I set out to elevate the launch key art, produced by an outside agency, and bring it back in-house. Inspired by the hours of work that had already been invested by my colleagues, I hit the ground running with a specific destination in mind: Expansion.

The goal of this project was to devise a visual language that was consistent and recognizable, and that would also evolve with every season. We needed to showcase each operator and give every season a unique feel and color palette based on the hero or anti-hero’s backstory.

Historically, the challenge has always been that all main assets are developed by an outside agency so we had to forge trust between my team and the stakeholders. This was a tall order since Call of Duty is Activision’s largest, and most lucrative franchise.

• Prove that an in-house team can produce high-quality primary key art.
• Maintain that quality and speed throughout the lifecycle of the game.
• Navigate and identify learning opportunities to improve the art development workflow.
• Construct a design system and key art requirements for in-house, as well as outside agencies.

We approached the challenge by dissecting the work our agency created, and determined that there were three distinct graphical elements that made the key art what it is.

• A background that sets up the tone.
• The Operator (hero) that will be featured.
• Effects that convey action and dynamism.

From there, we were able to take these elements and fine tune them to build something more sustainable.

We decided that our background had to not only set the tone, but should be used as a device to tease the Operator and the main storyline for that particular season. We also wanted our operators to have a more dynamic stance for a more visceral reaction.

Team: Oscar de Leon-Sulecio, Marketing Art Director/Creative Lead, Design | Graydon Driver, Marketing Senior Designer | Jared Castle, Marketing Manager | Edgar Gamez, Marketing Manager | Joel Emslie, Studio Art Director | Ivan Gamez, Producer | Quinn Peddelton, Account Coordinator | Mike Martinez, Account Coordinator.

In Season Six, we introduced “Fast Travel” to Modern Warfare. It brilliantly uses the subway system as the mechanic vehicle. When the idea was introduced and we were asked to actualize the key art, the mechanic was still in development and wasn’t all the way fleshed out. We requested shots from our Capture department of the current train stations that were available to them in the current game build. We also asked our photography agency to provide images of our new operator, "Farah”. My team and I used the body of Farah’s double, in addition to a pre-game launch face image of Claudia Doumit (who plays Farah), to achieve the right look. We also requested the in-game train 3D model to texture and render.

Team: Oscar de Leon-Sulecio, Marketing Art Director/Creative Lead, Design | Graydon Driver, Marketing Senior Designer | Jared Castle, Marketing Manager | Edgar Gamez, Marketing Manager | Joel Emslie, Studio Art Director | Ivan Gamez, Producer | Quinn Peddelton, Account Coordinator | Mike Martinez, Account Coordinator.

Below is the evolution of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Season Six key art, from the initial background image to the finished product.

I mentored an Associate designer through brainstorming, research, and concept to achieve one of the best Battle Pass key art for MW 2019. We used a different angle from the seasonal key art and created a look based on the operator's backstory.

Team: Oscar de Leon-Sulecio, Marketing Art Director/Creative Lead, Design | Graydon Driver, Marketing Senior Designer | Anne Yost, Marketing Associate Designer.

In Call of Duty titles, Call of Duty Points (CP) function as the virtual currency. Players can utilize CP to acquire various cosmetic and functional in-game content, including Battle Passes for tiered rewards, unique weapon blueprints, personalized operator skins, and distinctive calling cards and emblems.

I designed the look and feel of the physical and digital Call of Duty Points cards, and my team created and produced the print-ready versions for our vendors and partners.

Team: Oscar de Leon-Sulecio, Creative Lead, Design | In-House Design Team.

My team designed and produced the game box, disc, and insert, including all of the artwork and print-ready files. We worked closely with our print vendors to ensure that the final products met our high standards for quality and accuracy.

Team: Oscar de Leon-Sulecio, Creative Lead, Design | In-House Design Team.