About
Chris Johnson
Realtime 3D Animator and Art Manager
Chris Johnson is a Chicago-based freelance animator and art/outsource manager with over seventeen years in development for video games, cinematics, augmented reality and virtual reality applications. His work spans a multitude of genres, spanning first person shooters, social games, and visceral horror, all the way to sidescrolling adventures and kids’ fare. His animation work includes both hand-keyed animation as well as extensive motion capture work (and combinations of both), and his production work managing multiple teams of all sizes across the globe, both onsite and offsite.
Outside of animation work, he dabbles (with varying success) in standup comedy, is an avid motorcyclist and active in dog rescue, particularly in bully breeds, including those he has adopted.
Freelance clients have included: Netherrealm Studios, Edge of Reality, Iron Galaxy, Phosphor Games, Zynga/sMartist, Unity Technologies, Seven2/Nickelodeon, Magic Leap, Activision, and Warner Brothers.
Random Notes
Projects Contributed To
Platforms Developed For
Pitbulls Rescued
Resume/Reel
Testimonials
Austin Grossman – Director of Game Design and Interactive Storytelling, Magic Leap
" I can totally recommend working with Chris. Apart from his high level of competence in game animation, he's an incredibly useful, all-around problem-solver on game design and development issues. Chris is a veteran game developer who has seen all aspects of the process, and it's a huge bonus, improving all aspects of the process. "
via LinkedIn
Jon Jones – smArtist Consulting
" Chris came on board to work with me to outsource art for Zynga's smash hit Cityville 2. He was hands-on with managing, bug-fixing, and writing feedback on dozens of submitted art assets from two studios on a daily basis to uphold the project's high artistic and technical standards. He was thorough, diligent, always on time, and I'd definitely work with him again in an art outsourcing management capacity. "
Via LinkedIn
Mike Foy – Animation and Art Director, Robomodo
" Chris is very passionate about his work, and very knowledgeable about his job. He is easy to get along with, and was well liked by the people on the team. Also, having someone like Chris working in dual roles was a huge benefit to Robomodo. I would recommend Chris to any potential future employer. "
via LinkedIn
Kain Shin – Principal Engineer, Question LLC
" [Chris] is definitely a problem solver whose years of experience in the industry have given him an innate sense of how his work ties into the rest of the game on both, a technical and design level of understanding. His experience definitely shows in his awareness of the nature of game development on all fronts. Beyond his role as a senior animator, he also understood the big picture enough to take over some producer components of the project whenever the need arose. In essence, Chris has always been one to step up to the plate without hesitation in every aspect of the project with a fervent passion for the job... "
Via LinkedIn
Ryan Mattson – Independent Developer
" Chris is a trustworthy and respectful team member, a fun person and a great animator. He's always willing to push his experience, and when you get him in front of a new task he approaches it head-on. His industry experience gives him a unique ability to critique and collaborate cross-team work--he was always an asset when I was looking for feedback on environmental changes and game systems. "
via LinkedIn
Mike McShaffry – Former Studio Head, BreakAway Games Austin
" Chris is communicative, passionate, flexible, intelligent and extremely skilled. Chris puts his shoulder to every effort and doesn’t let up when challenging times arrive. On top of all that he stimulates a great team culture that works hard and laughs hard – I would work with Chris again without question. "
Via LinkedIn