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Curated collections of Workshops organized by subject matter, such as Environment Art, Character Design or Effects Animation.

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Brian Recktenwald

Environment Artist at Naughty Dog

Brian Recktenwald is an Environment Artist and Lead currently at Apple, with over 20 years of experience in games, specializing in modeling, texturing, surfacing, and lighting. His work blends artistic vision with technical expertise to create immersive game worlds.


Brian began his career at LucasArts as an Environment Artist on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its sequels, later advancing to Environment Art Lead for Star Wars 1313 at Lucasfilm. In 2013, he joined Naughty Dog, contributing to the acclaimed Uncharted series with a focus on modeling and scene assembly, and later on The Last of Us Part II, helping to define the visual fidelity and immersive environments of these landmark titles.

  • I’ve been in the games industry for 17 years, and Brian is a rare talent — one of the best environment artists I’ve ever worked with. On Star Wars 1313, he set the bar for film-quality assets under tight deadlines, guiding his team to deliver beyond expectations. His dedication, skill, and professionalism make him an exceptional artist and a true leader in the field.

    - Mark Bergo
    Art Director at Akili

  • Brian is the most naturally gifted and creative artist I’ve ever worked with. His work at LucasArts has been nothing short of spectacular, and his ability to take projects from concept to finish showcases his visionary talent. Collaborating with him to develop the environment art pipeline was a highlight, he eagerly worked with me and engineers to get the best tools and workflows possible. Brian consistently set the “high bar” for creativity, producing captivating work that inspired everyone.

    - William McDonald
    Chief Product Officer at Miris

  • Brian is a highly approachable colleague and was Lead Artist for Star Wars 1313. He is a rare artist who has an exceptional artistic eye for game design and all aspects of art production. Brian is consistently proactive and comes up with innovative ideas to push workflows to new levels. He was able to take on tools that were still in a prototype stage of development and churn out some truly eye-popping levels that made everyone on our team proud.

    - Jem Geylani
    Creative Director at Meta

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