I am a creative cross-disciplinary game artist passionate about heartfelt experiences achieved through collaboration and experimentation. With a strong background in illustration, design, audio, and Unity development, I bring a unique blend of artistic vision and technical skill to every project I undertake. Throughout my career, I have successfully navigated small team environments, managing cross-discipline duties and proactively assessing goals, timelines, and budgets. I graduated with a BFA in Illustration, emphasizing narrative illustration, character development, and visual storytelling. My senior thesis integrated Unity to explore interactive environments and gameplay mechanics, enriching my approach to empathy, symbolism, and layered communication. I continuously improve my skills by collaborating with veteran professionals and learning new tools, ensuring I bring novel solutions and thoughtful artistic direction to my work.

Wesley Derstine

I am a creative cross-disciplinary game artist passionate about heartfelt experiences achieved through collaboration and experimentation. With a strong background in illustration, design, audio, and Unity development, I bring a unique blend of artistic vision and technical skill to every project I undertake. Throughout my career, I have successfully navigated small team environments, managing cross-discipline duties and proactively assessing goals, timelines, and budgets. I graduated with a BFA in Illustration, emphasizing narrative illustration, character development, and visual storytelling. My senior thesis integrated Unity to explore interactive environments and gameplay mechanics, enriching my approach to empathy, symbolism, and layered communication. I continuously improve my skills by collaborating with veteran professionals and learning new tools, ensuring I bring novel solutions and thoughtful artistic direction to my work.

Available to hire

I am a creative cross-disciplinary game artist passionate about heartfelt experiences achieved through collaboration and experimentation. With a strong background in illustration, design, audio, and Unity development, I bring a unique blend of artistic vision and technical skill to every project I undertake. Throughout my career, I have successfully navigated small team environments, managing cross-discipline duties and proactively assessing goals, timelines, and budgets.

I graduated with a BFA in Illustration, emphasizing narrative illustration, character development, and visual storytelling. My senior thesis integrated Unity to explore interactive environments and gameplay mechanics, enriching my approach to empathy, symbolism, and layered communication. I continuously improve my skills by collaborating with veteran professionals and learning new tools, ensuring I bring novel solutions and thoughtful artistic direction to my work.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
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Work Experience

Lead Unity UI Artist at Blarney Bytes
March 1, 2025 - August 21, 2025
Led visual research for product and character illustrations, reimplemented UI and UX for quick, simple, uncluttered navigation, and updated game feature user-flow to enhance user experience. Coordinated with subcontractors to meet project deadlines, managed performance, and led team training on Unity UI best practices. Attended team meetings and reviewed project schedules while assessing and analyzing UI features and bugs.
Game Developer & Designer at Neo Pangea
November 1, 2023 - August 21, 2025
Led development of asymmetric VR experience including research and implementation of additional features to increase revenue. Developed LAN networking for cross-platform communication, systems for synchronization and game progression tracking. Utilized addressables for asset management and coordinated with subcontractors for performance and timely delivery. Participated in team meetings and project schedule reviews.
Unity Engineer at UX Magicians
October 1, 2022 - August 21, 2025
Assessed subcontractors and implemented their work, mainly with 3D animators. Developed projects both as a team and solo developer, collaborating with animators and Unity developers. Improved skills by learning new API integrations and handled QA for features and bug reporting using Jira.
Creative Technologist at Dimensional Innovations
April 1, 2021 - August 21, 2025
Assessed subcontractors and implemented their work, especially 3D animators. Developed projects as team member and solo developer collaborating with animators and Unity developers. Enhanced skills by learning from veteran professionals and obtaining certifications. Worked on UI, illustration, sound, 3D modeling, programming including shader graph, gameplay, and audio integration.

Education

BFA at Kansas City Art Institute
August 1, 2011 - May 1, 2015

Qualifications

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Industry Experience

Gaming, Software & Internet, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare