What does it really take to become an Art Director in games?
For Minoh Kim, it started in QA.
For Artem Volchik, it started in modding.
For Billy Ahlswede, it started with a comic book portfolio and a love for fantasy.
All three have held leadership roles at Riot Games… but their stories couldn’t be more different.
We’ve all asked ourselves: “Am I on the right track?” Hearing how these art directors built their careers helped us see just how many ways there are to grow, and why the detours often matter most.
Minoh Kim: From Game Tester to Art Director at Riot.
Before becoming an Art Director at Riot, Minoh started out as a game tester at Sony.
He spent his early career toggling between concept art gigs and internal QA roles. That gave him two things:
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An eye for design that serves gameplay -
A deep respect for how games actually get built.
“There’s a difference between just an artist and a game developer… this pixel doesn’t have to be the most beautiful thing ever, but it has to work for what the game’s design is.”
Today, Minoh leads with that same mindset. To him, great art direction starts with strong fundamentals, and a willingness to collaborate across disciplines.
Artem Volchik: Self-Taught, Mod-Driven, Player-First.
Artem didn’t follow a traditional path. He didn’t go to art school. He learned by doing. Through modding, passion projects, and working with small teams.
What moved his career forward wasn’t a degree. It was the experience he built over time. That eventually led him to roles at Riot, Bungie, and now his own studio, Raid Base Inc.
One thing he cares about deeply is helping artists spend more time on meaningful creative work and less on repetitive tasks.
“We should really make artists’ lives better. Less repetitive work, more focus on the stuff that moves the needle.”
He brings a systems-thinking approach to art direction, especially when it comes to pipelines, tools, and tech that supports creative freedom.
Billy Ahlswede: From Fantasy Sketches to Stylized Worlds.
Billy’s path mixed a love for fantasy with being in the right place at the right time.
He joined Riot early on during League of Legends, then moved to work on Legends of Runeterra. After several years there, he took a new step and joined Elodie Games as Art Lead.
Why the change?
“You have to realize the game you’re working on might not be the game you love. I wanted to work on something that felt more like me.”
Billy’s approach to art direction blends playful stylization with technical rigor. He’s known for building scalable pipelines that still feel expressive, like using grayscale base tones for coloring, or stylized proxies to speed up iteration.
What Can We Learn?
No two journeys look alike, but here’s what kept coming up:
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You don’t need a fancy degree if you’ve got real experience -
Great art direction means thinking about the whole system, not just the visuals
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Making games is a team effort, and your art has to help the player
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Sometimes the biggest growth comes from taking a risk or trying something new
Listening to them reminded us there’s no one right way to build a career in games. You just have to keep learning, stay curious, and find what works for you.
