Polina Mihailov
Chisinau
Summary
Hardworking and passionate 3D artist with strong organizational skills and a proven ability to contribute to team success. Eager to secure a middle or senior-level position to leverage expertise in 3D modeling, texturing, and level design. Committed to helping the team achieve and exceed company goals while delivering exceptional quality in all projects
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Project Manager, Art Director, 3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
06.2024 - Current
- Project Oversight & Deadline Management: Oversaw the quality assurance and adherence to deadlines for all game development projects developed in Unity for Nintendo platforms, ensuring timely and high-quality completion.
- Leadership & Strategy Meetings: Conducted regular meetings with directors to discuss progress, resolve challenges, and make strategic decisions for ongoing projects, ensuring alignment with company goals.
- Recruitment & Test Task Design: Designed and evaluated test assignments for Unity developers, ensuring their skills matched the project’s needs and standards. Conducted interviews with potential hires, including designers and developers, to build a strong, skilled team.
- Task Allocation & Progress Monitoring: Assigned weekly tasks to team members and monitored daily progress to maintain productivity and ensure efficient workflow, meeting project deadlines.
- Weekly Build Reviews: Conducted weekly build reviews, ensuring the quality, functionality, and overall performance of the games.
- Reporting: Delivered detailed and comprehensive progress reports to directors, summarizing the status of ongoing game development projects, highlighting achievements and addressing any issues.
- Training & Development: Trained designers in Unity, focusing on efficient workflows, best practices for level optimization, and how to maximize the performance of game levels.
- Collaboration with Designers: Conducted regular meetings with designers to ensure project goals and creative visions were properly coordinated and aligned.
- Quality Assurance Supervision: Supervised the quality assurance process for game levels, maintaining consistency and excellence in both design and performance.
- Technical Problem Solving: Resolved technical challenges related to light baking, level optimization, and other performance-related issues to improve game efficiency for Nintendo platforms.
- Post-Processing & Visual Enhancements: Implemented post-processing effects to enhance the visual appeal and atmosphere of game environments, elevating the player experience.
- Level Design & Conceptualization: Developed and conceptualized immersive game levels for multiple Nintendo projects in Unity, ensuring each level was both original and engaging for players.
- Research & Asset Sourcing: Conducted thorough research to design unique and logical game levels, sourcing 3D models and assets for purchase to meet specific level requirements.
- Asset Optimization: Optimized 3D models and assets, including the creation of texture atlases, to ensure efficient performance on Nintendo hardware while maintaining high visual fidelity.
- Resource Efficiency: Enhanced resource efficiency by implementing smart asset placement strategies, reducing draw calls, and improving performance without compromising visual quality or gameplay experience.
- Level Building in Unity: Designed, built, and fine-tuned immersive game levels in Unity for Nintendo platforms, balancing aesthetics, functionality, and performance to create engaging player experiences.
Art Director and Team Lead, 3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
12.2023 - 06.2024
- Collaboration & Coordination: Led meetings with designers to ensure alignment with project goals, maintaining a unified creative direction throughout the game development process, specifically for Nintendo platforms.
- Quality Assurance & Performance Monitoring: Supervised the quality assurance process for game levels developed in Unity for Nintendo, ensuring consistency, design excellence, and optimal performance across all levels.
- Technical Problem Solving: Addressed and resolved technical challenges related to light baking, level optimization, and performance improvements, ensuring efficient operation on Nintendo platforms.
- Recruitment & Team Building: Designed and evaluated test tasks for potential hires, focusing on Unity developers and game designers, ensuring the recruitment of top-tier talent to strengthen the team.
- Progress & Reporting: Prepared comprehensive progress reports for directors, detailing the quality and status of completed levels and upcoming deliverables.
- Visual Enhancement: Integrated advanced post-processing effects to elevate the visual quality and atmospheric immersion of game environments, enhancing player experience on Nintendo systems.
- Level Design & Conceptualization: Developed and conceptualized creative and immersive level designs, ensuring originality and strong player engagement for various Nintendo game projects.
- Asset Sourcing & Optimization: Conducted research and sourced 3D models and assets for purchase to meet the specific needs of the levels, optimizing assets for performance through techniques like texture atlas creation.
- Game Level Creation in Unity: Designed, built, and optimized game levels in Unity, ensuring a balance between aesthetic appeal and technical functionality, specifically optimized for Nintendo hardware.
- Performance Optimization: Applied smart asset placement strategies, reducing draw calls and maintaining high visual quality and performance, while optimizing light baking and other resource-heavy processes.
- Candidate Interviews & Assessments: Conducted thorough interviews with potential team members specializing in game design, ensuring their skills aligned with project needs and team dynamics.
- Training & Mentorship: Trained designers in Unity, focusing on best practices for workflow efficiency, level optimization, and performance maximization to ensure smooth and engaging gameplay on Nintendo platforms.
3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
07.2023 - 12.2023
- Research & Level Design: Researched references to design unique and logical game levels that align with the project’s vision and gameplay requirements.
- Asset Selection & Sourcing: Sourced and selected 3D models and assets to match the specific needs of levels, ensuring quality and consistency in the final product.
- Optimization: Optimized 3D models and assets for better performance, including the creation of texture atlases to reduce draw calls and improve load times.
- Game Level Creation in Unity: Designed and built immersive game levels in Unity for Nintendo platforms, maintaining a perfect balance between aesthetics, playability, and technical performance.
- Performance Enhancement: Enhanced resource efficiency by implementing smart asset placement strategies, reducing draw calls and optimizing light baking processes, ensuring high visual quality and smooth gameplay performance.
