12
Unreal Based Productions
2
Games
25
Series Lit
3
Feature Films
Additional Lighting Work
Environment and cinematic lighting excerpts of Real-time & Traditional Compositing work.
MORE additional work examples can be found on my 
-Portfolio Site-
Recommendations
Billy came onto the project and immediately was an asset to the team. His in-depth Unreal knowledge helped out the team, and he was always happy to answer any questions or help out coworkers with any issues they were having. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
Billy's dedication to his work is exceptional, and he possesses the technical skills required to handle the challenges of working in our constantly evolving lighting and rendering pipeline without letting the challenge of new technology slow down his creative output.. Jeff Alcantara
CG Supervisor, Reel FX
Billy is a hard worker that has had good patience with technical problems. My favourite thing about having Billy on the team was his team spirit & passion for what we do. He always participates in team functions & brought character to the team that is irreplaceable. Liz Hemme
Lighting Supervisor, Reel FX
In addition to his collaborative personality, he also did a fantastic job as a lighting artist; he consistently hit the mark on the tone and look art directors wanted, and was consistently praised for his work. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
I loved having Billy on the lighting team because he made sure all of the lighters remained part of the group. Billy is a great teammate and he would be a valuable addition to any production team. Jeff Alcantara
CG Supervisor, Reel FX
I was impressed by his work ethic, attention to detail and great eye for lighting and composting. Even under the pressure of tight deadlines Billy was able to produce fantastic shots at a quality far above what I expected. Billy also has a great sense of humor and is a pleasure to work with Scott Sanderson
Lighting Supervisor, Hawaii Animation Studios
Billy is a stand out lighting artist and I would be happy to recommend him for any position. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
He was attuned to the studios sensibilities which allowed him to head off potential problems early and bring critical issues to my attention before they got out of hand, which saved the studio money and time. Chris DiGiovanni
Studio Production Manager , Hawaii Animation Studios
Additional Works Gallery
A collection of work in related and trained disciplines.
Gordon Rider
A comic splash page for the Gordon Rider 5th Anniversary book.
Artist frozen in Carbonite
I'm not sure what I did to upset Jabba...
Pinkie Pie
Ben Linus
Ringmaster
Glam shot for the master of DBX ceremonies, Ringmaster!
Flapjack on His Mind
Self Portrait
Gordon Rider 2
A portrait for the Gordon Rider 10th Anniversary book.
Rey Resists
A quick sketch inspired by Episode VII.
Dr. Harlene
Rough Sketch Painting of Harley Quinn.
Concept Art
Belfry, the werebat!
Concept Art
Belfry silhouette explorations.
Concept Art
A young matador.
Concept Art
An antagonist bull.
Concept Art
Hero vs Villain in the bullfighting ring.
Concept Art
A fantasy themed automaton.
Concept Art
Fantasy/Steampunk item exploration.
Life Drawing
10 minute portrait study.
Life Drawing
10 minute figure study.
Life Drawing
15 minute figure and fabric study.
Life Drawing
15 minute figure study.
Life Drawing
15 minute figure and fabric study.
Life Drawing
A pair of 5 minute warm-up studies.
Life Drawing
15 minute figure and fabric study.
Reginald
A poster from a series for Reel FX Halloween festivities.
Modelling and Surfacing
Fish n Chips music hall.
Surfacing, some element modelling
Fish n Chips city main street.
Surfacing and Fur
Character for Dinosaur Revolution.
Surfacing and Fur
Character for Dinosaur Revolution.
Surfacing and Fur
Character for Dinosaur Revolution.
Modelling and Surfacing
Character for VeggieTales.
Modelling and Surfacing
Character for VeggieTales.
Modelling and Surfacing
Environment for VeggieTales.
Modelling and Surfacing
Environment for VeggieTales.
Hiccups Storyboards
Hiccups refined final storyboards.
Hiccups Storyboards
Hiccups refined final storyboards 2.
Storyboards
Hiccups rough initial storyboards.
Resume
Currently available and seeking new opportunities as a Lighting Artist in real-time or compositing based works.
A diligent and whimsical Lighting / Compositing Artist that has worked on a number of large productions and has specialization in digital lighting, rendering & compositing with additional skills as a Digital Painter. Seeking roles in the Film and Video Game industries to hone skill set and further improve as an artist alongside talented crews.
• Email • LinkedIn
Key Programs & Skills
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Unreal, UnityReal-time Engine Lighting
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Maya, Houdini, Blender3D Software
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Redshift, Mantra, Arnold, Mental RayRendering
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Nuke, Toxik, After EffectsCompositors
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Resolve, PremiereEditing
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Photoshop, SketchbookDigital Painting
Experience
Aspyr
April 2022 – Current • Lighting Artist for real-time video game environment and cinematic lighting.
