Ken Hall

Ken Hall

Lead Artist

Followers of Ken Hall2000 followers
location of Ken HallToronto, Ontario, Canada

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  • Timeline

  • About me

    CEO of 2Dogs Games Ltd., and Creative Director of Destiny's Sword

  • Education

    • University of Waterloo

      1990 - 1994
      Fine Arts (Sculpture), Mechanical Engineering
  • Experience

    • ARC Developments

      Jun 1995 - Jan 1997
      Lead Artist

      Rosco McQueen (PS1) - Lead ArtistCartoon/Fun PlatformJ.R.Hartley's Fly Fishing (PC) - ArtistEducational/Simulation

    • Slippery Snake Studios

      Jan 1997 - Aug 1997
      Lead Artist

      Rosco McQueen (PS1) - Lead ArtistCartoon/Fun PlatformTeam formed into new Studio by SCEE to complete development of Rosco McQueen

    • Wayward Design

      Sept 1997 - Jan 2000
      Lead Artist

      B-17 Flying Fortress : The Mighty 8th (PC) - Lead ArtistAward Winning Flight Sim- Lead Art Team (10 people), Created and maintained coherent visual game design (including USP immersive virtual cockpits and interiors), Designed and scripted animation system and dynamic aircraft damage system- Responsible for all art recruitment and staff reviews- Scripted and directed ground-breaking motion capture shoot, designed and built all props including plywood 1:1 scale reproduction of B-17 framework for entire aircraft- Scripted, captured and produced B-17 Teaser video, handled PR and demonstrated B-17 at E3 1999, 2000 and at ECTS 2000 – won IGN best multiplayer game award for E3 2000- Modelling of 1 000 000 polygon reproduction of B-17 from blueprints and research for interior backgrounds- Modelling/texturing of all In game Allied aircraft and all interiors/cockpits (including Axis aircraft) Show less

    • Rage (Bristol)

      Jan 2000 - Jan 2003
      Lead Artist

      TeamSAS (XBox) - Lead ArtistArcade FPSRage (Bristol) became Dangerous Games - see Dangerous Games listing , above

    • Dangerous Games

      Jan 2003 - Jun 2003
      Art Director

      TeamSAS (XBox) - Art Director, Company DirectorArcade FPS- Company Director- Project Lead (25 people)/ Art Lead (10 people): created and maintained coherent visual game design (including USP Living Jungle environment), Designed and scripted animation system, Managed inter-discipline interactions and project scheduling- Responsible for recruitment and staff reviews- Art Direction including character design, special effects and visuals of Team SAS- Concepting of new visual technologies including ‘breathing’ tree and plant technology, projected & animated texture system, destructible environment technology and facial morphing system- Scripting and Direction of all motion capture, using celebrated SAS soldier and author Andy McNab as actor- Scripted, captured and produced Team SAS E3 video, including production of all post-production and rendered effects Show less

    • Realtime Worlds

      Sept 2003 - Dec 2007
      Art Director

      APB (PC) - Art Director Massively Multi-Player Online Action Game - Art Direction of MMO project including establishing Art Vision, designing USP character customisation system, technology integration including animation blending system and RWTech pipelines- Hiring, structuring and managing team of over 40 artists (including scheduling, man-management and budgeting)- Developing and managing a 20-artist Outsource team with Nikitova LLC, as well as outsourcing various promotional productions to companies such as Realtime UK and Digital Kitchen.- Hiring and directing off-site Korean concept artists (3)- Scripting and Direction of all motion capture- Production of various promotional videos (scripting, capture and editing)- Design, Commissioning and consultation of numerous technologies and toolsRWTech – core company environment generation technology- Technical Art Direction & collaborative design of tools development for run-time dynamic urban environment generation- Presentation of technology to numerous investors, ultimately resulting in $35m US investment by NEA. Show less

    • Ken Hall Art Inc.

