Joey Pagano

Technical Artist @ iRacing
M / 29 / ♐︎ / JRPGs / Xrd_{They pay me to make video games and then I go home to make even worse video games that piss you off.}

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About Joey

Hi, I'm Joey!I love jrpgs, fighting games, Persona 3, toshinori hiramatsu guitar solos, grindcore, mello yello, and posting middling opinions on the internet about games you probably don't want to play.I'm a Technical Artist working for NASCAR, with a long history in everything 3D/CG (and some 2D too). I make tools, shaders, bad games, 3D models, and any other necessary object that affords me a chance to be one step closer to the jrpgs that I wish they still made.I work in Unreal Engine for money and RPG Maker for love. I use Maya and Blender depending on the project. Zbrush, Houdini, Substance, and some light python, js, and hlsl.I think video games by design should piss you off at least a little bit or else they are a waste of your time. If I had a billion dollars I'd make a big budget jrpg with a regular enemy that can inflict a status ailment that deletes your save if you get KO'd.

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3D Art - Demo Reel

Characters

I have some recurring original characters in my works, so below are some subpages just for them :)

Mina

Ferrik

Mintie

2D Art

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Professional Stuff

Wow! You're more interested in my professional skills! That's pretty cool- I do a lot of things that revolve around video games, but I run the whole gamut of CG art and production. You can check out my Resume, or some key projects from the llinks below. I'll even repost my Demo Reel just for you. Currently, I work fulltime as a Technical Artist at iRacing Studios, but I accept contract, consultation, and commission work on a case-by-case basis!As a Technical Artist, I prioritize creating custom tools to speed up workflows, implement assets into game engines, and optimize performance across the board for a variety of PC hardware configs or specific console platforms. With a strong focus on game development, my technical pursuits lead me to grafting unique solutions for your project's specific emergent needs- agnostic of the programs necessary to do so. My generalist pedigree toys with animation, modeling, rigging, scripting, rendering, texturing, material generation, and VFX simulations. And that’s before I eventually deploy all of these fancy little skills to the LED screen you rented out for Unreal Virtual Production. What can’t I do?!Whether it’s video games, film, TV, Virtual Production within the likes of Unreal- or a proprietary render engine within the 3D package of your choice- I do it all so that video games can live on forever. And we can save a few ms while we're at it.

• Resume

Projects

• Coming Soon!

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Resume

Experience

iRacing (Monster Games) - Technical Artist
_{(January 2023 - Present)}

Unreal Engine Technical Artist

Meta - Technical Artist
_{(June 2022 - January 2023)}

Social AR Technical Artist

THE FAMILY - Virtual Production - Producer / Technical Artist / 3D Generalist
_{(May 2018 - June 2022)}

Virtual Production Producer (Unreal Engine / Maya)

Realtime AR Architecture Experience (Maya / Unity 3D)

Technical Artist / 3D Generalist

FitXR - Associate Animator
_{(September 2019 - December 2019)}

BoxVR & Aerobics (Maya / Motionbuilder / Unity 3D)

MassDiGi Summer Invotation Program - Lead 3D Artist
_{(May 2017 - August 2017)}

Lead 3D Artist

Education

Pratt Institute August 2015 - May 2019
BFA Digital Arts | 3D Animation Concentration
^{Co-founder of Pratt Gamelab and Game Design BFA}

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we all deserve to say things

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FGC Stuff

I run a lot of stuff for what is colloquially referred to as the "Fighting Game Community" but what this really equates to is that I wanted friends to play Guilty Gear Xrd with and this all sorta happened as a result. I run Dustbowl/Guilt-a-Gear Workshop every Wednesday night at 8:30pm EST to play Xrd for the east coast as a head TO, event coordinator, and stream manager. I also run TSB in Brooklyn NY (a vehicle for Xrd) which is an anime monthly that has more than just that. And once a year I host Joeycon (it's not my birthday) which is a Cookout x Mystery Bracket where every single set is a new secret game. You can find out more about this stuff on my twitch channel or when I feel like uploading Youtube vods. If you're interested in like, collabing or something like that, then I would go to the professional button on this site or just try to contact me. Otherwise I'm kinda just running this game every week till I get bored of it (cc: Die of old age)

• Xrd Discord
• Bracket Link

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Mina

Gender:
_FemaleSpecies:
_{Gray Seal? Selkie}Age
_{26 (she was never going to have health insurance anyway)}Birthday
_{June 10th}Occupation
_{Private Yacht stewardess (frequently seeking employment)}

