Dennis Zuniga-| +1 - | LinkedIn | Artstation Profile | Houston, TX | U.S. Citizen
SUMMARY
Highly skilled 3D Artist with 4+ years of experience crafting immersive, visually stunning worlds across video game and VR platforms. Adept at modeling and texturing high-quality 3D assets with a deep understanding of optimization to ensure seamless production workflows. Combines creative expertise in concept art and animation with a disciplined, detail-oriented mindset honed through military service. Proven ability to conceptualize, design, and execute cohesive visual styles, translating artistic vision into polished, high-performing assets. Recognized for exceptional collaboration with cross-functional teams, enhancing efficiency, reducing production time, and delivering exceptional results under tight deadlines.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Concept Artist & 2D Animator, Ruff Sketch Games, Houston, TX January 2022 – Present
Designed concept art for 5 unique boss characters and 15+ weapons, blending modern and fantasy aesthetics to establish a cohesive visual style.
Created 3D models from concept art to provide a foundation for game development, contributing to a unified team vision.
Collaborated closely with the Environment Lead and other team members to ensure assets aligned with the project’s visual direction.
Developed modular design techniques for assets, allowing for easier reuse and reducing production time.
Conducted iterative reviews of assets to ensure they met quality standards and performance needs in-engine.
Concept Artist & 3D Artist, Play the Crowd LLC, Houston, TX January 2021 – January 2022
Collaborated directly with project leads to develop concepts for 10+ VR scenes across 6 projects, reducing production time and costs while ensuring visually immersive environments.
Translated original concept art into 50+ optimized, textured 3D assets for VR applications, improving performance and streamlining the production pipeline.
Created both modular and unique assets, balancing hard surface and organic modeling techniques.
Contributed to the development of immersive VR environments by ensuring assets maintained design specifications and aesthetic consistency.
Worked closely with lighting and level design teams to ensure seamless integration of assets within VR environments.
Iterated on designs based on client and team feedback, ensuring final products met or exceeded expectations.
Photo Editor, TK Images, Houston, TX January 2019 – January 2024
Enhanced real estate photography by implementing photo editing pipelines that increased image quality by 50%.
Applied precise corrections, including straightening, color grading, and artifact removal, to meet client specifications.
Managed a high volume of editing tasks with strict deadlines, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality images.
Collaborated with photographers to align on the vision for each project and refine editing techniques.
Developed a library of presets and workflows that improved team efficiency and maintained consistent quality.
Infantry Rifleman and Squad Leader, United States Marine Corps, Houston, TX January 2015 – January 2019
Led and mentored team members, increasing unit retention rates by 50% and improving operational effectiveness.
Directed and executed training exercises to bolster team cohesion and readiness.
Coordinated with leadership to design and implement mission-specific training, ensuring operational success.
Supervised and maintained critical equipment, ensuring readiness for deployment under various conditions.
Cultivated effective communication and teamwork skills in high-pressure environments, fostering strong unit cohesion.
EDUCATION
Full Sail University, Winter Park, FL Graduation: May 2025
Bachelor of Science in Visual Arts for Game Art
Houston Community College, Houston, TX Graduation: May 2022
Associate of Applied Science in Digital Gaming & Simulation
GAME DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
Subterranean (2D Sidescroller Platformer), 2D generalist, animator, lighting Artist Dec 2021
Rendered environment and character concept art using Adobe Photoshop, allowing for a smooth final pixel art asset pipeline.
Created Pixel art animation sprite sheets and environment tile sets to be used in final game build, while developing normal maps to ensure unique, real-time reactions to Unreal Engine lighting.
Designed, built and optimized the level tile map to ensure an effective player experience
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Fate of the Ancient (3D third-person hack n’ slash ), 3D character artist, animator, concept artist Jan 2022-May 2022.
Rendered concept art for environment biomes and final boss, resulting in an expedited pre-production timeframe.
Modeled, textured, rigged and animated final boss character, resulting in less production time for final level.
Rigged and animated enemy characters, maintaining cohesive animation style throughout development.
Conducted final texture touch-ups and optimization of main character model, enduring overall visual art style cohesion and improved game performance.
TECHNICAL SKILLS AND SOFTWARE PROFFICIENCY
Technical Skills: Lighting & texturing, 3D modeling for props, environments and characters, Rigging & animation, environment, prop and character concept art, storyboarding, 3D asset optimization, UV unwrapping, level building & design, Pixel art.
Software: 3DS Max, Substance Painter, Autodesk Maya, Zbrush, Blender, Unreal Engine, Unity Engine, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Substance Designer, Github, Autocad, Plasticity
Languages: Spanish (Fluent), English (Fluent)