      Jan 2008 - now
      Principal

      At the intersection of art and science, Ken Hall's evocative and engaging public installations bring people together – provoking collective thought and discussion, while examining our relationships to each other and the natural world.Teeming with energy and movement, Ken’s pieces explore complex social and ecological issues in an uplifting and inclusive fashion, becoming talismans of awareness and change.His numerous public commissions grace urban centres and rural locations across North America.Ken's award-winning environmental installation Legacy – an anatomically correct, hand-carved skeleton of a killer whale whose body carried one of the highest chemically toxic loads ever recorded in a marine mammal, was recently covered by the Smithsonian. Created to help further the discussion of our fractured connection to the natural world, Legacy is currently touring North America and can be experienced at Ontario Science Centre until the end of 2017. Born in Toronto, and educated at the University of Waterloo in Mechanical Engineering and Fine Arts, Ken’s work is characterized by his ability to exploit a wide range of media, allowing him to seek out the fundamental form of expression for each piece; ranging from public sculpture to interactive digital artwork. Show less

    • 2Dogs Games Ltd

      Mar 2017 - now
      CEO / Creative Director

      2Dogs Games is a veteran development team—we've created numerous award winning titles across all the major platforms.We've come together to make the game we believe in, Destiny’s Sword.In this single-player, next generation graphic adventure, players lead a squad of intergalactic peacekeepers, navigating the physical and mental fallout of war and life under extreme conditions.Destiny’s Sword is about building lasting relationships, which affect everything from the in-game performance of the characters to their mental resilience and recovery.What kind of leader will you be? That's for you to decide!- Design and creation of the Insight Engine, a cutting-edge social interaction simulation/AI that models the psychology and emotional state of every NPC in the game, creating an unprecedented depth of interaction and immersion.- Crafting a vivid, living universe and dynamic story with NYT best-selling author M. D. Cooper.- Endless emergent content produced by our dynamic Life Event system, which uses 'neural nets' that interact with characters’ personalities and emotions, governing their reactions and allowing them to grow and evolve in an incredibly human fashion. - Immersive concept art animation system breathes life into vibrant, hand-painted artworks Show less

    • Random Games Company Inc.

      Feb 2022 - Dec 2023
      Art Director

      UNIOVERSE (PC) - Art DirectorExpansive Game Universe- Art Direction of UNIOVERSE, including establishing Art Vision, designing USP character and weapon customization system to produce 100,000s of unique NFT hero avatars- Hiring, structuring and managing 4 outsource teams - 2 character production team (Swame & Keos Masons), 1 video production team (Rune), 1 animation team (Original Force)- Hiring and managing an industry-leading concept art team- Production of various promotional materials (trailer video, character release videos, motion graphics elements) Show less

    • MicroProse

      Aug 2023 - now
      Art Director

      Art Directing B-17 Flying Fortress : The Mighty 8th - Redux, a refresh of the award-winning historical flight sim first released back in 2000.

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Mig Welding

      CWB Group
      Dec 2012
  • Honors & Awards

    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      ECO Award Environmental Studies Association of Canada Jun 2017 "Legacy exemplifies the work recognized by this award and the importance of the arts in moving more people to awareness, thought and action on critical environmental issues of our day.” - Geo Takach, chair of ESAC’s awards committee
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Artisan of the Year - 2014 Hills of Headwaters Tourism Awards - Nov 2014
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Artist of the Year - 2014 Orangeville Arts & Culture Awards - Sep 2014
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Recipient of 2014 Reed T. Cooper Memorial Bursary for Visual Arts - Dec 2013
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Runner-up for Orangeville Arts & Culture Award - 2013 Established Artist of the Year - Sep 2013
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Winner of Orangeville Arts & Culture Award - 2013 Best Creative Cultural Event (Legacy Project) - Sep 2013
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Recipient of TD Friends of the Environment Foundation grant (Legacy) TD Friends of the Environment Foundation 2013
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      NICHE Awards Finalist (Outdoor Art Category) NICHE Magazine 2011
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      Featured as an Artist to Collect Arabella Magazine for Canadian Art, Architecture & Design 2010
    • Awarded to Ken Hall
      PhotoArt 2008 Award Winner (Wildlife Category) Halton Hills Camera Club 2008
  • Volunteer Experience

    • President & Chair of Artist Support

      Issued by Dufferin Arts Council on Sept 2013
      Dufferin Arts CouncilAssociated with Ken Hall
    • Committee Member

      Issued by Town of Orangeville Arts & Culture Committee on Apr 2015
      Town of Orangeville Arts & Culture CommitteeAssociated with Ken Hall
    • Artist Representative

      Issued by Halton Hills Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee on Jan 2009
      Halton Hills Arts, Culture & Heritage CommitteeAssociated with Ken Hall