Deloff.com - Blade Runner Credits

CD-ROM Game Artist's Bios

Blade Runner CD-ROM Game Artist's Bios - Westwood Studios

David Austin.........Incept Date - 3:25:96
I graduated from Stetson University in Deland, Florida. While attending Stetson I double majored in General Business, and Fine Art. With my background in computers, I attempted to utilize CAD for constructing several large sculptures during my college career. After college, I went to work for a company that specialized in creating architectural visualizations using computer animation. With numerous CG animations to my credit after a two-year period, I submitted a demo reel to Westwood Studios. Since arriving at Westwood, I have spent the past year and a half working on Blade Runner. The real task has been endeavouring to stay true to the vision of Syd Mead, the cinematic masterpiece of Ridley Scott, and Westwood's unique storyline. Throughout the course of the project my focus has been creating, and re-creating the dark futuristic environment of Los Angeles November 2019.

Cary Averett.........Incept Date - 9:15:92
My home town is Springville, Utah and I am married to Karrie Ann and have 3 children; Lori 15, Andrea 13, and Brian 7. I graduated with a bachelors degree in illustration from Utah State University.
I came to Westwood Studios in September of 1992 and have worked on the following games: Kyrandia II and III, Lands of Lore I and II, 3D Monopoly, and the soon to be number one Blade Runner.

Gerald Deloff.........Incept Date - 5:20:95
With a Programming degree and a minor in Computer Graphics, I happened to be in the right places at the right time which eventually led me to Westwood Studios to work on probably the best game title an "artist" could hope for - Blade Runner. I've worked at Westwood Studios for 2½ years, most of it spent working on Blade Runner (a few months on Monopoly CD-ROM). I've enjoyed building 3D sets for Blade Runner( my main focus), but mostly enjoyed getting my hands on other aspects of game creation like motion capture, video, web art, and even a little programming. Westwood has been a great learning experience and when Blade Runner is finished, shipped and become a worldwide success, I hope to get my hands into something bigger and better, wherever that may lead me.

Jack Martin.........Incept Date - 3:15:93
Being a concept artists for Blade Runner was virtual fun. I saw my own world through Blade colored lenses. My eyes opened up observing my environment in Blade fashion. Photo reference was used for sketching and sometimes a shot was adventurous. I took a photo trip down the back alleys of Freemont Street. Behind Binion's Horeshoe Casino was a group of homeless guys savoring a bottle of Thunderbird, blocking a great photo of some wierd looking machinery, bolted to the wall. Being eyed over, I waited for some time until the last drop was savored. They left, I got the shot used in the Kingston Kitch'n scene. Game characters were also conceptualized and real actors were found to fit the sketch. At times the perfect face to sketch from was found in the grocery and I asked to photograph them. Most of the time they were very pleased, others thought I was some kind of conman or pervert, it was 50, 50. A pressure sensitive, Wacom, drawing tablet was used for the concept sketches. It offered the ability to have the feel of traditional mediums. Images appear on the monitor, then sent to Westwood's 3D artists. Here's to Blade dreamin'!

Ferby Miguel.........Incept Date - 5:20:93
I began working at Westwood Studios in 1993. Prior to this, I spent three years at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. It was there that I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Illustration. Having completed my time there, I was soon hired on at Westwood Studios where I have spent the last four and a half years creating artwork for computer games. Some of the titles to my credit include: KyrandiaII, KyrandiaIII, and Monopoly CD-ROM. Westwood Studios is well known for producing high quality games for the PC. This is due in part to the exceptional art staff of which I am proud to say I am a part of. Back in 1982 I saw the movie Blade Runner for the first time on the big screen. At that time, it was not a box office success. But like many moviegoers, I was so taken by its vision, mood, and meaning, that it quickly became one of my favorite films. Fastforward to 1995. When I discovered that we(Westwood Studios)were going to be creating a PC adventure game based on Blade Runner, I was elated! It became our opportunity to expand the world of L.A. in the 21st century and to give PC game fans a chance to experience firsthand its dark, moody, tense, and sometimes frightening environment.The work presented in this show are examples of the culmination of two years of hard work by many talented hearts and minds and I feel very priveledged to have had a hand in its production.

Miguel Lleras.........Incept Date - 2:19:96
I am originally from Bay City, Michigan. I then moved to Pittsburgh, PA,where I attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Then, in 1995, I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with two degrees, a Degree in Industrial Design Technology and a Degree in Computer Animation and MultiMedia. I came to Westwood soon after graduation, and joined the Blade Runner team.

Ren Olsen.........Incept Date - 12:24:90
At 17 I was tutored in academic figure drawing by Pieter Balistrieri, Professor at the Leighton School of Art in Milwaukee.Graduating from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I was accepted into the post-graduate atelier of William Whitaker,a member of Prix de West, and excellent teacher of figure painting.My work experience began as a layout artist for the Saturday morning cartoon series "Thundarr the Barbarian". Signing on with Westwood Studios in 1990, I've worked on the video games Dune II, the Kyrandias, Command & Conquer, Monopoly, both Lands of Lore and Blade Runner. I still practice my first love of figure and landscape painting. I presently work in pastel doing western landscapes. I've been pleased to be a finalist four different years in the prestigious Arts for the Parks national art contest which is annually hosted by the U.S.Department of Interior to showcase the National Park System.

Elie Arabian.........Incept Date - 5:1:92
I was born in Beirut, Lebanon on January 19,1972. I came to the U.S. in 1979 with my parents during the civil war in Lebanon. I have resided in Las Vegas ever since. I graduated Clark High School with a 4.33 GPA. After high school I attended U.N.L.V. for 3 semesters and then found work at Westwood in 1992. I am currently a senior artist at Westwood, I specialize in character developement and animation.

