Ken Capelli | Resume

Download the resume as a PDF or DOC. (updated 04.2026)

WHO I AM

I'm an art director with extensive experience building the visual identity of games – from scrappy 9-person startups to mid-sized A–AA teams to Microsoft, Netflix, and Disney-backed studios. I've shipped over three dozen titles across every platform, built art teams from the ground up, and worked across game development from concept to live operations.

I specialize in the hard part: stepping into ambiguous, high-stakes creative situations and establishing clarity – on art style, pipeline, team structure, and quality bar. Whether embedded hands-on, advising leadership, or leading the art organization directly, I bring the experience to move quickly and the taste to execute with confidence.

I work best with: early-stage studios, groups scaling from prototype to production, teams navigating co-dev or outsourcing transitions, and leadership looking for a senior creative partner to guide game art direction, team structure, and art production with a collaborative, steady approach.

30+ shipped titles across console, PC, mobile, handheld, and web.
Broad genre range: RPG, narrative, strategy, action, fashion, quiz/puzzle, kids/education.
Experience across major IP including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, X-Files, Titanic.
Known for combining visual direction, technical understanding, and collaborative leadership.

WHAT I BRING

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

Art style creation and creative direction from conception through production, with a strong and seasoned instinct for visual identity and the ability to build alignment around a clear, cohesive vision.

NARRATIVE / IP

Expertise in narrative-driven games, translating complex lore and flagship IP (Titanic, X-Files, LotR, Warhammer, Disney) into cohesive, character-focused visual styles and production design.

CO-DEV & OUTSOURCING

Extensive experience leading external production, guiding vendor/bid selection, style alignment, and maintaining asset quality, delivery consistency, and accountability across distributed teams.

FULL-STACK ART DIRECTION

Fluent across 2D, 3D, character, environment, key art, cinematics, UI/UX, and tech art – directs across art disciplines and contributes hands-on when needed, including in-engine. Engineer-friendly.

TEAM BUILDING

Studio-level art leader who builds strong, craft-focused teams. Combines hands-on experience with a collaborative style to keep artists aligned, motivated, and growing.

PIPELINE & PROCESS

Defines workflows, asset pipelines, and art review processes, working closely with production and coordinating with cross-functional teams to support planning, tracking, and delivery.

SELECT
IMPACTS &
OUTCOMES

Built and led art teams from early development through production across multiple studios.
Supported teams from prototype to vertical slice, reducing rework and improving alignment.
Transitioned live game production teams to co-dev models, improving scalability and consistency.
Established outsourcing and global collaboration strategies across distributed teams.
Mentored leads and artists, strengthening team performance and long-term capability.
Built pipelines across characters, world, UI, avatar systems, cosmetics, and marketing assets.
Directed art on titles with $400M+ cumulative revenue, incl. The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth.

SELECT
RECENT
ENGAGEMENTS

Netflix Games, WB Games, Gallium Studios, Daybreak, Redemption Games, and stealth startups:

Led transition from 2D to 3D assets on Game of Thrones: Conquest, reducing asset footprint and improving performance, stability, and live ops flexibility.
Rebuilt art and UI/UX team structures across a distributed production, clarifying ownership and reducing cross-team bottlenecks.
Redefined UI/UX visual targets and feedback loops on a live project, reducing revision cycles and improving delivery consistency across internal and external co-dev teams.
Developed visual identity and art pillars for early-stage and unannounced projects, establishing tone and stakeholder alignment to bring confidence to ongoing development and in-engine prototyping.
Mentored senior artists and leads into expanded roles, increasing ownership & accelerating growth.

