Work History

Professional Portfolio

Contact

Curriculum Vitae

Basic Information

Name: Ivan Horn
Location: UK
Nationality: British
Languages: English plus some knowledge of Norwegian (main written).

General Information

I am a lead artist and more recently associate producer, with over three decades of experience as a developer in the computer games industry. In that time I have spent a total of 18 years in lead art positions. I have worked for a wide variety of companies, from small single team indie developers to multi-team studios, both on and offsite (total of 6 years working remotely), including working with teams in other countries/continents.

Since 2018 I have taken on large parts of the producer role at Ravn Studio, working as Associate Produce on the last two releases by the company.
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In addition to my time working in the games industry, I spent 3 years (2007-2010) at Nvidia Corp, as part of the Tegra Devtech team. 

I have a variety of experience with non-art related tasks including performance analysis and perf related feedback to artists, creation of game builds, setting up VPN’s, PC building and various light networking tasks. I also have considerable experience of UE4’s Localisation Dashboard and some limited experience with audio work, primarily the creation of SFX, including a little time working with FMOD Studio.

Tool Experience

Highly proficient in the use of the following commercial tools.
Some experience with the following commercial tools.

Skills: General

I’m highly organised, with good communication skills, and have good technical aptitude. During my career I’ve shown a willingness to take on tasks well outside the norm for an artist. Additionally I have good interpersonal skills, whether on a one to one basis, or in a group.

Skills: Art

My main skills are as a 3d modeler and texturer, as well as scene design, dressing and lighting. I’m experienced in non-character animation, but have also done various simple character animations and rigging, but not to the extent that I would myself a character animator. 

I have 5 years of experience using Unreal 4 and am proficient in many aspects of it, from the art focused side of handling assets, setting up sequences and creating scenes, to the use of the localisation dashboard and making builds. 
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In 2D I have considerable experience in the creation of GUI and texture related art, as well as image adjustment and manipulation.

I also have some experience with video editing, primarily of gameplay shorts and game promotional videos.

Skills: Art lead

Since 2000 I have worked as the Lead Artist or Head of Art on 26 projects (21 commercially released games titles), for which I created artwork for all of them. In that time I have gained a range of skills that aid me in the lead art role.
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These skills include the ability to break down a game's design into art tasks, and the assignment of those tasks based on artist suitability and availability. Additionally I provide art specifications and descriptions (e.g. mood boards and written guides) for both inhouse and out of house artists, to guide their work both in terms of its visuals and the form in which it should be delivered. Additionally I have considerable experience of the assessment of the work of the members of an art team and providing them with feedback, regarding both visuals and technical issues.

In the later stages of a project, as the focus shifts from production to finalisation and release, I can lean on my experience to guide the work in that phase. In particular the prioritisation of work on art issues reported by QA, late stage improvements and supporting the process of submission to platform holders.

The majority of titles I've worked on have been IP based, giving me considerable understanding of the complications and opportunities that this brings to development. In particular establishing the needs and preferences of IP holders and communicating this to the art team.
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Skills: Production

For the last eight years I have been involved with a variety of tasks that would normally come under the role of a producer or designer. This work has primarily been project scheduling and other organisational and communication tasks.

On the last two projects that I have worked on, I had the official role of Associate Producer, in addition to that of Head of Art at Ravn. As well as the internal associate producer tasks that I had, I was also responsible for the majority of communication with the other development companies and independent contractors involved in those two projects. 

My skills in this area are primarily project planning, scheduling, task assignment and tracking. In addition I have considerable experience related to the testing and submission side of development, including prioritisation of issues (bugs) to be addressed, providing change lists to the publisher, as well as some experience of the submission process to platform holders (Nintendo and Steam).

Skills: Design

Although I would not classify myself as a designer, I have considerable experience of many elements of game design. My main skills in this area relate to the documentation side of design, including writing GDD’s and the creation of ancillary documents, such as those for text strings, dialogue and data tables (audio asset lists, achievements requirements etc.). At Ravn Studios I have been responsible for the majority of the writing of our design documents, including GDD, for the past 8 years.

Writing

In addition to creativity in the form of visual art, I have some interest in writing. I make no great claims to the quality of my work, as so far it's been limited to some humorous fanfiction for the game Kerbal Space Program. However it is something that I’ve enjoyed immensely, feel I have some skill at and believe it has broadened my creative outlook and provided some understanding of the challenges of storytelling in games.

In addition I have written many texts for titles developed by Ravn Studio, that were used for their promotion and to attract funding.

Work History

Ravn Studio – Drammen, Norway
Head of art from January 2011 to the present and Associate Producer from 2018.
Nvidia Corp – Worked remotely from the UK for a USA based team
Technical artist in the Devtech team within the Tegra division, from November 2007 to December 2010.
Denied Reality Ltd – Manchester, UK
Co-founder, Company Director and Art Director, from September 2005 to October 2007
Gizmondo Studios (previously Warthog Games) – Manchester, UK
Lead Artist and Senior Technical Artist December 2004 to July 2005
Warthog Games – Manchester, UK
Lead Artist and Lead Production Artist June 2000 to November 2004
Ingames  –Drammen, Norway
March 1999 to April 2000
Ingames (UK) - Manchester/Lancaster, UK
Artist February 1997 to November 1998
Warner Interactive – Manchester UK
Ocean Software Ltd – Manchester UK
Contact me
If you'd like to get in contact with me please use the email address below.
ivanhorngamesdev@gmail.com
The images on this site are the property of Ivan Horn and may not be used or reproduced without their permission.