Louise Smith
Head of Art at Formosa Interactive- Claim this Profile
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Afrikaans -
Topline Score
Bio
Dan Gilmore
I had the pleasure of working with Louise providing creative support for her project. As a client, Louise was very easy to work with; communication and feedback was clear and precise whilst still encouraging creative freedom. I have every confidence in recommending Louise and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Claire Hummel
It's not a stretch to say that Louise was the best manager I had had while working at Microsoft. I was young, I was new to the industry, and before working with Louise I was also pretty comfortable with a stream of managers whose worth I judged against how easily I could goof off with them during our 1:1's. Louise was a breath of fresh air, both as an art director and as a manager—she was the first person at Microsoft who not only saw my potential as an artist and person, but was willing to push me to make sure I could reach that potential. Now that I've been in the position of art director and manager, I've come to realize how much of the job is enabling your artists to do their best work. Louise was amazing at that, at getting far better work out of me than I ever would have been able to achieve on my own. I was young and stubborn, but Louise always stayed the course and inevitably won me over. I can't even count the number of times I had specific artistic breakthroughs working under her guidance, solely because she was willing to guide and push me to a solution that I wasn't able to see. I think Louise Smith would be an absolute asset to any studio that would hire her, and it would be an absolute pleasure to be able to work with her in the future should our paths cross. She's whip smart with amazing instincts, and always had the big picture in mind as both a manager and a creative lead. I'm lucky to have counted her as a mentor and a friend, and I can only wish there were more folks like her in the industry.
Dan Gilmore
I had the pleasure of working with Louise providing creative support for her project. As a client, Louise was very easy to work with; communication and feedback was clear and precise whilst still encouraging creative freedom. I have every confidence in recommending Louise and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Claire Hummel
It's not a stretch to say that Louise was the best manager I had had while working at Microsoft. I was young, I was new to the industry, and before working with Louise I was also pretty comfortable with a stream of managers whose worth I judged against how easily I could goof off with them during our 1:1's. Louise was a breath of fresh air, both as an art director and as a manager—she was the first person at Microsoft who not only saw my potential as an artist and person, but was willing to push me to make sure I could reach that potential. Now that I've been in the position of art director and manager, I've come to realize how much of the job is enabling your artists to do their best work. Louise was amazing at that, at getting far better work out of me than I ever would have been able to achieve on my own. I was young and stubborn, but Louise always stayed the course and inevitably won me over. I can't even count the number of times I had specific artistic breakthroughs working under her guidance, solely because she was willing to guide and push me to a solution that I wasn't able to see. I think Louise Smith would be an absolute asset to any studio that would hire her, and it would be an absolute pleasure to be able to work with her in the future should our paths cross. She's whip smart with amazing instincts, and always had the big picture in mind as both a manager and a creative lead. I'm lucky to have counted her as a mentor and a friend, and I can only wish there were more folks like her in the industry.
Dan Gilmore
I had the pleasure of working with Louise providing creative support for her project. As a client, Louise was very easy to work with; communication and feedback was clear and precise whilst still encouraging creative freedom. I have every confidence in recommending Louise and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Claire Hummel
It's not a stretch to say that Louise was the best manager I had had while working at Microsoft. I was young, I was new to the industry, and before working with Louise I was also pretty comfortable with a stream of managers whose worth I judged against how easily I could goof off with them during our 1:1's. Louise was a breath of fresh air, both as an art director and as a manager—she was the first person at Microsoft who not only saw my potential as an artist and person, but was willing to push me to make sure I could reach that potential. Now that I've been in the position of art director and manager, I've come to realize how much of the job is enabling your artists to do their best work. Louise was amazing at that, at getting far better work out of me than I ever would have been able to achieve on my own. I was young and stubborn, but Louise always stayed the course and inevitably won me over. I can't even count the number of times I had specific artistic breakthroughs working under her guidance, solely because she was willing to guide and push me to a solution that I wasn't able to see. I think Louise Smith would be an absolute asset to any studio that would hire her, and it would be an absolute pleasure to be able to work with her in the future should our paths cross. She's whip smart with amazing instincts, and always had the big picture in mind as both a manager and a creative lead. I'm lucky to have counted her as a mentor and a friend, and I can only wish there were more folks like her in the industry.
Dan Gilmore
I had the pleasure of working with Louise providing creative support for her project. As a client, Louise was very easy to work with; communication and feedback was clear and precise whilst still encouraging creative freedom. I have every confidence in recommending Louise and look forward to working with her again in the future.
Claire Hummel
It's not a stretch to say that Louise was the best manager I had had while working at Microsoft. I was young, I was new to the industry, and before working with Louise I was also pretty comfortable with a stream of managers whose worth I judged against how easily I could goof off with them during our 1:1's. Louise was a breath of fresh air, both as an art director and as a manager—she was the first person at Microsoft who not only saw my potential as an artist and person, but was willing to push me to make sure I could reach that potential. Now that I've been in the position of art director and manager, I've come to realize how much of the job is enabling your artists to do their best work. Louise was amazing at that, at getting far better work out of me than I ever would have been able to achieve on my own. I was young and stubborn, but Louise always stayed the course and inevitably won me over. I can't even count the number of times I had specific artistic breakthroughs working under her guidance, solely because she was willing to guide and push me to a solution that I wasn't able to see. I think Louise Smith would be an absolute asset to any studio that would hire her, and it would be an absolute pleasure to be able to work with her in the future should our paths cross. She's whip smart with amazing instincts, and always had the big picture in mind as both a manager and a creative lead. I'm lucky to have counted her as a mentor and a friend, and I can only wish there were more folks like her in the industry.
