TAKAYOSHI SATO
ART DIRECTOR

QUALIFICATIONS
· Talented award-winning Art Director with over 10 years experience in the games industry in both Japan and the US.
· Received Green Card due to "Extraordinary Talent in Art Field."
· Managed production of all computer graphics for Silent Hill, which sold 2 million copies worldwide and spawned four sequels.
· Deep knowledge of entire game production cycle gained from developing 4 shipped games.
· Held a variety of roles including Art Director, Creative Director and Producer; each of these positions contributed to an increase in creativity and the overall ability to make production more realistic.

SKILLS
· Core Competencies: Project Planning/Scheduling. Senior-level Art Direction, Concept illustration, 3D modeling and animation, high quality art and finish, milestone tracking, resource management, production of style guides, strong work ethic and experience working in the Asian Game Market

· Software: Maya, Lightwave, SoftImage3D, Photoshop, Painter, ZBrush, and After Effects

"I have consistently created unique and original products, even when working under tight deadlines or within limited budgets. I am a hands-on leader with a braod-based understanding of all aspects of game.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Virtual Heroes. Inc
Director of Visual Development (2007 - present)



Electronic Arts, Los Angeles, CAProducer (2006 – 2007)
Unannounced title
· Responsible for all story missions (scripted environmetnal events, character interactions, and all non-shooting missions are a part of the story mission) and in-game cinematic creation and delivery working with the Fiction, Art, Design, Sound and Engineering departments.
· Story and script delivery working with the Script Writer, Game Designer, Executive Producer and Set Artist.
· Responsible for producing the story telling method by defining every method of execution.
· Work with Development Directors to manage assets, resources and budgets.
· Direct a team of artists to create high-res characters and environments for the story mission.
· Direct Storyboard Artists to create visuals of the written story missions.
· Draw and build 3D visuals to assist Storyboard artists when needed.
· Set up the character and animation pipelines.
· Work with a talent agency to do auditions and casting.
· Responsible for all motion capture animation including facial animation for story missions, planning, data clean up, and updating data for completion; worked closely with animators and the motion capture studio.
· Streamlined the approval process so things are signed off by all directors in a timely manner.
· Work with the Central Technology Group and the Technical Director to manage technical solutions for the story mission.
· Additional responsibilities include pre-vis development and animation work; the Producer’s responsibility is to fill the holes left by unassigned tasks.

Art Director (2003 - 2006)

Unannounced title (Next-gen) (2005 – 2006)
· Responsible for art design and quality by directing and leading artists and animators. I also spearhead creating art by myself when it’s appropriate. Additionally, I worked with a casting agency, individual contributor and external studio to deliver designs and assets.
· Led the Art Team to create complete a new and original universe for an unannounced next-gen original title.
· Worked with the Character Technical Director to set the studio’s standard rig and facial expression system.
· General responsibilities included:
o Character design
o Character and animation pipelines
o Casting
o Costume design
o Set design
o Alien design
o Lighting concept design
o Level visual development
o In-game cinematic direction
o Animation concept
o Weapon vis-dev

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (Playstation2, Xbox, Game Cube) (2003 – 2004)
· Joined EA as the initial member of the art team and then built and managed the art team as the project progressed.
· Led efforts to translate ambitious ideas of 5 producers into captivating characters and artwork completing the project within only 19 months.
· Led the design of all characters, environments and models. Generated pictures and movies and directed engineers in developing all technical features. Succeeded in shipping for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent game, EA's primary product of the year.
· Hired and managed art development team of 30 and collaborated with renowned designers Ken Adam, Kim Barrett and Rene Morel to generate high-quality visuals.
· Initiated motion capture animation for first time in the studio and significantly boosted character art quality from previous levels.
· Within only 4 months following green light, managed the huge re-design of characters, costumes, weapons and environments demanded by the new Executive Producer; additionally built top quality characters and visualized all by high-resolution CG.

Konami Corporation

1996 - 2003

Creative Director, Konami of America (2002 – 2003)
· Streamlined and redirected staff to position studio to produce executable ideas. Designed mind map chart used at all meetings to focus on essential game-play features and pre-production organization.
· Guided American studio and creative team to meet needs and expectations of Japanese headquarters.
· Assigned individual staff members to align game development with American, Japanese, Chinese, Canadian and English customs and cultures and avoid pigeonholing product as distinctly Western or Asian.
· Initiated first-ever incorporation of marketing ideas and research into product development in the company’s history.

