Thank you for taking the time to review my application.
Rather than sending my entire portfolio, I curated this page to highlight the skills most relevant to the Environment Artist role on Sky. The projects below demonstrate my approach to rapid blockout, environment composition, collaboration with designers, and taking levels from concept through final polish.
Concepts by Kloir or Lepyoshka (left). Blockout Environments in UE5 by EJthe3DArtist (Right).
Blockout Environments in UE5 by EJthe3DArtist. Concepts by Kloir and Lepyoshka.
I owned this environment from concept through completion. Starting with an empty city block, I designed and built a movie set themed park that complemented the surrounding district and the DLC's film-inspired theme.
I also blocked out and developed two additional levels, establishing their visual and spatial direction before handing them off for continued production while I moved on to prototype Captain Crossbones.
I established and owned the visual direction for this environment, including its layout, assembly, lighting, and final presentation. I was responsible for the environment layout, assembly, lighting, and overall presentation of the project. I art directed the cave environment while developing the castle area in parallel, allowing both portions of the map to progress with a unified visual direction.
Yeti’s Quest remains one of the clearest examples of my collaborative environment-design process. Working closely with a game designer, I developed eight distinct biomes by translating mood sketches and gameplay-driven pathing passes into composed landscapes with clear asset placement and visual progression.
Biome Mood sketch with Reference → Unity pathing and height pass → Landscape pass blending the two → Final asset layout → Finished environment.
My experience extends beyond environment art, allowing me to contribute effectively across disciplines. I have supported character production through rigging and skin-weight fixes and am comfortable stepping into adjacent areas when a project benefits from it.
Currently playing Sky Children of Light, Van Gogh:
I've admired the art direction of Journey, Flower, and Sky for years, but what has stayed with me more is how they make me feel.
Recently, I've been spending time playing in Sky's Van Gogh Interactive Experience. I was overwhelmed with great sadness and happiness seeing Van Gogh's life represented in a game—coloring the world around me and seeing someone who endured so much pain celebrated with such love. Walking through that space, listening to the music, and experiencing his life through a game genuinely brought me to tears. That experience reinforced why I am drawn to thatgamecompany’s work: its environments do more than provide a setting. You use color, movement, music, scale, and discovery to create an emotional experience. That is the kind of environment design I want to help build.
This environment study from my game Illuminate shows my process from initial blockout through a resolved visual concept. The player restores color to a desaturated world through exploration, making the environment itself part of the game’s emotional and visual progression.
Thank you again for taking the time to look through my work. Together, these projects show how I approach environment design: establishing a strong composition, collaborating around gameplay needs, and carrying spaces from early blockout through final presentation.
Throughout my career I've shipped games, collaborated closely with artists and designers, and taken ownership of environments from concept to completion. I care about creating peaceful, emotionally resonant spaces like those in TGC’s games, Yeti’s Quest, and my game Illuminate. I believe games can be places for both relaxation and joy, and I would be excited to bring my environment-design experience, collaborative approach, and commitment to emotionally resonant spaces to Sky. Sky represents the kind of work I want to continue creating: worlds that invite exploration, connection, relaxation, and joy.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
-- Elise J. Motzny
EJthe3Dartist
