Brian Nestor
Environment Artist | World Builder | Technical Look Development
Summary
Environment-focused production artist with a proven track record delivering immersive worlds for AAA franchises including Star Wars, Battlefield, and The Sims. Expert in bridging artistic vision with technical constraints through shader development, performance profiling, and cross-discipline collaboration from mobile VR to high-end hardware.
Core Skills
Specialization World Building, 3D Content Creation, Mentorship, Design & Engineering Collab, Look Dev, Optimization.
Technical Shader Dev, Level Streaming, World Partitioning, Profiling (RenderDoc, UE Stats, OVR Metrics), Photogrammetry.
Software Unreal Engine, Maya, ZBrush, Photoshop, Substance Suite, Reality Capture, Perforce.
Professional Experience
Meta (Sanzaru Games)
San Mateo, CA | 11/2021 – 03/2026
- Quest VR Development: Spearheaded environment authoring for Asgard’s Wrath 2 and Unannounced Open-World Title. Owned full production from blockout to final, including layout, set dressing, and lighting.
- Quest 3 Look Dev: Executed visual upgrades for Quest 3 hardware, implementing enhanced PBR material sets and custom shader graphs. Prototyped new worlds.
- Performance: Managed 72/90Hz VR targets; leveraged RenderDoc, UE Stats, and OVR Metrics to balance draw calls and memory in open-world scenes.
- Pipeline: Partnered with engineering on tool improvements and world-partitioning evaluation.
- Team Support: Provided cross-discipline support including onboarding and troubleshooting. Produced high-fidelity sizzle reels for director-level reviews.
Electronic Arts (Maxis)
Redwood City, CA | 11/2017 – 10/2021
- The Sims 4: Primary environment owner for six expansions. Managed end-to-end world creation including terrain, lighting, set dressing, and runtime optimization.
- Pipeline: Partnered with engineering to refine world-building tools and overhauled level art documentation.
Electronic Arts (Visceral)
Redwood City, CA | 05/2013 – 11/2017
- Project Ragtag: Look Dev artist responsible for biome visual targets. Conducted photogrammetry expeditions and co-developed end-to-end scan pipeline for a high-fidelity surface library.
- Battlefield Hardline & 4: "Levolution" and World Building. Served as performance owner for multiplayer maps, utilizing PIX and Frostbite profiling tools to ensure stable console performance.
Lucasfilm Ltd. (LucasArts)
San Francisco, CA | 11/2011 – 04/2013
- Unannounced FPS: Delivered finalized environments; conducted asset audits and optimized world geometry leveraging Microsoft PIX and UE Stats.
- Mentorship: Mentored Jedi Academy interns on AAA art pipelines and technical requirements.
Square Enix (Crystal Dynamics)
Redwood City, CA | 01/2011 – 11/2011
- Tomb Raider: Bridged art and engineering via custom effects, material editor maintenance, and troubleshooting streaming setups for peak performance.
Lucasfilm Ltd. (LucasArts)
San Francisco, CA | 02/2006 – 11/2010
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I & II: World Building, lighting, and asset creation. Authored shader graphs and collaborated with engineers on internal world-tool improvements.
- Indiana Jones (E3 Demo): Authored environment assets and layout for the "Cable Car Chase."
Additional Experience
Sony Online Entertainment: Senior Environment Artist | Untold Legends
08/2005 – 02/2006
Midway Home Entertainment: Lead Environment Artist | Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
08/2003 – 08/2005
The 3DO Company: Environment Artist | High Heat MLB, Four Horsemen
06/2000 – 06/2003
Education
BA, Computer and Video Imaging | University of Silicon Valley, San Jose, CA