TOOLS &
PLATFORMS

Engines / Tech	Unreal Engine, Unity, proprietary engines, PBR pipelines, 3D, 2D, pixel
DCCs / Tools	Maya, 3DS Max, Blender, Substance, Photoshop, Illustrator, Spine, Figma, Miro, Aseprite
Production	JIRA, Perforce, Git, Shotgrid, Trello, Airtable, Office Suite, Google Suite
Platforms	Console (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Sega) / PC / Mobile / Handheld / Web

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE	PROJECT-BASED ART DIRECTION 2020 – Present Contract Art Direction, Visual Development, Creative Leadership & Production Support I clarify product vision, accelerate team capability, and strengthen execution across remote teams. Engage across early-stage concepts, pitches, and in-progress dev, providing visual guidance. Establish style guides and create visual targets for in-game visuals and user interface. Contribute hands-on to UI/UX, avatar systems, in-game and key art as needed. Guide art leads and teams through feedback, critique, and creative mentorship. Selected partners: Netflix Games, WB Games, Gallium Studios (Proxi), Daybreak, Redemption Games.

	THOUGHT PENNIES – Studio Art Director 2021 – 2023 Built a production-ready art organization from the ground up, capable of supporting AAA development. Built and led a high-caliber art team for an AA/AAA Unreal Engine 5 RPG on a major game IP. Directed visual development, key art, character and world visuals, and avatar systems. Established production workflows and long-term art direction. Collaborated with design and engineering to align gameplay systems with visual direction.

	FOGBANK (Disney / 21st Century Fox) – Studio Art Director 2017 – 2020 Developed a premium, TV-quality narrative art pipeline with strong visual identity. Built and led art, tech art, animation, and cinematic teams for Storyscape, a narrative platform. Developed technical animation pipes and art production processes for episodic content production. Directed visual style and production design across multiple genres and licensed IP (Titanic, The X-Files). Partnered with production, engineering, and design to enable scalable narrative content delivery.

	KABAM – Studio Art Director / Sr. Creative Director (Publishing) 2011 – 2017 Scaled teams & publishing creative, contributed to top-performing titles & long-term studio capability. Provided studio-level art leadership across distributed, multi-team environments (up to ~35 artists), scaling structure and production capacity while guiding leads and fostering a strong creative culture. Directed global publishing creative, including branding, marketing, localization, and dev relations. Partnered with development teams across the US, China, Korea, and Japan, guiding direction across regional workflows, production cultures, and content localization (L10N) needs. Aligned creative direction with player and business needs across production, design, and publishing. Led art direction on multiple projects and licensed titles from kickoff through production. Collaborated with cross-functional teams on ongoing content and live ops.

	PLANET MOON STUDIOS – Art Director / Lead & Senior Artist 2000 – 2010 Full-Stack Art Leadership – delivered multiple shipped titles with a lean, highly adaptable team. Played a key role in shaping the studio's visual identity and work culture across multiple titles. Contributed to Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Armed and Dangerous, both regarded as cult classics. Defined tone, character, and worldbuilding approaches that still resonate with developers & players. Worked across character, environment, cinematics, interface, and gameplay-facing art systems. Collaborated with design and engineering to bring cohesive, gameplay-integrated visuals to life. Contributed to a distinct studio voice known for stylized, character-driven play and irreverent tone.

	EARLY CAREER (ACCOLADE / CRYSTAL DYNAMICS) – Animator → Senior / Lead Artist 1994 – 2004 Built a deep technical and creative foundation across the full game art stack. Lead on early 3D PC titles including Slave Zero and Deadlock, which maintain dedicated player followings. Developed foundational generalist experience across full-stack game art, from creation to direction.


Education + OTHER	BFA Illustration, 1994, Academy of Art University, San Francisco. Founder and Publisher @ Puppy Toss Comics Collective, 1992–98, Berkeley CA. Foundational Instructor in the Comics & Sequential Art program, 1993–94, Academy of Art, San Francisco. Interests: motorcycles, horror, The Beatles, classic illustration, open world games, glitter, old bones. See LinkedIn for an extensive list of recommendations.

