Piero Macgowan

About

Piero Macgowan is a Lead Concept Artist at Bit Reactor in Hunt Valley, Maryland, where he is at work in the Star Wars universe creating the next generation of strategy games. He previously worked at Firaxis Games on Marvel's Midnight Suns and the XCOM franchise. He has also done Production Design for the animation industry, and taught in the Illustration department at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Skills

Software proficiency

Photoshop

3ds Max

Unreal Engine

ZBrush

Keyshot

Marmoset Toolbag

SketchUp

SketchBook Pro

BodyPaint

Blender

Marvelous Designer

Storyboard Pro

CLIP STUDIO PAINT

Productions

- Video Game
  Midnight Suns
- Year
  2022
- Role
  Senior Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games
- Video Game
  XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
- Year
  2017
- Role
  Senior Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games
- Video Game
  XCOM 2
- Year
  2015
- Role
  Senior Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games
- Video Game
  XCOM: Enemy Within
- Year
  2013
- Role
  Senior Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games
- Video Game
  XCOM: Enemy Unknown
- Year
  2012
- Role
  Senior Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games
- Video Game
  Civilization V
- Year
  2010
- Role
  Supporting Concept Artist
- Company
  Firaxis Games

Experience

Senior Concept Artist at Bit Reactor, LLC
Hunt Valley, United States of America
January 2022 - Present
At work creating a next generation Star Wars strategy game with industry veterans, teaming up with Respawn Entertainment, Lucasfilm and Electronic Arts (EA) to develop another genre-defining experience!
Senior Concept Artist at Firaxis Games
Hunt Valley
June 2007 - December 2020
Visual Development on Marvel’s Midnight Suns: established mood, designed environments,created ability sheets, ideated characters, made props and provided tech designs.

Worked directly with Art Director to create and define XCOM’s aesthetic vision from conception, including:

---Focusing on creating color keys and environments to establish and guide narrative.

--- Creating main character and creature concepts.

--- Problem-solving system-based assets (cover and interactive items, kit swaps, deco passes)

--- Providing cinematic support through storyboards.

Assisted marketing efforts to generate promotional art.

Supervised other artists.

Shipped Titles:

XCOM: Enemy Unknown (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

Sid Meier’s Civilization V (PC)

XCOM: Enemy Within (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

XCOM 2 (PC)
Concept Artist at Big Huge Games
Timonium, United States of America
June 2007 - September 2007
Did marketing illustrations, color keys and environments. Worked on two unreleased titles and collaborated with the teams' directors to create initial artistic vision.