Michael Dunnam | Art Director & Lead Environment Artist in Game Development

Michael Dunnam

Art Director | Lead Environment Artist

Hoschton, United States

Summary

With over 20 years of experience in the game development industry, I am Michael Dunnam—a dedicated Art Director and Lead Environment Artist passionate about creating immersive and visually stunning game worlds. Throughout my extensive career, I have led large teams and spearheaded high-impact projects for renowned studios such as Lost Boys Interactive, Deep Silver Volition, and Meggitt PLC.

As the founder of XMD, LLC, I established a leading platform for ZBrush assets, plug-ins, and courses, achieving over 1 million asset downloads and maintaining a 5-star rating for all offerings.

My expertise encompasses 3D environment design, team leadership, pipeline optimization, and mastering industry-standard tools like ZBrush, Unreal Engine, CryEngine, and Substance.

Key Highlights:
Leadership & Management: Successfully managed teams of up to 57 artists, fostering a creative and productive work environment that balances innovation with efficiency.

Project Excellence: Directed and delivered multiple game expansions, DLCs, and large-scale military simulation projects on time and within budget.

Technical Proficiency: Specialized in environment modeling, photogrammetry, Unreal shader setup, CryEngine AI scripting, and performance optimization across various platforms.

Educational Impact: Designed and launched five successful live online courses, empowering aspiring artists with the skills and knowledge to excel in the industry.

Entrepreneurial Success: Founded and grew XMD, LLC into a world leader in ZBrush assets and educational content, supporting thousands of artists worldwide.

Notable Projects:

New World: Aeternum Expansion: Art Direction for two new zones, overseeing concept development, asset creation, and environment optimization for console platforms.

Meggitt PLC Military Simulations: Led $320M and $240M projects for the US Army and Marine Corps, delivering highly detailed terrains and immersive environments using Unreal and CryEngine.

XMD ToolBox Plug-in for ZBrush: Developed a widely acclaimed plug-in with over 500,000 downloads, enhancing the creative workflow for countless artists worldwide.

Lost Boys Interactive Game Expansions: Shipped multiple DLCs and expansions, including on-time delivery of major updates and integrations with new technologies.

Skills:

○ 3D Environment Design & Modeling
○ Art Direction & Creative Leadership
○ Pipeline Optimization & Process Improvement
○ ZBrush
○ Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Lumberyard
○ Photogrammetry
○ Team Building & Project Management
○ Strategic Planning & Business Development
○ Educational Content Creation & Curriculum Design

I am committed to pushing the boundaries of game art and creating unforgettable experiences for players. With a robust background that blends artistic vision with technical expertise, I bring a unique perspective to every project I undertake. Explore my portfolio to see a diverse range of projects that showcase my ability to lead, innovate, and deliver exceptional game environments. Let’s connect and collaborate to bring your next gaming project to life!

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Skills

Software proficiency

3ds Max

Maya

ZBrush

Photoshop

Substance 3D Painter

Substance 3D Designer

Unreal Engine

CRYENGINE

Marmoset Toolbag

After Effects

Photoscan

Illustrator

V-Ray

GameMaker: Studio

mental ray

Unity

RealityCapture

Reel

Productions

- Video Game
  New World: Aeternum
- Year
  2024
- Role
  Project Art Director
- Company
  Lost Boys Interactive
- Video Game
  New World - Rise of the Angry Earth
- Year
  2023
- Role
  Art Director
- Company
  Lost Boys Interactive
- Video Game
  New World
- Year
  2022
- Role
  Associate Art Director / Lead Environment Artist / Associate Art Director
- Company
  Lost Boys Interactive
- Video Game
  Saints Row 5
- Year
  2022
- Role
  Senior 3D Environment Artist
- Company
  Volition
- Video Game
  Harry Potter New York
- Year
  2020
- Role
  Senior 3D Environment Artist
- Company
  Wevr
- Video Game
  Game Developers Carnival
- Year
  2020
- Role
  Senior 3D Environment / Prop Artist
- Company
  Xsolla
- Video Game
  FATS 300LE Immersive Virtual Training System
- Year
  2018
- Role
  Lead 3D Artist
- Company
  Meggitt
- Video Game
  FATS 180 MIL
- Year
  2017
- Role
  Lead 3D Artist
- Company
  Meggitt
- Video Game
  EST II - US Army Contract
- Year
  2017
- Role
  Lead 3D Artist
- Company
  Meggitt
- Video Game
  ISMT - USMC Contract
- Year
  2017
- Role
  Lead 3D Artist
- Company
  Meggitt
- Video Game
  FATS 100e
- Year
  2015
- Role
  Lead 3D Artist
- Company
  Meggitt
- Video Game
  Integrated Tactical Training Center
- Year
  2010
- Role
  Senior 3D Environment/VFX Artist
- Company
  Meggitt

