Gleb Polikanin

Game Artist

Malmö, Sweden
I'm a 2D/3D Generalist working in the industry since 2009.
I have experience in full circle game art production from idea & prototype to finished asset & promo.
I also used to participate in organisation of events like game jams and meet-ups for local gamedev community in Minsk, Belarus.
As a gamer I love playing games with strong narrative, adventures and puzzles. All sorts of indie games are a huge inspiration for me as well.

Work Experience

King

Game Artist

I worked in a prototype team exploring new ideas & gameplay mechanics, making concepts, UI, VFX assets and scene setup in Unity.

Projects:
• Bubble Witch 3 Saga
• Pet Rescue Saga
• Discontinued projects
July 2018 - December 2022 Sweden

LoudMind

Game Artist

In LoudMind I worked on a sequel of Jelly Jump mobile hit and similar small physic-based mobile games. Together with a programmer we developed game concepts and game design for all projects. My responsibilities were:
• Developing art style
• Creating 3D assets
• Preparing prefabs and setting up scenes and environment in Unity
• Creating VFX in Unity
• Working with Sound Designer on sound concept
• Preparing promo materials

Later I joined local art team (6-8 artists) as a 3D Artist to work on Planet Gold Rush F2P mobile title. Where I worked on:
• Assets for seasonal content and mini-games
• Modeling, UVs, texturing and vertex color painting
• Creating VFX
• Preparing prefabs in Unity

Projects:
• ​Planet Gold Rush
• ​Jelly Run ​​by Ketchapp
November 2015 - January 2018 Minsk, Belarus

Ludum Dare

Game Artist

Being indie in heart I have a passion for game jams because of its experimental nature and opportunity to innovate.
When time to make a complete project is limited to 72 hours you have to think fast. I usually choose quick and easy techniques like pixel art, voxels or low-poly 3D.
My gaming experience helps me a lot as well because each team member has to be a game designer a little and all individual experiences combined make a small unique game.

Projects:
• ​One Gogh
• ​Meet the Monsta
• ​Starpiercer
• ​Basement
2013 - 2018 Minsk, Belarus

Happymagenta

Game Artist

Worked in a small team of 2-3 people, usually an artist and a programmer, on short term projects (about 2-4 months).

As mostly I was the only artist on a project, my responsibilities included:
• Developing visual style of the game and coordinating it with studio Art Director
• Creating all art for the project from backgrounds and characters to UX and UI
• Animating and creating particle FX
• Preparing assets for integration
• Resolving game design issues, regarding user interaction with the game
• Designing UX flow
• Creating promo materials for AppStore, forums and social networks

Art for Downhill Riders and Lily of Swampville was solely created by me For the rest of the projects I worked on characters and backgrounds.

Projects:
• ​Downhill Riders
• ​Lily of Swampville
• ​Splish Splash Pong
• ​Hyper Swiper
September 2014 - October 2015 Minsk, Belarus

ZGames, LLC

Lead Artist

As a Lead Artist I was engaged in a full circle of visual development of mobile games from concept art to assets preparation.
• Was responsible for production of characters, backgrounds, props and UI
• Made animation for characters and other in-game elements (2D skeletal animation, particle effects)
• Produced promo art and illustrations for marketing, including video trailers
• Created art concepts for internal game pitches
• Worked closely with game designers and product owners in agile environment
• Mentored a team of 3 in-house artists.

Software and tools used:
Anime Studio, Particle Designer, Particle Illusion, Glyph Designer, Subversion (SVN), JIRA.

Projects:
• ​Fright Fight
• ​Qix Galaxy
• ​Sky Rangers
• ​Pong World​ by Atari
• ​The War of The Worlds: Adventure
• ​zMatch
August 2009 - August 2013 Minsk, Belarus

Education

Belarusian State Academy Of Arts

Bachelor's degree

Studied Visual Communication and Interactive Media Design
September 2004 - June 2012 Belarus

Minsk State College Of Architecture And Civil Engineering

Specialist degree

Studied Design and Applied Arts
September 2000 - June 2004 Belarus

Languages

English (Conversational),
Belarusian (Native),
Russian (Native),
Swedish (Beginner),
Czech (Beginner),

Skills

2D Animation, After Effects, Art Direction, Character Design, Concept Art, Digital Painting, Environment Design, Game Art, Game Asset Creation, Game Development, Graphic Design, Illustration, Illustrator, Motion Graphic Design, Photoshop, Pixel Art, Sketching, Speed Painting, Typography, UI Design ,

Courses

• Artclass Online by Roman Guro - Concept Art - 2014
Online course "Concept Art" by Roman Guro
http://guro.com.ua/course.htm

• CGWorkshops - Becoming A Better Artist - 2011
CGSociety's online course “Becoming a Better Artist: Critical Knowledge and Techniques For Today's Artists" by Robert Chang
http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courseinfo.php?id=524

Publications

How to Create an Animated Pixel Art Sprite in Adobe Photoshop - Tuts+ Tutorial
http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-an-animated-pixel-art-sprite-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-20428