Oliver Cook
Senior 3D Artist at Virtual Method- Claim this Profile
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Topline Score
Bio
Luc Cote
Ask anyone who worked on LA Noire, it was a MASSIVE undertaking. Especially so in the Character Team. When I showed up fresh off the plane to Sydney, I felt like I was drowning in pipeline material, and wondered if I would ever surface. Eventually I was able to master and navigate that insane complex system, and I owe it in no small part to Oliver Cook. Ollie waded with me through the intensity and showed me how the character pipeline flowed, as tedious and over-complex as it was, and over the years there, we shaped it into something that worked amazingly, and tailored it to our bidding. I was lucky to have such a great team member. And that doesn't even begin to describe his incredible talent for character art. Aside from his masterful talent at character modelling and sculpting, Ollie taught me uncountable tricks for rigging, skinning, and set driven keys as well. Ollie was always on top of the subtle shader complexities, weight painting tricks, and always happy to show anyone how everything worked. Ollie was a great guy to work with, always professional, full of knowledge, and an amazing artist. I sat next to him through LA Noire, Happy Feet 2, and our incredible project at KMMIE. Any studio he works for would be lucky to have him, and he has my highest recommendation. Luc Cote' Character Artist
Dean Finnigan
Ollie was part of the small team creating the full range of characters for LA Noire which ranged from secondary NPCs to the main cast and actors. The task in hand was technically challenging while maintaining the visual qualities of a next gen AAA title. Ollie hit the ground running and brought with him a lot of experience from his film and TV background. He was able to adapt quickly and not only maintain tight deadlines, he was able to output a very high standard while maintaining all the technical difficulties and constraints. Not only is Ollie both technically and creatively able to produce work to a high standard he is also a pleasure to work with. Under quite stressful situations, he always stayed focussed not only on the small details but within the bigger picture, and at the same time always maintained his sense of humour. He is extremely reliable and a major part of the team. Nothing was too much effort and he always went above and beyond what was necessary to get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Ollie for any 3d artist/creative positions whether it be character or creature based work, and would look forward to any opportunity of working with him again in the future.
Luc Cote
Ask anyone who worked on LA Noire, it was a MASSIVE undertaking. Especially so in the Character Team. When I showed up fresh off the plane to Sydney, I felt like I was drowning in pipeline material, and wondered if I would ever surface. Eventually I was able to master and navigate that insane complex system, and I owe it in no small part to Oliver Cook. Ollie waded with me through the intensity and showed me how the character pipeline flowed, as tedious and over-complex as it was, and over the years there, we shaped it into something that worked amazingly, and tailored it to our bidding. I was lucky to have such a great team member. And that doesn't even begin to describe his incredible talent for character art. Aside from his masterful talent at character modelling and sculpting, Ollie taught me uncountable tricks for rigging, skinning, and set driven keys as well. Ollie was always on top of the subtle shader complexities, weight painting tricks, and always happy to show anyone how everything worked. Ollie was a great guy to work with, always professional, full of knowledge, and an amazing artist. I sat next to him through LA Noire, Happy Feet 2, and our incredible project at KMMIE. Any studio he works for would be lucky to have him, and he has my highest recommendation. Luc Cote' Character Artist
Dean Finnigan
Ollie was part of the small team creating the full range of characters for LA Noire which ranged from secondary NPCs to the main cast and actors. The task in hand was technically challenging while maintaining the visual qualities of a next gen AAA title. Ollie hit the ground running and brought with him a lot of experience from his film and TV background. He was able to adapt quickly and not only maintain tight deadlines, he was able to output a very high standard while maintaining all the technical difficulties and constraints. Not only is Ollie both technically and creatively able to produce work to a high standard he is also a pleasure to work with. Under quite stressful situations, he always stayed focussed not only on the small details but within the bigger picture, and at the same time always maintained his sense of humour. He is extremely reliable and a major part of the team. Nothing was too much effort and he always went above and beyond what was necessary to get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Ollie for any 3d artist/creative positions whether it be character or creature based work, and would look forward to any opportunity of working with him again in the future.