Experience

Associate Art Director at Lost Boys Interactive
United States of America
March 2022 - Present
Lead Environment Artist at Lost Boys Interactive
October 2021 - March 2021
• Lead Environment Artist on an unannounced title.
Senior Environment Artist at Volition
August 2020 - Present
Founder & CEO at XMD, LLC
January 2010 - Present
• Founded XMD in 2010 to become a world leader in ZBrush assets, plug-ins and courses.

• Led the development and conceptualization of the innovative XMD ToolBox Plug-in for Zbrush that has received over 100,000 downloads.

• All XMD Assets have a 5-star rating for quality and design.

• Developed a platform for sharing ZBrush assets on XMDSource.com with over 1 million downloads.

• Monitor and respond to customer feedback to ensure all products release successfully.

• Manage all aspects of the company to increase sales by over 80% yearly.

• Developed curriculums for 5 successful live online courses.
Senior 3D Environment Artist at Wevr
September 2019 - April 2020
• Specialized in modeling/texturing architecture and vehicles.

• Unreal Shader setup and model implementation.

• PBR ORM texture creation.

• Fast iterative Gray-boxing.

• Optimization of Models for use in VR.

• Large Terrain Implementation.

• Very strong time management skills to achieve deadlines and stay on track.

• Established a great rapport with the Art Lead to help strategize and organize assets for a better project flow.
Senior 3D Environment/Prop Artist at XSolla
March 2020 - May 2020
• Created assets/props for use in the Unreal Engine.

• PBR ORM texture creation.

• Gray-Boxed environments for level design and player flow.

• Optimized shaders and models for use in a networked environment.

• Quick model generation for a short deadline.
Lead 3D Artist at Meggitt
Suwanee
November 2006 - February 2019
• Working in a team-oriented environment to design and develop terrains/environments from start to finish for military simulation.

• Art Lead of a 320-million-dollar contract project with the US Army.

• Strongly self-motivated to stay ahead, set personal deadlines, and go above and beyond what is asked.

• Unreal Engine Level Design and Prototyping

• VR Development

--- Oculus

--- Magic Leap

--- Mobile Development

• CryEngine 3 Level Design and Modeling

• CryEngine 3 AI Scripting / Flowgraph

• Proposal Videos using CryEngine 3

• Terrain Modeling and Texturing

• Architectural Modeling and Texturing

• Vehicle and Prop Modeling and Texturing

• Logo / Label Design

• Marketing Concepts and Rendering

• Prototype Design for Manufacturing

• Hi-res modeling for Normal Mapping

• Released Products / Terrains:

--- Lead of the EST II Army Contract

--- Lead of the ISMT Marine Contract

--- Pristina 2010 – Lead

--- COTS 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 (Database of Models and Terrains)

--- Singapore ITTC Trainer

--- Fans Hill, Scotland

--- Singleton, Australia

--- Puckapunyal, Australia

--- Kandahar, Afghanistan
3D Artist at Rapid Reality
Marietta, United States of America
January 2005 - October 2006
• Working with the Kaneva Game Engine, Klaus Entertainment

• Strong team working skills to achieve goals and meet deadlines.

• Environment and Level Design for MMO (The Chronicle)

• Architectural Modeling

• Special Effects Programming

• Texturing and Unwrapping