Designer, CNC Machine Manager
Fort SRL
11.2021 - 07.2023
- Client Communication: Conducted regular conversations with clients to understand their needs and provide tailored design solutions.
- Design Concept Development: Created sketches and technical drawings to effectively present design concepts and ideas to clients.
- Color Theory & Composition: Applied a deep understanding of color theory and composition to bring client visions to life with aesthetically pleasing results.
- Project Requirement Identification: Identified and clarified design requirements for each project to ensure accurate and efficient execution.
- Program Creation for Production: Created detailed programs for production processes using tools like Corel Draw and Bazis.
- Order Problem Solving: Addressed and resolved issues with orders, ensuring client satisfaction and smooth project delivery.
- Pricing Development: Developed product pricing for both custom and mass production, balancing cost efficiency and quality.
- New Product Development: Led efforts in developing new products for the company, from concept to prototype.
- Marketing Material Creation: Produced marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, and product catalogs in line with brand standards.
- Research & Innovation: Researched new design technologies and tools to enhance professional skills and drive high-quality outputs.
- Project Management: Analyzed project requirements to plan workflows, ensuring that client time and budget constraints were met.
- Design Refinement: Collected and analyzed feedback from clients and staff to continuously refine and improve design concepts.
- Cross-Department Coordination: Worked closely with other departments to ensure compliance with industry regulations and company standards.
- Prototype Development: Developed prototypes for testing and presentation, demonstrating product feasibility and design intent.
- Material Innovation: Searched for and created samples exploring non-standard methods of working with plywood, enhancing product variety and innovation.
Freelancer (3d Modeler)
Kwork
06.2020 - 10.2020
- 3D Modeling: Create high-quality 3D models using Blender, ZBrush, and Marvelous Designer, ensuring accurate representation of concepts and creative designs.
- UV Mapping: Proficient in Rizom UV for efficient and seamless UV unwrapping, essential for optimal texturing.
- Texturing: Skilled in texturing 3D models with Substance Painter, ensuring realistic and high-quality finishes for various materials.
- Scene Creation & Rendering: Expertise in creating immersive scenes and rendering them using Marmoset Toolbag and Unreal Engine, focusing on visual fidelity and performance.
3d Modeler & Texturing
Riift Studio
07.2017 - 10.2019
- Moodboard Creation: Skilled in gathering visual references and creating moodboards to guide the design process and ensure alignment with project vision.
- 3D Modeling: Proficient in creating high-quality 3D models using Blender, ZBrush, and Marvelous Designer, ensuring accurate and detailed representations.
- UV Mapping: Expertise in Rizom UV for precise UV unwrapping, facilitating efficient texturing.
- Texturing: Advanced skills in Substance Painter for crafting realistic textures that enhance the visual appeal of 3D models.
- Scene Creation & Rendering: Experienced in creating dynamic scenes and rendering them with Marmoset Toolbag and Unreal Engine, focusing on high visual fidelity and performance optimization.
Education
Master of Arts - Design Industrial
UTM
Chisinau, Moldova06-2025
Licentiate Degree - Industrial And Product Design
Technical University of Moldova
06.2023
High School Diploma -
Lyceum N.Gogol
06.2019
Skills
- Level Design and Optimization: Designed and optimized game levels for Nintendo platforms using Unity, ensuring high performance and engaging playability
- Quality Assurance & Deadlines: Skilled in managing quality control processes and meeting development timelines for game levels
- 3D Modeling: Proficient in creating detailed 3D models using Blender 3D
- UV Mapping: Expertise in precise UV mapping with Rizom UV for flawless texture application
- 3D Sculpting: Experienced in sculpting detailed assets with ZBrush
- 3D Clothing Design: Developed realistic 3D garments using Marvelous Designer
- Texturing: Proficient in creating high-quality textures with Substance Painter
- Rendering: Skilled in rendering and visualizing assets using Marmoset Toolbag and Unreal Engine
- Design Knowledge: Strong foundation in design principles across various disciplines
- Freehand Drawing: Skilled in creating freehand illustrations to support creative and technical projects
Languages
Russian, Romanian
Native language
English
Upper intermediate
B2
Hobbies
- Gaming: Passionate about playing computer, mobile, and Nintendo games, exploring new genres and game mechanics.
- Art & Design: Enjoys drawing, experimenting with different creative techniques, and designing unique fashion pieces.
- Sewing: Passion for fashion design and creating custom clothing, combining creativity with practical skills.
- Handcrafts: Creating sculptures, DIY projects, and handmade crafts, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Music: An avid listener of various music genres, drawing inspiration from soundscapes for creative work.
- Cooking: Experimenting with new recipes and cooking techniques, bringing creativity to the kitchen.
- Sports & Fitness: Committed to maintaining an active lifestyle through various physical activities.
- Travel: Passionate about exploring new places, cultures, and gaining fresh perspectives for inspiration.
Timeline
Project Manager, Art Director, 3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
06.2024 - Current
Art Director and Team Lead, 3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
12.2023 - 06.2024
3D Level Designer
Virtual Global Games
07.2023 - 12.2023
Designer, CNC Machine Manager
Fort SRL
11.2021 - 07.2023
Freelancer (3d Modeler)
Kwork
06.2020 - 10.2020
3d Modeler & Texturing
Riift Studio
07.2017 - 10.2019
Licentiate Degree - Industrial And Product Design
Technical University of Moldova
High School Diploma -
Lyceum N.Gogol
Master of Arts - Design Industrial
UTM
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