Luc Cote
Ask anyone who worked on LA Noire, it was a MASSIVE undertaking. Especially so in the Character Team. When I showed up fresh off the plane to Sydney, I felt like I was drowning in pipeline material, and wondered if I would ever surface. Eventually I was able to master and navigate that insane complex system, and I owe it in no small part to Oliver Cook. Ollie waded with me through the intensity and showed me how the character pipeline flowed, as tedious and over-complex as it was, and over the years there, we shaped it into something that worked amazingly, and tailored it to our bidding. I was lucky to have such a great team member. And that doesn't even begin to describe his incredible talent for character art. Aside from his masterful talent at character modelling and sculpting, Ollie taught me uncountable tricks for rigging, skinning, and set driven keys as well. Ollie was always on top of the subtle shader complexities, weight painting tricks, and always happy to show anyone how everything worked. Ollie was a great guy to work with, always professional, full of knowledge, and an amazing artist. I sat next to him through LA Noire, Happy Feet 2, and our incredible project at KMMIE. Any studio he works for would be lucky to have him, and he has my highest recommendation. Luc Cote' Character Artist
Dean Finnigan
Ollie was part of the small team creating the full range of characters for LA Noire which ranged from secondary NPCs to the main cast and actors. The task in hand was technically challenging while maintaining the visual qualities of a next gen AAA title. Ollie hit the ground running and brought with him a lot of experience from his film and TV background. He was able to adapt quickly and not only maintain tight deadlines, he was able to output a very high standard while maintaining all the technical difficulties and constraints. Not only is Ollie both technically and creatively able to produce work to a high standard he is also a pleasure to work with. Under quite stressful situations, he always stayed focussed not only on the small details but within the bigger picture, and at the same time always maintained his sense of humour. He is extremely reliable and a major part of the team. Nothing was too much effort and he always went above and beyond what was necessary to get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Ollie for any 3d artist/creative positions whether it be character or creature based work, and would look forward to any opportunity of working with him again in the future.
Luc Cote
Ask anyone who worked on LA Noire, it was a MASSIVE undertaking. Especially so in the Character Team. When I showed up fresh off the plane to Sydney, I felt like I was drowning in pipeline material, and wondered if I would ever surface. Eventually I was able to master and navigate that insane complex system, and I owe it in no small part to Oliver Cook. Ollie waded with me through the intensity and showed me how the character pipeline flowed, as tedious and over-complex as it was, and over the years there, we shaped it into something that worked amazingly, and tailored it to our bidding. I was lucky to have such a great team member. And that doesn't even begin to describe his incredible talent for character art. Aside from his masterful talent at character modelling and sculpting, Ollie taught me uncountable tricks for rigging, skinning, and set driven keys as well. Ollie was always on top of the subtle shader complexities, weight painting tricks, and always happy to show anyone how everything worked. Ollie was a great guy to work with, always professional, full of knowledge, and an amazing artist. I sat next to him through LA Noire, Happy Feet 2, and our incredible project at KMMIE. Any studio he works for would be lucky to have him, and he has my highest recommendation. Luc Cote' Character Artist
Dean Finnigan
Ollie was part of the small team creating the full range of characters for LA Noire which ranged from secondary NPCs to the main cast and actors. The task in hand was technically challenging while maintaining the visual qualities of a next gen AAA title. Ollie hit the ground running and brought with him a lot of experience from his film and TV background. He was able to adapt quickly and not only maintain tight deadlines, he was able to output a very high standard while maintaining all the technical difficulties and constraints. Not only is Ollie both technically and creatively able to produce work to a high standard he is also a pleasure to work with. Under quite stressful situations, he always stayed focussed not only on the small details but within the bigger picture, and at the same time always maintained his sense of humour. He is extremely reliable and a major part of the team. Nothing was too much effort and he always went above and beyond what was necessary to get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Ollie for any 3d artist/creative positions whether it be character or creature based work, and would look forward to any opportunity of working with him again in the future.