	TITLE + EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
2024 – 2025	ART DIRECTOR
NETFLIX GAMES	Netflix Stories → [narrative] – iOS / Android / Cloud, Netflix – App Store 4.8★	2023

2021 – 2023	STUDIO ART DIRECTOR \| PRODUCTION DESIGN
THOUGHT PENNIES	Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Dark Frontier → [UE5 RPG] – XSX / PS5 / PC, unreleased	2021 – 2023

2017 – 2020	STUDIO ART DIRECTOR
FOGBANK	Storyscape – iOS / Android, FoxNext / Disney – App Store 4.8★	2019

2011 – 2017	STUDIO ART DIRECTOR \| ART DIRECTOR
KABAM	Pocket Tactics → [tactical RPG prototype] – iOS / Android, unreleased	2016 – 2017
	Star Wars: Uprising → [ARPG] – iOS / Android – App Store 4.9★, Editor’s Choice Awards	2015
	Drakonsoul RPG – iOS / Android, unreleased	2014 – 2015
	The Hunger Games: Panem Rising – iOS / Android, Kabam	2014
	Lord of the Rings: Legends of Middle-earth – iOS / Android, Kabam	2014
	The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age – Web / Facebook	2013
	The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth – iOS / Android – $400m+ revenue	2012
	Final Eden – Web – full reskin of EdgeWorld	2012
	The Godfather: Five Families – Web / Facebook	2012
	EdgeWorld – Web / Facebook	2012
	Dragons of Atlantis – Web / Facebook	2011

	CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PUBLISHING
	Creature Academy – mobile, Netmarble	2014
	Metal Skies – mobile, WeMade	2014
	Blades of Excalibur – web, JoyYou – full reskin	2014
	Ravenmarch – web, GameReign – full reskin	2014
	Wartune: Hall of Heroes – mobile, 7th Road / Hoolai	2013
	Runes of War – mobile, Pearl in Palm	2013

2000 – 2010	ART DIRECTOR
PLANET MOON STUDIOS	BEYONCÉ: Star Power → [dance / motion] – XBOX Kinect / PS3 Move / Wii, unreleased	2009 – 2010
PLANET MOON STUDIOS	Disney’s Tangled – Wii / DS, Disney Interactive	2010
	The SIMS 3 / The SIMS 3: Life Moments – Wii, EA	2009 – 2010
	Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter – Wii, THQ	2009
	My Amazing Story → [adventure] – XBOX 360, Microsoft Game Studios – unreleased	2007 – 2009
	Booty Blocks → [puzzle] – iPhone / Facebook	2008
	Brain Quest: Grade 3 & 4 / Grade 5 & 6 – PSP, EA	2008
	Battle Of The Bands → [rhythm-action] – Wii, THQ	2008
	Smarty Pants → [family / trivia] – Wii, EA	2007
	After Burner: Black Falcon – PSP, SEGA	2006
	Conan: Queen of the Black Coast – PSP, THQ – unreleased	2005 – 2006

	LEAD ARTIST
	INFECTED – PSP, Majesco	2005
	Armed and Dangerous – PC / XBOX, LucasArts – Award-winning	2003
	Giants: Citizen Kabuto – PC / XBOX, Interplay – Multiple Award-winning	2000

2004	SENIOR ARTIST
CRYSTAL DYNAMICS	Project: Snowblind (Deus Ex franchise) – PS2 / XBOX, Eidos	2004

1994 – 2000	LEAD ARTIST
ACCOLADE	Slave Zero – Dreamcast / PC, SEGA	1999
	Deadlock – PC / Mac – Editor’s Choice	1996

	ARTIST \| ANIMATOR
	Jack Nicklaus 5 – PC – ★★★★★ rating + Editor’s Choice Award	1996
	Hardball 4 / Hardball 6 – PC / Genesis	1994, 1996
	Unnecessary Roughness ’95 – PC / Genesis	1994
	Zero Tolerance – Genesis – first and only FPS on classic consoles	1994

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