• Key lighting setup for expansive interiors and exteriors focused on player pathing.
• Technical problem solving, material adjustment, & performance testing.
Real-time Lighting Artist & Lead
Warner Bros. Rooster Teeth
September 2016 – Current • Virtual Production Manager (Unreal) for RT Direct Animation, overseeing all Unreal development and Visual Post integration in various media. • VizPost Supervisor on projects such as RWBY Chibi, Neon Konbini & Red vs Blue.
• Lighting and Compositing Artist on projects such as RWBY, RWBY Chibi, Death Battle & Red vs Blue.
• Leading, reviewing, and producing work for the VizPost department of Rooster Teeth on various shows. • Establish and oversee the visual art direction and production of numerous projects and artists. • Voice of the lead character Ringmaster from the series DBX and other roles.
• Additional work as an on camera actor and voice actor in projects like Blood Fest, Nomad of Nowhere, and gen:LOCK.
Freelance Artist
May 2016 - July 2016 • Freelance Digital Artist specializing in Lighting, Compositing, and Digital Painting on short term projects.
• HKS Inc. - Architectural lighting and compositing for in-design structures. June - July 2016. • Additional single item works for various projects.
Lighting Artist
Reel FX
January 2013 – May 2016 • Worked as Lighting and Compositing Artist on Free Birds, The Book Of Life, and Rock Dog.
• Performed rendering and compositing work in stereoscopic 3D. • Additional work as a feature concept art painter and scratch voice actor for new studio projects.
Artist
Cinderscape Studios
October 2011 – December 2011 • Freelance texture artist for mobile game development.
Lighting & Compositing Artist
Hawaii Animation Studios
December 2009 – August 2011 • Worked as Lighting and Compositing Artist on numerous projects.
• Provided additional work as Surfacing and Modeling Artist. • Performed as lighting Project Lead on several projects, managing others to ensure quality, lighting continuity, and efficient usage of budgeted time.
Director, Concept and Layout Artist
Hiccups
August 2006 – May 2008 • Lead director of “Hiccups”, an award winning animated short film
• Provided all textures for main characters, as well as modeling, texturing, and rigging many key and secondary props, and background items. • Produced all complete storyboards, animatics, provided major lighting direction, animation support, and controlled layout as Director of Photography.
• Oversaw and handled the complete Rendering and Compositing of film.
ATS in New Media Arts, Computer Animation and Graphic Interface Design.
Kaiser High School Graduated Cum Laude
• Rooster Teeth, April 2018 • Rooster Teeth, March 2019 • Rooster Teeth, August 2021
PCATT: 10 Years of Excellence Honeree
• 10th year Anniversary technology award, Oct 2010
Kawaii Kon - Original Content Award • "Hiccups", Winner 2009
IndieFest Film Festival 2008 • “Hiccups”, Best Animated Short Film, Aug 08
Hiccups Invitational Screenings
• Comic-Con International Film Festival 2008 • Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival 2008
• Secret City Film Festival 2008; Tennessee, KY • Big Island Film Festival 2009; Waikoloa, HI
Windward Gallery
• Statewide student art show, March 07; • 1 Maya work awarded Honorable Mention
Borders Gallery • KCC student art show, January 07, 3 Maya works
Notable Releases
Real-Time Engine Productions
• Red vs Blue: Zero (Unreal)(2020-2022)
• Neon Konbini (Unreal)(2021)
• Family Shatters (Unreal)(2020-2022)
• Death Battle (Unreal)(2018-2022)
• DBX (Unreal)(2019-2022)
Feature Films
• Rock Dog (Light/Comp)(2016)
• The Book of Life (Light/Comp)(2014)
• Free Birds (Light/Comp)(2013)
Traditional Light & Compositing
• RWBY Chibi (2016-2021)
• Red vs Blue (2016-2021)
• Neon Konbini (2021)
• DBX (2019-2021)
• RWBY (2016-2020)
• Dinotasia (2012)
Acting
Demo Reel Website
• DBX (2018-2022)
• Death Battle (2019-2022)
• Blood Fest (2018)
• Red vs Blue (2018-2019)
• RWBY (2018-2019)
• Camp Camp (2018-2019)
• gen:LOCK (2019)
• Nomad of Nowhere (2018)
Digital Painting
• Unreleased Concept Art Paintings; Reel FX
• Unreleased Title sequence; Reel FX
• Gordon Rider - 5th Anniversary Tribute Book
• Gordon Rider - 10th Anniversary Tribute Book
12
Unreal Based Productions
28
Major Productions Lit
3
Feature Films
7
Awards Won
Recommendations
Billy came onto the project and immediately was an asset to the team. His in-depth Unreal knowledge helped out the team, and he was always happy to answer any questions or help out coworkers with any issues they were having. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
Billy's dedication to his work is exceptional, and he possesses the technical skills required to handle the challenges of working in our constantly evolving lighting and rendering pipeline without letting the challenge of new technology slow down his creative output.. Jeff Alcantara
CG Supervisor, Reel FX
Billy is a hard worker that has had good patience with technical problems. My favourite thing about having Billy on the team was his team spirit & passion for what we do. He always participates in team functions & brought character to the team that is irreplaceable. Liz Hemme
Lighting Supervisor, Reel FX
