“Great companies don't hire skilled people and motivate them. They hire already motivated people and inspire them.”
Work
As a classically trained artist and digital media technologist, I help corporate R&D labs, application developers and game studios create visually compelling, entertaining and useful experiences so they can go on to produce dynamite products at scale. I am passionate about building real world solutions and products that go on to live and improve peoples lives.
As a classically trained Artist, Next Level Prompt Engineer, AI LLM Enthusiast, Autodesk Maya, Unity, Unreal and Adobe CC IC artist, with ARVR, VFX and Digital Generalist chops, I revel in difficult technical situations and creatively challenging tasks. I thrive while learning and it is through this passion and enthusiasm that I have obtained a multitude of skills and experiences.
Having created visually compelling solutions for a wide variety of stakeholders, from baked renders to interactive games and applications, from A/VR prototyping to corporate video, 3D UIUX to Virtual Environments, my designs and consultations have delivered on mission critical objectives, garnered enterprise interest, educated key stakeholders and wowed customers at scale.
With an uncanny ability to recognize visual details, inconsistencies and other oddities, my innate art direction skills bring every project to the next level while exceeding the stakeholder's expectations.
Possessing a firm grasp of pipeline optimization, asset development, limitations and dependencies, I love working with talented artists, programmers, and producers, to perfect that delicate balance between jaw dropping aesthetics, implementation time, and performance.
I am excited to help you and your organization take part and deliver the next generation of real-time experiences and products.
Most importantly, l have fun doing it! From the mundane to the epic: laughter, enjoyment, and quality of life are all import factors in bringing home to roost, the very top shelf of content.
About James
A Creative with a passion for next generation, AI driven motion graphics and real-time experiences currently living in Bellevue, WA. I love mentoring almost as much as I love getting heads down, hands dirty. A perfect blend of task master and IC diligence.
I'm James Coddington, an Art and Tech Lead currently based in the vibrant city of Portland, Oregon. With over 17 years of experience spanning R&D, gaming, TV, film, VFX, and tech innovation, I’ve had the privilege of working at the intersection of creativity and technology. My journey began with a passion for blending artistic expression with cutting-edge technology, leading me to a career where I’ve been fortunate to contribute to groundbreaking projects in various fields.
I’ve worn many hats throughout my career Technical Art Director, Technical Artist, Experience Designer, advanced prototyper and more. My expertise lies in Leadership, VFX supervision, environment design, 3D modeling, rendering, animation, VFX, UI/UX, and real-time graphics, with a deep knowledge of tools like Autodesk Maya, Adobe CS, Unity, and Unreal Engine. I’m proud of the work I’ve done for major companies like Microsoft, DARPA, NASA-JPL, and many others, where I’ve helped to push the boundaries of what’s possible in visual storytelling and immersive experiences.
These days, I’m deeply passionate about the promise of AI, particularly in the realms of Large Language Models (LLMs) and Prompt Engineering. I believe we’re on the cusp of a new era where our partnership with AI can unlock unprecedented creative potential, allowing us to imagine and build experiences that were once only the stuff of dreams. I’m excited to be a part of this journey, exploring how AI can augment human creativity and bring us to hights we never dreamed before.
In addition to my professional pursuits, I’m also a music producer with over 20 years of experience, running my own music studio equipped with Ableton and a plethora of plugins. Music, like technology, is a language I use to explore and express the experience of living in this wild, beautiful, scary, inspiring, adventure we call life.
When I’m not immersed in pixels, code, or beats, I enjoy hiking in the beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, spending quality time with my family, and mentoring the next generation of artists and technologists. I’m also working on some exciting personal projects, including my company datacraft and a electronic music production.
Thank you for taking the time to learn a bit about me. I’m always open to new opportunities and collaborations, so feel free to reach out if you share my passion for the fusion of art, technology, and the endless possibilities they bring.
Education
BA in Art Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The process of invention is integral to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) Department of Art and Technology Studies curriculum. Complex technological systems comprise much of the support structure and communications environment we rely on in daily life. We artists are relentlessly appropriating, repurposing, and subverting these systems in order to critique their provenance, reveal their hidden potentials, unlock experiential possibilities, or suggest alternative social frameworks. Often, the seeds of new creative behaviors are hidden within the very complexity and instability of modern technological systems, waiting to be released. While technology can be applied in traditional disciplines, in Art and Technology Studies our discipline is one of invention through the generation, hacking, and subversion of systems.
Emerging technologies often stimulate the invention of new forms. Faculty and students in Art and Technology Studies not only create new aesthetic experiences, but often the very tools and processes with which they are achieved. Through the department’s innovative curriculum, creating and manipulating objects, images, sound, music, voice, text, and movement, are explored in tandem with custom-written software, emerging materials, unconventional processes, and new methods of integration with other technologies and fields of practice.
The Art and Technology Studies curriculum is grouped within the following conceptual areas: • Hybrid and Virtual Worlds: Experimental Visualization and Fabrication • Interaction as Materials and Venue: Performative Objects and Responsive Environments • Bio Art • Embodied Networks: Collectivity and the Collapse of Separation • Thinking, Creating, and Designing with Light • History and Theory: Art and Technology Studies http://www.saic.edu/academics/departments/ats/