Social media showcasing work in progress reels and methodology
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30 + AAA game releases / developments completed over my 30 years of industry experience,
About thepixelyard …Industry background & previous experience.
Sept 1993 - April 1997Arc Developments
Senior Concept artist,
Walsall , UK___________________________________
June 1997 - July 2022Electronic Arts/Codemasters/Activision Blizzard/Vivendi Universal
/Swordfish Studios/Rage Software(Office team bought by multiple companies over the years)Senior 3d graphic artist, Birmingham , UK
•Attained a prestigious career goal,being part of the team that won a Bafta award for the Formula 1 video game franchise.• Facilitated client meetings, ensuring clear communication of design concepts.•Streamlined graphic production process, improving efficiency and output quality through
collaboration with Graphics,Design and technical teams•Provided constructive feedback on colleagues' work,Mentored Junior colleagues and liased with outsource companies fostering continuous fruitful relationships nurturing them to attain the required high standards.• Met client deadlines through excellent workload planning and prioritisation.•Utilised advanced digital tools to create captivating extremely high standard 2D & 3D graphics for
video game development
Awards:BAFTA Best sports game winner for F1 2010BAFTA Best sports game nominations for F1 2011,F1 2012 and F1 2013TIGA Best racing game for F1 2017,F1 2018 & F1 2019Skillset:Proficient in3DS MAX
Photoshop
Premiere
Procreate
After effects
Blender
Nomad sculpt
Substance Painter
Substance DesignerHave utilised Middleware such as:Unreal Engine
UnityCurrently improving my skills in:Different AI models
Houdini
Zbrush
procedural generation tools
Hi I'm Dan Cook...Specialising in Graphic design, Concept Illustration & 3d Graphics….Always looking for exciting new opportunities with 30 years of experience of being involved within the Art & Video Game industry has thankfully gained me the knowledge,Knowhow and analytical mindset to be able to explore every possible avenue within a design brief,create style guides and step by step help you assess and make the right decisions to assure you gain the best visual results you require…it can be taking existing ideas or creating new ones for you,embellishing on the initial visions to create quirky bespoke unique Artwork that’s fit for you.
I'm a Multi-Disciplined Digital Modeler & scribbler ,you could say that’s eager to learn new skills and not being content with sitting still, always looking to capitalise on lucrative New challenges and find New skill paths to tread……I'm proficient in Concept Art,Game mechanics Design,Traditional sculpting,modelling armatures,illustration, 2d pixel art,logos,video,film editing,3d graphics,level design ,UI design and multiple other media and discipline's I've been involved in all aspects of these over my 30 year career within the games industry starting in the Early days of the games industry in 1993.....working for companies such as Rage software,Activision,Blizzard,Codemasters, and Electronic Arts to name a few creating content for Triple A video games such as the BAFTA award winning F1 games (Yes we won a BAFTA!!) ,DIRT rally franchise,MICRO MACHINES franchise to name a few.I have lead the way within my corporate role producing Benchmark visuals,Mentoring my team of Colleagues to pull everyone together in the same coherent Art Direction to Achieve the High quality Visuals the projects need….Researching and creating new efficient Production methods and tools, to get the best out of people …….Sooooo why the change?Change always brings about New fresh challenges and opportunities and with my vast experience and accumulated wealth of knowledge I can utilise this to my advantage while traversing these new pathways…… But more importantly I'm happier and if your not happy with what your doing you need to change things, loving what you do is the most important part of it ….If you like my way of thinking and my work and think I can help… I would love to collaborate and take your ideas to the next level of Visual quirky greatness that your product truly deserves….. Simply Drop me a message below ,I’d love to chat…Be inspired!.....Enjoy what you do and keep up the good work and never stop learning....have fun folks....❤️Much Love ❤️
Dan (thepixelyard)
References:
[email protected]
Group Lead 3D graphic artist @ Electronic Arts
[email protected]
Vice President F1 Franchise @ Electronic Arts
Testimonials:
“It was a pleasure working with Dan. I very rarely encounter Artists with such an eye for detail, and Dan is one of these people. A very accomplished artist whose Artwork,Design prowess, modelling and texture work is consistently flawless.”Christian Russell
Senior Concept Artist, 2D, UI, etc @ Lockwood Publishing Ltd • Pumpkin Carver extraordinaire🎃
“Dan is an exceptional artist with a talent for understanding gameplay spaces which makes him a great collaborator with designers. As an artist he has a strong feel of the nature of materials which always gives his work character and balance. Added to which he's also an easy going approachable team player who's not afraid of getting stuck in.”Michel Bowes
Consultant Art Director
“Dan is an incredibly skilled and motivated artist with a huge passion for making great artwork. He lives and breathes every aspect of the art & video games industry, keeping up to date with every new technique and idea and would be a huge asset to any studio.”Fergus Duggan
Co-Founder and Art Director at Digit Game Studios