Portfolio of Rick Pierce

You're probably reading this text expecting it to ramble off a list of qualities in third-person narrative that this Rick Pierce person carries, such as years of professional design and user-experience skills, a multitude of talents ranging from game creation and theory to a love of Swiss Design and grotesque fonts, to technical skills like standards compliant coding, being an SEO expert, and a background in cradle-to-grave marketing. Rick Pierce absolutely does all of those things, but he hates third-person portfolio phrasing like this.

I've been professionally designing/developing for eight years, creating 3D art assets for real-time applications for six years, and creating in general since I picked up my first crayon at age two.

My wife, kids, and I live in Olympia, Washington. In my spare time I like to spend time with my family, fiddle with guitars and cars, and create games and game modifications. I like working with clients big and small and have worked with major software developers (ahem) and traditional start-ups.

Scroll down to see my work over the years or use that blasted menu to the right.

My latest work.

I am proud to present my newest work, 3D Seattle - the most comprehensive three-dimensional model of Seattle ever built. For use in architectural, engineering, and civil projects or other real-time environments.

User experience (UX) portfolio.

Let's be honest here: "UX Designer" is a silly term, isn't it? The 1990s eXtreme phrase era left in its wake a number of ridiculously named things, but very few were job titles. We all know in our heart-of-hearts that it really should be "UE Designer". The short-hand version of user-experience designer threatens to undermine the fundamental importance of its namesake: User experience.

As the demand for a brand or product increases, the interaction of that brand or product to the public or target market increases with it. Companies today face important decisions when it comes to improving satisfaction of both current and potential customers. And that's where I come in.

Whether it be a soft-sell, social media campaign, microsite, or intelligent web interface, I have the design and development experience to drive sales, increase customer satisfaction, and work with developers directly. In many cases I code my own work by hand and do it in such a way as to increase site SEO and improve ROI.

History of the World 9 Malachi and Layne Swift Richard Craig Construction MountainStats Netty Jabbers Chronline.com

3D Prop art portfolio.

Prop modeling spoke to me from an early age and the first modifications I made for games in the late-1990s were often static or dynamic objects or scenery. The very idea of creating elements for an in-game world that players could interact with in real-time stirred a passion in me that few things can. My greatest pleasure is watching others make these interactions and their subsequent reactions.

Whether subtle background elements to complete a scene or the primary focus of a game, I have over seven years of experience creating prop art for various applications. While proficient in 3D Studio Max and Mudbox primarily, I'm a capable modeler who is comfortable working in a host of 3D suites including Maya and Blender.

In addition to modeling, I am also a skilled texture artist who can bend a Photoshop paintbrush to yield amazing results on screen. When a strict polygon budget is a top priority, it's important to have an artist who can maximize the visual effects of their props without sacrificing quality.

L1A1 Assault Rifle, 1985 New Beetle, Sprawling Terror Various 1985 Props Console, GoldenEye: Source Spirits and Ales Crates XM8 Assault Rifle US Missiles and Bombs

3D Environment art portfolio.

The atmosphere of a game environment can make-or-break a first impression and, ultimately affect sales. It is incredibly important that a player be immediately immersed in the world they are presented; to get them to engage with the protagonist that goes beyond plot devices or character relationships. The world has to be real, whether it be a grimy rain-slick alley in the heart of a major city at night or the ultra-stylized castle of a fantasy RPG in a summer sunrise.

Environment art is appealing to me on a visceral level. I am able to take the full extent of my skills – design, modeling, narration – and create a unique experience for the end-user. Something that acts as its own character with its own history and (possibly) its own agenda.

My goal is to make an immersive world for the player, whether it be new IP or a setting they might otherwise be familiar with, and have that player want to re-experience it over again.

The Challenger environments, Left 4 Dead 2 Cold Springs Bridge, Left 4 Dead Crime scene environment Bridge scene environment

Other 3D work portfolio.

In addition to creating work with a focus on game development, I also enjoy other professional and personal pursuits using 3D technologies.

The following section has a sampling of my high-poly, strictly artistic, or other 3D works throughout the years.

3D Seattle model 3D Chicago model Terraformed Mars 3D San Francisco model Lego Droideka Warhammer Flamethrower tank

Branding portfolio.

Branding has become ever-increasing in its importance over the last few decades. With consumers viewing up to 5,000 advertisements in various forms in a single day, a brand's strength is what sets it apart from the crowd and gets noticed.

A brand or logo needs to be immediately recognizable from a distance, not conform to "here-today, gone-tomorrow" trends, and be adjustable for a host of uses from black and white printing to scalability on the Internet or other digital media. Retrofitting or redesigning a brand can be difficult for a company to make for many of these same reasons.

Brand development is one of my favorite things to do. I love being able to create something that speaks to potential or current customers and acts as a virtual face for the company or organization while simultaneously properly representing the principles and ideals of the company.

When it comes together just right, it's magic.

Marble Madness 3DS logo Retribution Games logo Creative Cow logo Time Exchanger logo Firelight Books logo

Graphic design portfolio.

Graphic design is where I started my professional career. It was easier for me to transition (back) into digital design after understanding the fundamentals the industry is built on, such as margins, print gamut, and type setting. As such, I have a soft-spot in my heart for both on-screen and off-screen graphic design and regularly like to create new work that is unique to its environment.

Additionally, these talents come into good use when working on various projects that might not otherwise have a specific graphic designer on board or when the graphic design department is already on another assignment.

I primarily work in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, but I am comfortable with other applications such as Quark and Corel tools.

Zeitgeist of the Decade Reloading! T-shirt Alternative game covers Sprawling Terror campaign poster

Illustration & other works portfolio.

2D art and alternative works are usually used in supplementation to a project I'm developing. In many cases I simply like to express some creativity without it being attached to a specific job. The following section has various forms of other art I've done from game assets to personal projects in traditional medium to large-scale marketing campaigns.

I enjoy working in a wide range mediums, from digital illustration or pixel art. Photography (HDR and stereo) and photo-manipulation are also hobbies of mine.

Quandary Textures History of the World Population Evil's Breach Map Star Trek ruined ships Far Reach Project ARG Katara inking and coloring FTW comic strip

Contact Rick Pierce.

Contacting me is simple: Either fill out the form to the right or you can email me at rickpierce@gmail.com. I'll get back to you right away.

Alternatively, you may wish to view my LinkedIn profile or follow me on my personal Twitter account where I discuss everything from industry insights to personal matters. If your inner-internet-detective is still not satiated, consider visitng my life stream blog on Tumblr.

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