Mina is a Selkie rescued by ship off the coast of Chatham Massachusetts after destroying a local private yacht.She pays off the "debt" of the boat in question by working as a contract stewardess in Cape Cod, but her lack of social skills enables her despite her clumsiness and overall being a ditz- something of which she is a bit too self-assured in. This causes her to lose her job frequently, but luckily there are many rich yacht owners on the cape! This also means she has unfortunately developed a strong Boston accent from the locals. Or is she just trying a bit too hard?Spunky and full of many ideas- some of which walk the line of con artistry- but she means well! loves the sea and wants to learn more about the humans that live on land. She says she is a gray seal, yet she has ear flaps. She might not know what she is talking about...Mina is a fun-loving "maid" who is part seal and has nautical motifs. She's used for a lot of irl events as well, so she's frequently depicted trying out different fun things- fighting games, drumming, and cooking!She saw her creation inside of Final Fantasy 14 (lmao) but has come a long way since. I tend to use her as a de facto mascot for everything (as you probably noticed by now), so she's become a go-to for art trades, doodles, and collabs!

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Ferrik Lowell

Gender:
_MaleSpecies:
_HumanAge
₂₅Birthday
_{November 2nd}Occupation
_{Drifter (formerly part of the Relic Recovery Initiative)}

Ferrik is a stubborn, ironwilled adventurer who never backs down from opposition (even to his own detriment). Catlike in his mannerisms, he's known to eschew social connections when he could be spending his time on his next big payday.Originally employed with the Relic Recovery Initiative, Ferrik was one of many hired explorers tasked with finding ancient relics that could be smelted into consumer goods and energy sources for the leading global superpower on his home continent. This helps the production of Anchors, which are distilled magical relics that enable everyday society to utilize magic in consumable fashion. But once rumors of Heaven's Bounty- a fabled limitless treasure capable of solving the global energy crisis with its unfathomable power- began to circulate, Ferrik defected from his occupation in the great age of the Drifters. He now searches for relics on his own in an attempt to turn a greater profit than his previous employers would afford him.While antisocial and offputting on the surface, Ferrik is mostly pragmatic and a bit of a control freak. Not necessarily avoidant of others, his strict personality and stricter standards for himself make it difficult to enjoy the day by day, making it sometimes feel impossible to connect with others in meaningful and lasting ways. He carries a deep burden and blames himself for the passing of his older sister in childhood for reasons undisclosed- but the burn scars underneath his right arm coverings and his mysterious ability to wield fire magic without the use of relics can imply what really happened.Impossible to satisfy his own demands of himself, Ferrik explores the world looking for a way to justify his life and absolve himself of a survivor's guilt he will never forgive himself for. But maybe his adventures with the right company can help him learn to let himself exist as he is.His hair is not actually blue; his brown hair is dyed with magic from a cosmetic Anchor which sits on his left ear. He chooses his late sister's favorite color.

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Mintie Baker

Gender:
_FemaleSpecies:
_HumanAge
₂₂Birthday
_{May 26th}Occupation
_{Relic Machinist (Black Market, formerly family Blacksmith)}

Originally a blacksmith by family trade, Mintie is a highly creative individual always looking for new experiences to inform her art and inventions.She is drawn to Relics for the same reasons that government bodies smelt them for technological utility. The possibilities of her own inventions feel limitless when augmented by sources of magical energy, which tempts her into using them for her own projects despite regional legislation dictating the lawful overturning of Relics to the Relic Recovery Initiative.Mintie's role as a family blacksmith was always in direct opposition to her more artistic endeavors, which bred in her a distaste for her home life, and more importantly, a pining for the life of Drifters. Through a chance meeting with Ferrik at a point he desperately needed a new sword, Mintie struck out a deal to follow Ferrik in his journeys as his private weapons dealer on the pretense that she would be able to see the world and learn more about Relics (and run away from home, though she hides the nuance of this fact from him).Energetic and deeply inspired by the world around her, Mintie's spirited personality charms everyone she meets (even Ferrik, though he swears it's pity). Always ready for the day ahead, Mintie embraces the world around her in full as a sign of appreciation for the new ways she can explore her own art. While she might not sweat the details, her precision and dexterity with art, machinery, and weaponry guarantees that her aim is true and her promises are reliable. She also possesses a bit of a devious streak, which is exacerbated by just how easy she thinks it is to toy with Ferrik and his stubborn personality.Mintie is deeply fraught over her own art's "worthiness" in the world and her crippling impostor syndrome. Forced into family trade, Mintie believes she missed out on the chance to apply herself in ways she truly desired, and is stuck playing "hopeless" catch up in a world that does not care about her or her work. As a result, she finds solace in increasingly emotional artistic outbursts, manifesting as illegal machinist experimentation.While athletic and an expert marksman, Mintie tries to avoid conflict wherever possible. She is most at home enjoying a warm summer breeze, or meeting new people.

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