Experience
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Virtual Method
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United States
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Outsourcing and Offshoring Consulting
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1 - 100 Employee
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Senior 3D Artist
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Jan 2023 - Present
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Two Bulls
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Australia
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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3D Artist
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Jul 2022 - Feb 2023
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3D Generalist
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Mar 2022 - Jul 2022
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Fin Design + Effects
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Australia
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Media Production
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100 - 200 Employee
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3D Generalist
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Sep 2021 - Mar 2022
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Animal Logic
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Australia
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Animation and Post-production
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500 - 600 Employee
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Character and Environment Modeler
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Jul 2020 - Sep 2021
Created base topology of main characters and template topology which was used for all subsequent characters. Ensured topology met requirements of rigging for good deformation and surfacing needs. Ensured characters adhered to clients design/art model. Creation of clothing and cloth simulation using Marvelous Designer as Environment/Prop modeler created large set pieces , hero props with good topology and production ready UV's Created base topology of main characters and template topology which was used for all subsequent characters. Ensured topology met requirements of rigging for good deformation and surfacing needs. Ensured characters adhered to clients design/art model. Creation of clothing and cloth simulation using Marvelous Designer as Environment/Prop modeler created large set pieces , hero props with good topology and production ready UV's
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Academy of Interactive Entertainment
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United States
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3D Art Teacher
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Apr 2013 - Aug 2019
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Alt.vfx
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Australia
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Media Production
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1 - 100 Employee
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Creature Modeler
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Jan 2013 - Feb 2013
Hi Res dinosaur modeling for Pepsi commercial Hi Res dinosaur modeling for Pepsi commercial
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Flying Bark Productions
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Australia
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Animation and Post-production
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200 - 300 Employee
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3D Generalist
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Dec 2012 - Jan 2013
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KMMIE
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United States
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Civic and Social Organizations
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Character Artist
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Dec 2011 - Mar 2012
Built characters and props. Built characters and props.
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Dr. D Studios
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Australia
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Movies, Videos, and Sound
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1 - 100 Employee
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Character Finaller
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Aug 2011 - Nov 2011
Animation fixing and character deformation changes. Animation fixing and character deformation changes.
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Team Bondi
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Australia
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Computer Games
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1 - 100 Employee
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Character Artist
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Nov 2005 - Aug 2011
Character Artist at Team Bondi for the well received and critically acclaimed LA Noire (Published by Rockstar games in May 2011) Experience included: creation of base models from scratch. generation of normal maps from both scan data and Z-brush -texture creation and shader set-up -setting up of meshes for deformation and implementation of driven bones by Set Driven Keys (SDKS) Assisting in getting new artists up to speed with process and familiarisation of the character pipeline. setting up of cloth simulation (in house tools) -creation of characters for in game cut scenes (military flashbacks) -Setting up of Depth Analysis (DA) head animations.
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Creature Modeler
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Mar 2001 - Oct 2004
Experience as a Modeler on various BBC " Walking with Productions" “ Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets ” (BBC) Designed and modelled sections of a large spacecraft for the above TV series. Designed and modelled landing craft. Lit and rendered over 30 shots using mental ray in maya, using HDR renderer and Final Gather. “Walking with Beasts/The Lost World/Giant Claw/Land of Giant Dinosaurs/Swimming with Sea monsters “ ( BBC) Creation of film quality computer generated creatures using Nurbs, BSpline patches, Polygonal meshes, with efficient topology for rendering and enveloping. Software: Softimage 3D, Maya, Photoshop Compositing of texture maps and creation of displacement maps using scan data.Worked closely with Texture Painting Department to create final look of the Creatures. Assisted with lighting and rendering of shots, throughout the various Walking With...” productions.
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Hibbert Ralph Animation
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United Kingdom
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Animation
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Artist/Animator
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1993 - 1997
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Cambridge Animation Systems
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Artists and Writers
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general intern
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1992 - 1993
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Education
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1998 - 1999
Bournemouth University
Masters, 3D Animation -
1989 - 1991
Harrogate College of Art and Design
HND in Art and Design, Design and Applied Arts
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