Behind the Scenes of “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor:” A May the 4th Celebration

Theo Stylianides has been in the entertainment industry for over 15 years working in games, film and tv. He specializes in Design focused on characters, creatures and props. Currently Theo is one of the Lead Concept Artists on Star Wars games at Respawn entertainment.

Damon Woods has spent the last 14 years creating creatures and characters for games, film, TV, and advertising. He’s worked on such projects as Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Flash TV series, Super Girl TV Series, Ultimate Spiderman, and most recently was responsible for the model of Cal Kestis for the game Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. For the last 5 years, he was also an instructor here at Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Damon is currently Lead Character Artist at Respawn Entertainment.

Mark Kirkpatrick works as a Principal Environment Artist at Respawn Entertainment on the Star Wars team, recently working on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Prior to his tenure at Respawn Entertainment, Mark made significant contributions as part of the team at id Software in Dallas, TX, where he worked on Doom Eternal and the campaign expansion Ancient Gods Part One and Two. Before joining the gaming industry in 2017, Mark worked as a visual designer in Seattle, WA for over a decade. Often incorporating 3D art into his client and personal work, Mark decided to merge his passion for art and gaming into a career in game development. Like many in this industry, Mark grew up with a fascination with the imaginary worlds in games and film. Star Wars made an incredible impression on him at a young age and working as an artist in the entertainment industry became a lifelong goal. Enjoying the collaborative nature of working together to create big ideas and the never-ending pursuit of learning continues to inspire him today.

Evan Cwiertny is a Senior Hard Surface Artist for the Jedi Team at Respawn Entertainment. He has been in the game industry for 5 years now and has shipped Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi Survivor. Evan has been doing art off and on most of his life but didn’t really find a strong footing for it until the last years of highschool. He had a strong love for video games but was feeling directionless. Encouragement from a wonderful teacher pushed him to find a path that he didn’t think was possible, leading him to finding Gnomon School of Visual Effects. After a few years of building a portfolio and attending community college, the leap was made. He went to Gnomon School of Visual Effects for 3 years where in his last term, he got a job offer from Respawn Entertainment as an Environment Artist. He went on to work on the beginning of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Midway through production of Jedi: Survivor, he transitioned to the  Hard Surface team with an emphasis on larger assets such as vehicles and spaceship interiors such as the hero ship, the Stinger Mantis."

After graduating from the London film school in 2005, Matt spent the first 10 years of his career working as a cinematographer and camera operator in the film and TV industry, where he gained practical, hands-on experience with lighting; working on feature films, TV drama, music videos and commercials. Through his film work, Matt was introduced to the world of VFX and post production, which led him to learn a number of DCC applications, such as Maya, Zbrush, Photoshop, etc. Throughout his life, Matt has been an enthusiastic gamer, so it was only a matter of time before he also learned how to work with game engines such as Unity and Unreal. Matt's love of game development eventually encouraged him to make a career move from film into games, and in 2015 he landed his first job as a lighting artist at Splash Damage, in the UK, where he worked on the Gears of War franchise. After shipping Gears of War ultimate edition and working on Gear 4, Matt relocated to California to work at Ready at Dawn on the Lone Echo series. Matt later joined Respawn Entertainment to develop Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, and is currently the Lead Lighting Artist on the Jedi team.

Jason Wickham is a dedicated professional in the gaming industry, with a Bachelor's degree in Media Arts & Animation from the Art Institute of Orange County. After graduating in 2016, Jason started working at Ready At Dawn. He was part of the teams that shipped several projects, including Lone Echo, Echo Arena, Echo Combat, and Lone Echo 2. These experiences provided him with valuable industry knowledge and experience. In 2022, Jason transitioned to Respawn, where he contributed to the development of Jedi: Survivor. This opportunity allowed him to further refine his skills in a new environment. Presently, Jason serves as the Lead VFX Artist on the Jedi Team at Respawn. In this role, he uses his accumulated experience to lead and contribute to his team of talented VFX artists. His journey reflects his commitment to his craft and his continuous pursuit of professional growth.

Nate Stephens is an Art Director at Respawn Entertainment working on the Jedi Star Wars team. With a tenure in the industry of over 20 years, Nate has had the privilege of contributing to some great games including Jedi: Survivor, God of War: Ragnarok, God of War, God of War 3, and Titanfall to name a few. Nate also has a long history with Gnomon, having taught the Environment for Games class for 6 years, as well as contributed tutorials for the Gnomon Workshop.