CGI Director, Konami, Tokyo and Konami of America (1999 – 2001)
Silent Hill 2 (Playstation 2, Xbox, PC)
· Initiated transformation of this independent subsidiary of Konami Japan that had failed to produce successful games in more than 15 years.
· Took initiative to lead both art direction and pre-production to compensate for lack of attention being paid to these key facets. Pursued relocation to the U.S. to spearhead development of international best selling games.
· Challenged to focus creative team of Silent Hill 2 on designing game with profit potential and not just artistic merit. Composed story line, game system, and game scope and led all preproduction.
· Purchased rendering server with personal savings to prepare cut scenes for viewing at Tokyo Game Show prior to corporate budget approval of equipment. Enabled successful rendering of 20 seconds of movie.
· Conducted all human character design independently, applied a newly developed character rig in the system to differentiate characters, and developed over 12 minutes of high-quality cut scenes with only 5 staff in 18 months.
· Silent Hill 2 shipped on time to exceptional reviews and earned a large fan base. The game has subsequently been made into a feature-length film.

CG Artist/CGI Director, Konami, Tokyo (1996 – 1999)
Silent Hill (PS1)
· Played key role in story design and managed character design, CGI sequences, and environments, for the ground-breaking 3D game, Silent Hill.
· Self-taught new 3D software after hours. Completed all character and mood design and high-resolution models.
· Made master rig for human characters, directed actors for motion capture, conducted all facial expression animation, and set, lit, rendered and composed layered sequences of scenes.
· Worked alone through the night using all Konami employees' computers simultaneously to complete rendering. Bought own scanner, printer, and hard-drive to build demos for production reviews and trade shows.
· In 3 years without staff assistance, completed award-winning CGI cut scenes for Silent Hill which has sold over 2 million copies.

Artist/Animator, Konami, Tokyo (1996)
Sexy Parodius (PS1, Sega Saturn)
· Led animation for porting Sexy Parodius game for Playstation and Sega Saturn, maintaining high art quality despite significantly reduced specifications.
· Self-taught PIGS software. Worked 16-hour days, 7 days per week to complete project on time in only 4 months.
· Converted and compressed all data, animated player characters, added user interface for console version and generated art for advertisement.
· Integrated two previously non-contributing artists into team and developed chart to guide their daily activities. Transformed them into full contributors to team.

EDUCATION
Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan 1996
Bachelor of Fine Art / Oil Painting

INTERVIEWS, SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, AND ART EXHIBITS
· Interviewed by hundreds of gaming magazines and publications including The LA Times, Gamers Republic, Official Playstation Magazine, IGN, Next Generation / Edge, Official X-Box Magazine, Joypad, CG World, Nikkei CG, Flickers, Famitsu, Graphic World, Gamasutra.com, and the book Game Design: Secrets of the Sages.

· Maya Master Class, Siggraph, 2005; "CG's Worth in the Future," Osaka Digital Arts Festival, 1999; "SoftImage and Silent Hill," SoftImage User's Meeting, 2001; Essays, Graphics World, 1999.

· Guest teacher at True Max CG Animation School in Denmark for a week. I taught character production from character design to emotional expression.
http://www.truemax.com/instructors.aspx
http://www.truemax.com/tma06_mc_20062.aspx

· Sayonara Tama Vavin Art Exhibit, Tokyo 1996; Tama Vavin Art Exhibits, Tokyo 1994 and 1995; Sixibition Art Exhibit, Tokyo 1993.

AWARDS
· Electronic Arts, EA ACTION Award 2005
· Extraordinary Talent in Art, US Visa Award 2004
· Konami Academy Award 2002
· America Siggraph Electronic Theater Screening
　　http://www.satoworks.com/SIGGRAPHpage.html 1999
· Konami CEO Special Award 1999
· Excellence in Digital Art, Japan Media Arts Festival 1998
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/backnumber/10/sakuhin/silent_hill.html