Damon Conn.........Incept Date - 2:15:97
My love for art started when I was in grade school working tirelessly with my Crayola 94 color pack. Eventually, I went off to the Savannah College of Art and Design and graduated with a BFA in Computer Art and Animation. I have done freelance animation for interactive educational games, I worked as a computer artist for Casino Data Systems, and now I am an artist at Westwood Studios. The Blade Runner project was one hell of a project to be involved with right off the bat. It was truly an exciting and incredible experience for me.

Gary Freeman.........Incept Date - 12:5:95
Gary majored in Fine Art at UNLV and has worked in advertising and publishing for well over a decade.
He received his first award in advertising in 1983 and continually receives recognition in that market. In 1996 he won the Las Vegas Ad Federation "Addy" for Best Advertising Illustration (his second year in a row) and was included in the Society of Illustrators /L.A.'s 35th Annual and exhibit.
His Publishing career continues to gain momentum since his first national magazine cover in 1979 for Fantastic Stories. He was voted Best Cover Artist, then Best Interior Artist 3 times by the Asimov's Science Fiction Poll.
Gary embarked on a new career in Digital Art when hired by Westwood Studios in 1995. His first assignment was conceptual art, then 3D modeling for the Blade Runner Project. He continues to learn and refine his skills in this new and exciting genre.

Matt Hansel.........Incept Date - 11:15:91
I received my education at Middle Tennessee State University where I majored in Graphic Design, and minored in Computer Art. My love for the computer as an art medium pushed me to seek out employment in the computer industry. I have worked with Video Gaming Technologies, creating Video Poker interfaces and music, and now currently work at Westwood Studios as a Senior Artist (where I have been working for the last six years).
At Westwood, I have worked on many products, from the Command & Conquer series (including Command & Conquer, and Red Alert), to Disney's Lion King games. As Blade Runner has always been one of my favorite movies, I was more than eager to work on Westwood's game. My work in creating exciting graphics for user interfaces for Command & Conquer gave me the opportunity to work on the KIA interface and Voigt Kampf animation for Westwood's Blade Runner.

Shelly Johnson.........Incept Date - 2:14:94
Born and raised in Southern California, but frustrated with living in Los Angeles, I started painting murals in Nevada and decided to move to Las Vegas in January, 1994.Within a few weeks, I discovered Westwood Studios. Now with Westwood for almost 4 years, I do mostly 3D animation. I was glad for the opportunity to work on Bladerunner, because I wanted the challenge and loved the film, but I enjoyed working on the just completed Lands of Lore 2 the most. I graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1983 and worked as a freelance illustrator for 10 years in Los Angeles and New York before discovering Westwood. To pay the bills, I also worked as an account executive and a purchasing manager, but in my heart, I am really a watercolor painter and like to paint children, especially my daughter.

Tse Cheng Lo.........Incept Date - 12:2:96
During the four years I worked as a graphic Designner/illustrator in Taiwan,I always thought about how to make my creative process more interesting and flexible. I found the answer, computer art, while attending a computer graphics show in Taiwan. I then decided to get more education in the field of computer Arts. Three years later, I completed my master's degree in the School of Visual Arts, New York, where I learned the skills of 2D image processing and 3D animation. I also reallized that working as a computer artist was going to be my life-long career. Working as a 3D artist at Westwood Studios is my first American based job. After nearly one year of hard work on my first project,Blade Runner, it is ready to be published. I learned a lot from the creative process at Westwood, and I am looking forward to future challenges.

Frank Mendeola.........Incept Date - 6:14:93
Education: Cal State Long Beach, Los Angeles Art Center College of Design. I also worked with (during this same period) a L.A. Freelance Illustrator as an apprentice. This is where I learned practical application of my art education and the "business" side of being a freelance illustrator. I spent 15 years as a Freelance (Airbrush) Illustrator working in Tenn.,Calif. and Arizona. Before coming to Las Vegas and Westwood Studios, I took a couple of computer graphic classes (programs...Photoshop,Freehand,and Quark, also a graphic design class) at the Laguna Beach Art Institute, followed by over two years of working in computer graphics in the graphic art dept. of a local business. I also freelanced in a number of advertising agencies in the Orange county area. The last 4 1\2 years I have worked as a 3D computer artist at Westwood Studios here in Las Vegas.

Aaron Powell.........Incept Date - 8:15:89
I was born and raised in Las Vegas. After high school I went to UNLV for a couple years to pursue my Architectural degree, but then changed my major to the graphic arts and transfered to Clark County Community College. Shortly thereafter I was hired on at Westwood Studios, in the summer of '89.

During my 8 years here at Westwood I have worked on over a dozen projects and was the lead-artist on most of those. Some of my favorites were Circuits Edge, Dune II, Command & Conquer, and my final project Blade Runner. Each project had its own unique challenges, and in the end we always had a hit product. I am very proud of the work I have done at Westwood and the products I have worked on.

Kort Vordhal.........Incept Date - 8:2:96
A toy designer wanna be, instead spent years in engineering pursuits in aerospace and defense including five years improving manufacturing processes on the B2 Stealth Bomber program for Boeing / Northrop. My obsession with 3D animation began in a landing gear shop which used rudimentary 3D software to develop the mechanics of bomb bays, rotary rocket launchers thus rekindling the fascination with toys and a less beaurocratic life style. The pursuit of the dream led me through a stint as an animator for Digital Post & Graphics in Seattle developing 3D graphics for advertising and interactive entertainment. Still not satisfied I pursued Westwood Studios in August of '96 who gave me an opportunity to develop motion capture as an animation tool. As the complexity and stress of sociological issues increases and the need for entertainment raises I am very content knowing my contribution to society doesn't come in the form of another weapon of mass destruction we don't need... unless of course you happen to be at your monitor, joy stick in hand!