In addition to his collaborative personality, he also did a fantastic job as a lighting artist; he consistently hit the mark on the tone and look art directors wanted, and was consistently praised for his work. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
I loved having Billy on the lighting team because he made sure all of the lighters remained part of the group. Billy is a great teammate and he would be a valuable addition to any production team. Jeff Alcantara
CG Supervisor, Reel FX
I was impressed by his work ethic, attention to detail and great eye for lighting and composting. Even under the pressure of tight deadlines Billy was able to produce fantastic shots at a quality far above what I expected. Billy also has a great sense of humor and is a pleasure to work with Scott Sanderson
Lighting Supervisor, Hawaii Animation Studios
Billy is a stand out lighting artist and I would be happy to recommend him for any position. Kristin Sholler
Lead Lighting Artist, Aspyr
He was attuned to the studios sensibilities which allowed him to head off potential problems early and bring critical issues to my attention before they got out of hand, which saved the studio money and time. Chris DiGiovanni
Studio Production Manager , Hawaii Animation Studios
The Book of Life:
The Candlemaker
Lit and Rendered with Houdini; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
I established the lighting look for this environment as it was single sequence and I had the majority of the key shots within it. This was the first appearance of the Candlemaker, so it had extra scrutiny and helped drive a lot of his lighting shortcuts and compositing in the film.
I added to the initial internal Candlemaker light rig and modified his setup to add additional object and environment interaction. His beard is a cloud-like dynamic effects pass, lending additional complications and rendering strategies to the character.
The Book of Life:
Xibalba's Court
Lit and Rendered with Houdini; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
Manolo approaches Xibalba for a confrontation in his throne room, transitioning from being secondarily lit by the Candlemaker into Xibalba's green glow. Initial main set lighting was altered to allow for better visibility in this stair section. A great deal of the lava effect in the background was achieved in the comp stage and layered with rendered smoke effects.
The Book of Life:
The Cave of Souls
Lit and Rendered with Houdini; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
The Candlemaker in his element! Every candle in this set has an FX flame being generate for it, and of course balancing out the similar background color with the main character himself was a constant task. Also prominent are the ring of candles directly floating around him, which proved to need roto frame-by-frame removal when a hero version would be mocked in for him to pluck out. As it turned out, the original generic candles didn't want to be turned off individually, so trickery was employed to mask it!
The Book of Life:
The Final Test
Lit and Rendered with Houdini; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
Initial Set lighting setup by Billy Burson
Due to the intentionally abstract nature of this shot, the set lighting is a total one-off compared to the others in this sequence. It ended up being more complex than it looks, as there was heavy simulated interaction between the Guardian's moving green mouth lighting, the heavy backlight, and all the simulated dust and smoke.
As a result I ended up making custom lighting for nearly everything in this shot, which ended up as a featured shot in nearly every trailer for the film, and the San Diego Comic-Con preview! Manolo is just a tiny dot in there, but still animated!
The Book of Life:
La Muerte's Feast
Lit and Rendered with Houdini; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
A shot that appeared in trailers, promotional internet galleries, and magazine articles! Here a strong depth of field and shallow camera lens zoom showcases a large amount of the table in front of Manolo and compacts the large and dispersed group behind him into a tight space. A fair amount of custom lighting went into this setup from the original set light rig and wrangling the variant generic characters so they were consistent between shots proved a task worth noting!
TMNT 2
Commercial Work
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
Commercial overlay animations for various multi-media uses in relation to the promoting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. A simple initial light rig was used and then modified per shot and character while keeping the look consistent with the offical movie style.
Free Birds
Flocking Farewell
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
This shot ended up as the cover for Post Magazine's Free Birds featuring issue! As was typical for Free Bird's exterior shots at this stage the lighting was custom based on a generic “outside” rig.
This shot had a decent number of trees visible well into the distance, a ton of animated crowd and hero turkeys at medium-far range, and both leads bathed in a simulated effects light from the time machine launching off camera. Simple looking, but not uncomplicated to keep within a short render time!
