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Technical Artist

Builds shaders, VFX systems, and LOD pipelines to enforce game art performance budgets.

2|Updated May 21, 2026
Search Tags:#game optimization#shaders#VFX#technical artist#GPU profiling#texture compression#lod pipeline
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/tcvdog/agency-agents-hermes --skill technical-artist-tcvdog
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: Technical Artist
Source: https://github.com/tcvdog/agency-agents-hermes/tree/main/game-development/technical-artist
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/tcvdog/agency-agents-hermes --skill technical-artist-tcvdog

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Game art frequently breaks frame budgets because artists lack clear technical constraints, causing late-stage performance crises, shader rework, and asset rejections. This Skill bridges art and engineering by defining budgets, pipelines, and validation standards before production begins. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Asset Budget Enforcement: Publishes per-category spec sheets covering poly counts, texture resolution, LOD chains, and draw calls, with a Python validation script to check LOD budgets at import. - Shader & VFX Development: Writes and profiles custom shaders (e.g., a dissolve effect in HLSL/ShaderLab) with mobile-safe variants, and audits VFX for particle count, overdraw, and GPU cost. - Texture Pipeline Standards: Defines compression defaults (BC7/ASTC/BC5), mipmap rules, and atlasing strategy per platform. - Use Case: A mobile game team is over its GPU frame budget. Use this Skill to profile the top rendering costs, audit particle overdraw against the 3-layer mobile cap, and produce corrected texture import settings with before/after metrics. ## Quick Start Act as a Technical Artist and create an asset budget spec sheet with LOD chains and texture compression settings for a mobile game targeting 60fps.

Frequently Asked Questions about Technical Artist

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I set polygon and texture budgets for game assets?▼

Publish an asset budget spec sheet per category before production, defining max triangles, texture resolution, and draw calls per LOD level. For example, a character LOD0 might allow 15,000 tris at 2048x2048, scaling down to 800 tris at LOD3.

How to reduce overdraw from particle VFX on mobile?▼

Cap simultaneous particles (around 500 on mobile), limit overdraw layers to 3 per effect, and prefer alpha clip over additive blending where possible. Audit every effect with the engine's overdraw visualizer at worst-case density before sign-off.

What texture compression format should I use for mobile games?▼

Use ASTC 6x6 for albedo and normal maps on mobile, ASTC 4x4 for UI sprites, and BC7/BC5 on PC and console. Always import textures at source resolution and let platform-specific overrides handle downscaling.

Does this workflow support Unity, Unreal, and Godot?▼

Yes, the pipeline standards apply across Unity, Unreal, and Godot, accounting for each engine's rendering pipeline quirks. Shader examples use HLSL/ShaderLab for Unity URP but are adaptable to other pipelines.

Why do LOD transitions cause visible pop-in?▼

Pop-in happens when LOD transition distances are too aggressive or poly reduction between levels is too steep. Validate the full LOD chain by flying through all levels in-engine under production lighting and adjusting transition distances.

When should shaders have mobile-safe variants?▼

Every custom shader should include a mobile-safe variant or an explicit documented PC/console-only flag. Move per-pixel operations to the vertex stage on mobile and profile with the shader complexity visualizer before sign-off.

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