Art Direction | Visual Design | Lighting & Look Dev Expert
leifestes@gmail.com | 650-619-9759 | leifestes.artstation.com
Introduction (written by a human, so it might not be perfect)
I’m a game Industry veteran with 20+ years of experience shipping titles across a wide range of visual styles, genres and platforms. During my career I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside teams at studios including Telltale Games, Electronic Arts, THQ, and most recently with Paramount Skydance.
I have a proven track record of delivering great results, working both within the constraints of large franchises and the freedom of original IP. In addition to providing art team leadership, my strong technical background in lighting & look dev means I still enjoy getting my hands dirty when the role requires it.
Making games is hard. Player expectations are high, technology is constantly changing, and resources always seem too tight. Although it’s never easy, I find it important to keep a cool head, leave my ego at the door, and remember just how Incredibly fortunate we are to be in this creative and rewarding field.
Professional Experience
Paramount / Skydance Interactive — Art Director
2022–2026 | Santa Monica, CA
I art directed and successfully shipped several AAA VR projects, including The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 2, and Behemoth: Rites of Wrath. I was responsible for internal teams, external partners, schedules, staffing, budgets, and milestone delivery. Managed a multidisciplinary organization of ~30 artists and leads across environments, characters, lighting, VFX, UI, and concept.
Cold Iron Studios — Principal Lighting Artist
2018–2022 | San Jose, CA
Played a key hands on role in shipping Aliens: Fireteam Elite, leading look development, lighting, post-process workflows, optimization, and final polish in Unreal Engine. Provided principal level creative direction and mentorship while helping to facilitate collaboration across multiple disciplines.
Telltale Games — Art Director / Studio Lighting Director
2011–2018 | San Rafael, CA
Held senior art leadership roles across multiple franchise titles, contributing to critically acclaimed releases including The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and Batman: The Telltale Series. Provided art direction on The Walking Dead during its award-winning breakout era, helping define visual tone, environment quality, and overall presentation. Later led studio-wide lighting direction across four simultaneous projects, combining team leadership with hands-on involvement in final polish, visual consistency, and pipeline improvements.
THQ — Lead Artist
2008–2011 | Brisbane, Australia
Oversaw workflows, schedules, and visual quality from early development through final delivery while contributing directly to lighting, VFX, and final polish across multiple titles, including Marvel’s Avengers, DreamWorks’ Megamind, and Warhammer 40K: Space Marine.
Crystal Dynamics — Senior Lighting Artist
2006–2008 | Redwood City, CA
Contributed to next-generation lighting and materials pipelines for the Tomb Raider franchise, partnering with artists and engineers on tools, workflows, and overall visual quality. Helped bridge artistic goals and technical constraints during a transitional period in real-time rendering. Worked closely with art leadership to integrate assets across disciplines while maintaining performance and visual consistency.
Electronic Arts — Lighting & Materials Artist
2001–2006 | Redwood City, CA
Worked on major licensed franchises including The Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and The Godfather, contributing to lighting, materials, cinematics, and final polish across multiple platforms. Early work included blending film assets with real-time environments and helping push visual quality within technical constraints of the PS2 era. Collaborated with senior artists and art directors to deliver high-quality visuals under aggressive production timelines.
Education
SAE Expression College for Digital Arts
Associate of Science | Digital Visual Media
While attending SAE Expression College I was educated in a wide variety of digital visual media formats including film, television, web, and interactive mediums. It was an excellent experience to become familiar with the tools and workflows of creative individuals across many industries before finally focusing on 3D art development and eventually lighting and rendering for games and film.