JON WHELPLEY
JON WHELPLEY
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Resume

Jon Whelpley | Art & Production Management

"I don't know everything, but I can learn anything."

Experience

Mursion | San Francisco, CA
Sr. Production Manager (Art) | 2018 – Present


  • Lead the production of all assets within the Unity game engine, ensuring seamless integration across multiple platforms.
  • Oversee backend art build pipelines utilizing Jenkins, Git, and AWS tools to optimize workflows and maintain efficiency.
  • Mentor and collaborate with a diverse team of junior artists, technical artists, and engineers to deliver polished and high-quality final products.
  • Partner with sales and operations teams to understand client needs, ensuring the timely and accurate delivery of custom solutions.
  • Managed the final integration of environments, characters, and animations for VR simulations, including dynamic lighting and advanced post-processing effects.
  • Developed and maintained backend web development tools using custom Java and JSON scripts to streamline production processes.
  • Support production of client facing marketing materials. 
  • Fostered and nurtured strong client relationships, guiding clients through all phases of production and ensuring satisfaction.

              

Key Clients: Google, Starbucks, Comcast, Best Western, Intel, United Airlines, T-Mobile, Amazon


ETC Simulation | Orlando, FL

Junior Artist | 2007 – 2017

 

  • Designed and developed environments, vehicles, characters, props, conceptual renders, and motion capture animations for real-time applications.
  • Specialized in large-scale environments and vehicle assets, contributing across all stages of the production pipeline.
  • Served as the lead motion capture performer, responsible for capturing and cleaning animation data.
  • Traveled to both international and domestic destinations to capture reference photography to support 3D asset development.
         • Key Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia (Monas National Monument), San Angelo, TX (Goodfellow AFB), New York City, NY (OEM, FDNY, NYPD).
  • Represented ETC at conferences, delivering live demos and exhibitions for prospective clients.
        • Notable Events: I/ITSEC (8 years), EMEX, UASI.


Island Cotton Company | Stuart, FL

Owner | 2011 – Present


  • Co-founded and managed branding, website development, and IT operations for a family-owned clothing boutique.
  • Expanded to a second location in 2017 and launched an e-commerce platform, IslandCotton.com.
  • Served as a stay-at-home dad while overseeing business operations.


Institute for Simulation and Training | Orlando, FL

3D Artist | 2007


  • Developed vehicle and building assets for a real-time recreation of the 1964 New York City World’s Fair.

Projects

  • Starbucks: Developed a mid-level management live simulation utilizing AI driven avatars.
  • Google: Developed several high stakes simulation scenarios that take place in Google’s virtual campus. 
  • Royal Netherlands Air Force – NIFV
    Developed high quality models of Lockheed's F-35 Lightning II, and Boeing's Chinook CH-47 aircrafts for an advanced training simulator.
  • Indonesian Mobile Brigade Corps – BRIMOB
    Oversaw 3D asset production of the environment, lighting, and AI traffic patterns for a 1-sqr-mile of geo-specific terrain.
  • United States Air Force – Department of Defense
    Developed a large-scale virtual Air Force Base for disaster training scenarios.
  • New York City – Office of Emergency Management
    Developed a geo-specific 16 block section of Manhattan centered around 34th Street and Broadway which also included the creation of a fleet of over 25 FDNY and NYPD vehicles.
  • Saudi Arabia – Civil Defense
    Modeled two dozen civilian and casualty characters for disaster response training simulations. 
  • Rosenbauer - ARFF
    Produced vehicles for physics-based driver simulation in partnership with Boeing’s Airbus A-380.

Skills and Expertise

  • Security Clearance: U.S. Department of Defense. 
  • Computer Engineering: Expert understanding of the technology and computer hardware specifications that exist in the industry today.
  • Public Speaking: Career Day Presenter at Jefferson Middle School – Merritt Island, FL
    Spoke about 3D modeling in the gaming and simulation industries. 2011- 2015 (5 years) 
  • Game Engine Technology: In-depth knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of 2D/3D file formats. FBX, OBJ, BVH, OpenFlight, MA, MB, IGES, STL, DXF, DWG, TIFF, PSD, Targa, etc… As well as a full working understanding of last-gen diffuse map texturing techniques and next-gen PBR workflows.
  • Scripting: Not a programmer by trade but I know my way around various types of scripting languages, including MEL, Java, CSS, HTML, JSON and HLSL shaders.
    See some of my custom scripts on the about page.

Publications

  • Aviation Fire Journal (Volume 11 Issue 3) – Front Cover and a featured article about virtual training with the ARFF simulator of the Rosenbauer Panther HRET & AirBus A-380 | May 2009
  • The Graffiti Periodical – Several paintings were printed in the 2003 & 2004 Editions. 

Education

  • Full Sail University – Winter Park, FL
    Computer Animation – Feb. 2006
  • Valencia College – Orlando, FL
    Digital Media and Design – May 2008 

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