Experience
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Formosa Interactive
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United States
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Media Production
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1 - 100 Employee
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Head of Art
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Sep 2020 - Present
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Leaftail Labs
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United States
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Consulting Art Director
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Feb 2019 - Aug 2019
Consulting for Leaftail Labs on their sweet mobile AR game Nibility! Consulting for Leaftail Labs on their sweet mobile AR game Nibility!
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Amazon Games
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United States
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Entertainment Providers
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700 & Above Employee
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Studio Art & Animation Director
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Nov 2014 - Mar 2018
Responsible for building, maintaining and art directing a AAA signature vision for Crucible. Responsible for growing and managing the Crucible art team from 5 mobile game artists to 25+ multi discipline artists, tech artists and outsourcers. Provide visual direction for all marketing materials. Member of the studio leadership team. Responsible for building, maintaining and art directing a AAA signature vision for Crucible. Responsible for growing and managing the Crucible art team from 5 mobile game artists to 25+ multi discipline artists, tech artists and outsourcers. Provide visual direction for all marketing materials. Member of the studio leadership team.
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Microsoft
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United States
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Software Development
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700 & Above Employee
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Senior Art Director
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Jul 2012 - Oct 2014
Responsible for creating world-class visuals on the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC and Mobile platforms for Microsoft Studio's First Party portfolio of games. Managed art directors.
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Art Director
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Apr 2010 - Jul 2012
Responsible for creating world-class visuals on the Xbox 360, PC and Mobile platforms for Microsoft Studio's First Party portfolio of games. Managed several key discipline junior and senior artists.
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Leviathan Games
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United States
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Studio Art Director
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Nov 1998 - Mar 2010
Provide artistic direction, from concept to creation, for all studio games built for key industry companies such as EA, Konami, Disney and Nickelodeon. Provide client liaison so that their aesthetic requirements are in balance with the constraints of development. R&D new art tools, methods and pipelines whilst implementing and maintaining current art and asset pipelines. Overseeing and contribute to content creation. Management of projects with regard to the following: Allocating and determining art resources; scheduling; developing and managing project budgets; Identify outsourcing where necessary and subsequent management of outsourcing; train artists in technical art concepts and methods; provide mentorship and coaching of all production facets for all artists on the team. Show less
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CoFounder/VP
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Nov 1998 - Mar 2010
Co-owner of Leviathan Games, a small game development studio. Previously provided significant input in the financial and business operations, particularly with regard to cash flow planning and legal aspects of the company.
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Surreal Software
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United States
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Lead Artist
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Feb 1999 - Aug 1999
Worked closely with the Designer and Art Director on Art bible creation for Drakan: The Ancient's Gate.Oversight of preproduction and early phase development.
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Senior Artist/Animator
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Feb 1998 - Feb 1999
Responsible for 3D character model creation and rigging, in particular the main character Rynn in Drakan: The Order of the Flame. Responsible for UI creation and special effects.
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Zombie Studios
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Art Director
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Nov 1996 - Dec 1998
Provided artistic direction for all Studio projects from concept to creation. R&D new art tools, methods and pipelines. Implementing and maintaining art and asset pipelines. Overseeing and contributing to content creation. Determining art resources ,scheduling and budgeting.
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Senior Artist
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Nov 1995 - Dec 1996
Responsible for animating all characters and working very closely with Aidan Hughes integrating his unique art into the Marathon game engine for ZPC.
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
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United States
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Entertainment Providers
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700 & Above Employee
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Senior 3D Artist
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Oct 1994 - Nov 1995
Responsible for 3D model creation and texture mapping for WipeOut, including design and integration of GUI and final animation sequences. Contributed to the R&D for several game concepts. Responsible for training junior artists in Softimage and Deluxe Paint. Contributed to project scheduling. Responsible for 3D model creation and texture mapping for WipeOut, including design and integration of GUI and final animation sequences. Contributed to the R&D for several game concepts. Responsible for training junior artists in Softimage and Deluxe Paint. Contributed to project scheduling.
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Psygnosis
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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3D Artist
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Jan 1993 - Oct 1994
Responsible for 3D modeling, texture and lighting creating still rendered backgrounds for Sega Mega CD titles. Responsible for several in-game and rendered animation sequences. Responsible for 3D modeling, texture and lighting creating still rendered backgrounds for Sega Mega CD titles. Responsible for several in-game and rendered animation sequences.
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Education
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1988 - 1991
University of the Witwatersrand
BAFA, Fine Art, Graphics -
1982 - 1987
Convent of St Agnes
High School
Community
