Hi, I’m Rich Werner—a visual artist and instructor with over 25 years of experience shaping concepts into final assets for video games. I’m proud to have created all artwork for Plants vs Zombies and I love bringing characters to life with weight and motion in animation. I excel at character design, environment design, UI development, and logo design, and I enjoy teaching others. I’ve taught at DigiPen and other institutions, mentoring students and helping them build strong portfolios for graduation and industry careers.…

Rich Werner

Hi, I’m Rich Werner—a visual artist and instructor with over 25 years of experience shaping concepts into final assets for video games. I’m proud to have created all artwork for Plants vs Zombies and I love bringing characters to life with weight and motion in animation. I excel at character design, environment design, UI development, and logo design, and I enjoy teaching others. I’ve taught at DigiPen and other institutions, mentoring students and helping them build strong portfolios for graduation and industry careers.…

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Rich Werner—a visual artist and instructor with over 25 years of experience shaping concepts into final assets for video games. I’m proud to have created all artwork for Plants vs Zombies and I love bringing characters to life with weight and motion in animation.

I excel at character design, environment design, UI development, and logo design, and I enjoy teaching others. I’ve taught at DigiPen and other institutions, mentoring students and helping them build strong portfolios for graduation and industry careers.

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Skills

Experience Level

Work Experience

Adjunct Instructor at DigiPen Institute of Technology
August 1, 2025 - August 1, 2025
Teach fundamentals across multiple courses including Art251 Character Design, Art234 Sequential Art, Art301 Concept Resourcing, Art450 Portfolio, and Prj450 Portfolio Class; mentor seniors in portfolio development and graduation readiness.
Lead Artist at Tilting Point
January 31, 2023 - January 31, 2023
Collaborated with the Art Director to maintain the look and feel of characters and environments for multiple Nickelodeon franchises in mobile games; led a team of artists to generate multiple game ideas and proof-of-concept samples; coordinated with an external team to sustain visuals for SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off.
Lecturer, Department of Animation and Production at DigiPen Institute of Technology
March 31, 2022 - March 31, 2022
Taught Prj202 and 252 – Art for 2D video games (sophomore level) covering concept art, environments, animation and UI/UX; taught Art350 Storyboarding; Prj450 Portfolio Class mentoring seniors toward graduation.
Art Director at Leaftail Labs
February 28, 2019 - February 28, 2019
Managed the look and feel of all art-related tasks for an upcoming original IP project.
Art Director/Art Lead at All Yes Good
September 1, 2018 - September 1, 2018
Created all visual elements for the game Octogeddon, including concept art, character designs, animations, backgrounds, special effects, cutscenes, UI, promotional artwork and logo; produced promotional videos combining video clips, animations, sounds and effects for advertising.
Senior Artist at PopCap Games
December 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012
Created the look and feel for Plants vs Zombies from concept to final asset, including all characters, animations, UI elements, load screen illustration and logo; designed box art and merchandise; created the font for Zombie Speak; consulted on mobile and Xbox porting and Asian market releases.
Artist at McGraw Hill
December 31, 2005 - December 31, 2005
Created digital illustrations and game assets for a wide variety of children’s learning games.
Background Artist at Amaze Entertainment
December 31, 2005 - December 31, 2005
Created multiple backgrounds, environments, interiors and maps for handheld games; rendered parallax animations, object and sprite animations for titles including Shrek Super Slam, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and Robots.
Background Artist at Griptonite Studios (handheld division)
December 31, 2002 - December 31, 2002
Created multiple backgrounds such as environments, interiors and maps for handheld games; produced parallax animations and various game assets.
Artist at Interactive Imagination
December 31, 2002 - December 31, 2002
Art instruction in Dubai teaching fundamentals of art including line and shading techniques, perspective drawing, digital inking and painting; delivered art fundamentals for high school students and conducted guest art instructor sessions.
Adjunct Instructor, Fine Arts Department at DigiPen Institute of Technology
August 1, 2023 - August 1, 2025
Taught Art251: Character Design; Art234: Sequential Art; Art301: Concept Resourcing; Art450: Portfolio; Prj 450 Portfolio Class, Concept Art Silo; mentoring seniors; senior level guidance.
Lead Artist at Tilting Point
March 1, 2022 - January 31, 2023
Led a team of artists to develop multiple game ideas and Proof of Concept samples for mobile games; collaborated with an external team to maintain SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off’s look and feel.
Lecturer in the Department of Animation and Production at DigiPen Institute of Technology
July 1, 2019 - March 1, 2022
Taught Prj 202 and 252: Art for 2D video games; Sophomore Level. Taught all aspects of art related to the vertical slice of 2D video game production, including character concepts, environments, animation and UI/UX design; Art 350: Storyboarding; Prj 450 Portfolio Class; mentoring seniors.
Art Director at Leaftail Labs
September 1, 2018 - February 1, 2019
Managed the look and feel of all art related tasks for an upcoming original IP.
Art Director/Art Lead at All Yes Good
December 1, 2012 - September 1, 2018
Created all visual elements for the game Octogeddon, including concept art, character designs, animations, backgrounds and special effects as well as all cutscenes, UI, promotional artwork and logo design. Assets were created using a variety of tools from traditional media to digital painting and animation programs. Created multiple videos for promotional use by combining video clips, animations, sounds and special effects for advertising.
Senior Artist at PopCap Games
August 1, 2005 - December 1, 2012
Plants vs Zombies: Created the look and feel for the original game, as well as all characters from concept to final asset, animations for all characters, special effects, most UI elements including the load screen illustration and the game’s logo. Created artwork including the box art for retail, designs for action figures and other PVZ merchandise. Created the font for Zombie Speak used in zombie notes. Served as a consultant for porting Plants vs Zombies to mobile and Xbox platforms and traveled to China for releases in the Asian market.
Background Artist at Amaze Entertainment
January 1, 2002 - December 31, 2005
Created multiple backgrounds such as environments, interiors, and maps to be used in handheld games; parallax animations, object and sprite animations for the mentioned handheld games.
Interactive Imagination Artist at Griptonite Studios (handheld division)
January 1, 2000 - December 31, 2002
Created multiple backgrounds such as environments, interiors, and maps to be used in handheld games; rendered parallax animations, object, and sprite animations for Shrek Super Slam, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and Robots.

Education

AA in Graphic Design and Visual Communications at The Art Institute of Seattle
January 1, 1996 - January 1, 2000
AA at The Art Institute of Seattle
January 1, 1996 - January 1, 2000

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Education, Software & Internet, Professional Services

Skills

Experience Level