches to communicate mood; created UI visuals targets and illustrations under brand guidelines; contributed to style exploration for new character rosters and pitches.
Freelance Illustrator at Self-Employed
January 1, 2018 - Present
Created stylized and semi-realistic character illustrations for games, apps, and themed entertainment; delivered final-quality artwork for digital products and merchandise; collaborated with clients to refine character appeal, mood, and storytelling through iterative feedback.

Education

BFA in Digital Art & Animation at DigiPen Institute of Technology
January 11, 2030 - December 6, 2025

Qualifications

Magna Cum Laude
January 11, 2030 - December 6, 2025

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Gaming, Software & Internet, Education