My name is Ben Berntsen, I am an Art Director with a multidisciplinary skillset.
I am a veteran of the video game industry, with 18 years of professional experience as an Art Director and Lead Artist. I've led art teams on over two dozen shipped titles including Ice Age Village, Spider-Man Unlimited, Oregon Trail, Zombiewood and Cars: Faster Than Lightning.
I have enjoyed collaboration with some of the biggest entertainment companies in the world including DIsney, Pixar, Fox, and NBC Universal, bringing beloved characters like Spider-Man, Scrat and Lightning McQueen to mobile devices. I've also had the pleasure of launching several original intellectual properties including Zombiewood which achieved five million downloads in its opening week on the app store, and realized a childhood dream when I had the honor of remaking the beloved PC classic The Oregon Trail for a new generation of gamers.
I have worked with established teams and also helped to build teams and studios from the ground up.
I believe in leading by example, and I have worn many hats over the years, everything from concept art to marketing illustrations to UI/UX, 3D modelling, animation, and pitches/R&D. And through it all, building strong tightly knit teams of talented individuals through hiring, career development and allocation.
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I love people and the creative spirit that inspires us to work together toward excellence.
I'm passionate about crafting interactive worlds that fill players with imagination and joy, inventing characters that resonate with broad audiences, and putting the finishing touches on exciting, memorable visual flourishes.
I'm equally passionate about working with driven, talented and fun people, and bringing my own eccentric energy to a creative environment. My favorite thing about the videogame industry is the spirit of pioneering adventure and collaboration. It's that same spirit that I seek out and cultivate in every team I work with.