James Arkwright
James Arkwright
Principal 3D Environment Artist at Compulsion Games
Ontario, Canada

Summary

I am a Principal/Lead Environment Artist with ten years of experience in the video game industry. I am currently working as a Principal 3D Environment Artist at Compulsion Games. Previously I was a Senior Level Artist at Ascendant Studios, and the Lead Environment Artist at Torn Banner Studios.

All of my professional work is real-time 3D art for games, but much of my personal work is concept art.

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Skills

3D ModelingDigital SculptingLevel ArtTexturingLightingGame DevelopmentHard Surface ModelingProp ModelingPBR TexturingEnvironment ModelingVisual EffectsEnvironment DesignConcept DesignTechnical ArtConcept Art

Software proficiency

3ds Max
3ds Max
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
ZBrush
ZBrush
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Designer
Substance 3D Designer
Houdini
Houdini
Blender
Blender
Photoshop
Photoshop
Unity
Unity
Mixer
Mixer
Quixel Suite
Quixel Suite
UVLayout
UVLayout
Gaea
Gaea

Productions

    • Video Game
      Immortals of Aveum
    • Year
      2023
    • Role
      Senior Level Artist
    • Company
      Ascendant Studios
    • Video Game
      Chivalry 2
    • Year
      2021
    • Role
      Senior/Lead Environment Artist
    • Company
      Torn Banner Studios
    • Video Game
      LEAP
    • Year
      2022
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Blue Isle Studios
    • Video Game
      Citadel: Forged with Fire
    • Year
      2017
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Blue Isle Studios
    • Video Game
      Valley
    • Year
      2016
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Blue Isle Studios

Experience

  • Principal 3D Environment Artist at Compulsion Games
    Ontario, CA
    July 2023 - Present

    South of Midnight (2025 - PC, Xbox Series S/X)

    - Responsible for developing full environments from blockouts through to final, polished levels.

  • Senior Level Artist at Ascendant Studios
    Ontario, Canada
    February 2022 - July 2023

    Immortals of Aveum (2023 - PC, Xbox Series S/X, PS5)

    - Responsible for developing full environments from blockouts through to final, polished levels.

    - Creating a variety of level assets, from modular architecture kits to highly sculpted organic set pieces.

    - Working closely with Level Design and other departments to deliver the best possible player experience.

  • Lead Environment Artist at Torn Banner Studios
    Toronto, Canada
    April 2019 - February 2022

    Chivalry 2 (2021 - PC, Xbox Series S/X, PS5)

    - Created full environments from the blockout phase through to completion, including modeling, texturing, shader development, lighting and optimization.

    - Led and worked alongside a small and talented group of artists to achieve the artistic vision for the project and continuously raise the quality bar for our art.

    - Involved in high level planning for environment art direction while working closely with production and other departments to meet tight deadlines in a live-game environment.

    - Produced real-time VFX for dynamic level actors and environments using Houdini and Cascade.

  • Environment Artist at Blue Isle Studios
    Toronto, Canada
    March 2015 - March 2019

    LEAP (2022 – PC)

    - Set up initial art workflows during the pre-production phase of the project.

    - Created natural environments, architectural modular sets, and props while integrating these assets into the engine.

    - Responsible for ensuring quality levels and optimization across all in-game assets.

    Citadel: Forged with Fire (2017 – PC, Xbox One, PS4)

    - Main environment artist tasked with creating assets for a large, open-world, online multiplayer game in Unreal Engine 4.

    - Created organic and hard surface assets, foliage and props to fill an entire world and allow for a flexible player-focused building system.

    Valley (2016 – PC, Xbox One, PS4)

    - Worked with a small, passionate team to create a visually striking game in the Unity 5 engine.

    - Created entire environments from a white-box stage to a polished, playable state with final artwork.