Free Birds
Feathered Friends
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
An exceptionally long shot that features both lead turkey's interacting directly, locking hands, exchanging positions and with Reggie being thrown in and out of light constantly by Jake's larger shape. I added a fade-in custom light fill to their hands as they interlock to give it some mystical, fate-like pop, which the director enjoyed and encouraged!
Free Birds
Jake's Vision
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
A one-off dream sequence where Jake fantasizes about being the great hero to turkey-kind, there was precious little established art direction for this shot. I proposed and delivered a “Tron” inspired light beam and glow for Jake, complete with subtle dust clouds, particles and mystic highlighting!
This direction was seized upon and expanded to the finished look. An exceptionally rapid camera pull back combined with the massive crowd of feathered and furred foreground turkeys proved to have serious render complications, but I was eventually able to sort them all out to a shot I really enjoy and had a big hand in!
Free Birds
Tree Sanctuary
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
Jake faces down a large crowd of feathered and furred turkeys as an angry Ranger pushes up close to the camera and breaks frame. Custom lighting based on a generic interior rig due to the camera direction and location.
Free Birds
Mysterious Light
Lit and Rendered with Maya; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
Reggie is blinded by a mysterious light after being rejected by the warm and interlocked turkey-pile. A large amount of the rolling light beam interaction was handled by myself in Nuke for the sake of simplicity and speed. The large stack of sleeping turkeys also required attention, as their fur and feathers required them to be rendered in groups of 5-6 to keep render time down.
Dinosaur Revolution
Dinosaur Duo
Lit and Rendered with Relight; Composited with Nuke
Lighting, Rendering, & Compositing by Billy Burson
This scene ended up being largely comedy related featuring the two dimwitted Dinosaurs, whom I had actually done the texture and fur generation on, hunting a flying squirrel that was harassing them. I ended up in charge of a sequence that was entirely day-to-night with late afternoon plate footage in a lake and underbrush setting.
In the end I was the sole artist on the entire sequence due to the speed and success I had at selling the plate conversion. This shot in particular had a tracking camera, adding extra elements to the compositing. The patches of light on the forest floor were entirely faked and added as desired by the directors.
Viper Base
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue. I built this custom set and lit it fully using assets provided from the Unreal marketplace.
Viper Base
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. I built this custom set and lit it fully using assets provided from the Unreal marketplace.
Viper Base
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. I built this custom set and lit it fully using assets provided from the Unreal marketplace.
Viper Base
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. I built this custom set and lit it fully using assets provided from the Unreal marketplace. This fire damaged version of the base was used as a dramatic backdrop for a fiery fight to the finish!.
Viper Base
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. I built this custom set and lit it fully using assets provided from the Unreal marketplace. This fire damaged version of the base was used as a dramatic backdrop for a fiery fight to the finish!
Shatter Squad Hangar
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. Fully lit by myself.
Shatter Squad Hangar
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. Fully lit by myself.
Black Lotus Temple Exterior
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. Heavily modified, set dressed and fully lit by myself.
Black Lotus Temple Exterior
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. Heavily modified, set dressed and fully lit by myself.
Black Lotus Temple Interior
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Dressed and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. A climactic arena for a father/daughter showdown. Environment was heavily altered by myself after receiving a basic set dressing stage, including making the roiling lava shader. Fully lit by myself.
Black Lotus Temple Interior
Red vs Blue
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Dressed and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A key environment from Red vs Blue: Zero. A climactic arena for a father/daughter showdown. Environment was heavily altered by myself after receiving a basic set dressing stage, including making the roiling lava shader. Fully lit by myself.
Coffee Shop
Human Beans
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Alterations and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A semi-realistic coffee shop for the short series Human Beans, which mixed 2D & 3d animated characters in realistic Unreal environments.
Coffee Shop
Human Beans
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Alterations and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A semi-realistic coffee shop for the short series Human Beans, which mixed 2D & 3d animated characters in realistic Unreal environments.
Coffee Shop
Human Beans
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Alterations and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A semi-realistic coffee shop for the short series Human Beans, which mixed 2D & 3d animated characters in realistic Unreal environments.
Wood Panel Rec Room
Death Battle
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A quick recreational space needed for a short stinger on a Death Battle episode. Meant to remind of a gaming nerd's basement home! Set dressed and fully lit by myself.
Abandoned Amusement Park
Death Battle
Built and Lit with Unreal Engine
Set Design and Environment Lighting by Billy Burson
A spooky amusement park designed as a battle playground for Harley Quinn and Jinx. Fully built and lit by myself with working attractions and lighting functionality.