Tyler Jones

Own real-time Unreal Engine 5 character, creature, prop, and environment assets end to end—from high-poly creation and UV/texturing through materials, lighting/lookdev, optimization, and final in-engine implementation. Build and troubleshoot reusable Unreal materials and Niagara effects to meet art direction and gameplay needs. Optimize geometry, texture sets, materials, translucency, and scene complexity for performance-constrained hardware targets while preserving the intended visual style. Collaborate closely with the Art Director on visual development and production problem solving across a small multidisciplinary team, using MEL/Python-assisted command automation in Maya and Unreal to speed iteration.

Delivered production CG assets (creatures, characters, props, environments, vehicles) from sculpting/modeling through UVs, texturing, shading, and final lookdev. Worked with USD/OpenUSD-based asset and scene workflows for both VFX and marketing visualization projects. Led the Matchmove/Layout team while staying hands on with camera tracking/solves, camera animation, head and face tracking, scene layout, and plate-aligned integration. Reviewed artist work, mentored junior artists, and managed schedules/estimates to keep tracking/layout deliveries on pace and within budget. Partnered with supervisors and department leads to resolve shot, asset, and integration issues across matchmove, layout, cloth simulation, lighting, and rendering.

Modeled and textured creatures, props, vehicles, and environments for film and episodic VFX. Created clean production-ready assets and proxy geometry from LiDAR scans to support tracking, animation, FX, lighting, and simulation pipelines. Built 2.5D projection assets and digital set extensions for compositing and environment work. Developed FX-friendly models for large-scale destruction simulations (buildings, vehicles, and environments). Sculpted and textured high-resolution hero assets and characters for close-up work, supporting productions that included Stranger Things and Beyond Skyline.