Cleveland Institute of Art hosts Epic Games senior art director and 2004 CIA alum Tim Elek

Image: CIA alum Tim Elek led the artistic execution of Travis Scott's "Astronomical," an iconic "Fortnite" in-game event.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2025

CLEVELAND—Cleveland Institute of Art alum Tim Elek, who as senior art director at Epic Games has worked on highly acclaimed video games such as Fortnite Save the World and Fortnite Battle Royale, will return to his alma mater to discuss his creative work, career trajectory and experiences in the game industry.

Elek has been a key contributor at Epic Games for the past 15 years, working on high-profile titles such as Gears of War 3, Gears of War Judgment, Infinity Blade III and Paragon in addition to the Fortnite games. He started at Epic Games as a visual effects artist before eventually being named senior director of art.

"I'm interested in connecting with students and faculty, seeing my old stomping grounds, and helping CIA foster students' growth to be seen as a source of talent for games and real-time media," Elek says.

Elek's CIA artist talk will take place from 12:15 to 1:30pm Friday, January 16 in the Peter B. Lewis Theater as part of Reinberger Gallery's Lunch on Fridays series. The talk is free and open to the public, and free parking is available on CIA's campus during the event.

Elek, who grew up in Northeast Ohio, graduated from CIA in 2004 with a BFA in Technology + Integrated Media Environment—Digital Arts.

"I was given my first big break in the field of computer graphics by fellow CIA alum Steve Cencula, now co-owner of FORM, at his first company Kaleidoscope in Cleveland," Elek says. "Following my time at Kaleidoscope, I worked on Def Jam ICON at EA Chicago, then moved to Raven Software, where I worked on Wolfenstein and Singularity before moving to Epic Games."

At Epic Games, Elek has led the artistic execution of iconic in-game events such as The Rocket Launch, Travis Scott’s Astronomical and The Black Hole. He also contributed to a virtual reality (VR) collaboration between Epic and Weta Digital titled Thief in the Shadows, which was nominated for a Visual Effects Society (VES) award. In his current role, Elek is responsible for high-level strategic Art Direction across all Fortnite Shooter Modes at Epic Games.

Contact

Cleveland Institute of Art
Michael C. Butz, Director of College Communications + External Relations
mcbutz@cia.edu / 216.421.7404

Cleveland Institute of Art

The Cleveland Institute of Art is a private, nonprofit college of art and design that has been the training ground for countless students who have gone on to make important contributions to the fields of creativity and innovation since it opened in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. Its students have designed internationally recognized products, their artwork has been exhibited in major museums and private collections around the world, and their entertainment media has been enjoyed by audiences and game players for generations. It enrolls about 550 students nationally and internationally and has a faculty of about 100 full-time and adjunct members, all of whom are practicing artists, designers and scholars.