Don Pan

www.linkedin.com/in/donpan

Experienced 3D artist with expertise in film quality, high poly modeling and creating rich environments in video games.

Strong all-round 3D abilities, enthusiastic, and dedicated. I focus on high quality work with great attention to detail. Able to plan, co-ordinate and communicate effectively in teams and mentor. Key member of teams winning prestigious awards for work on Walking with Monsters and The Golden Compass. Also, a background in product design and UI design background.

Experience

People Can Fly Studios

New York City, NY (2019 to Present)

Principal Environment Artist (2021 - Present) / Senior Environment Artist (2019 to 2021)

Currently working on a new unannounced AAA game as Principal Environment Artist, developing the look and feel of diverse environments, and how we should build them. Environment set ‘meshing’ on several Challenge Maps for Outriders post game content. Contributed to props, environmental assets and designing Banner Sigils.

Defiant Studios

New York City, NY (2018 to 2019)

Senior Environment Artist

Created fantasy style environments for the 'souls-style' sequel, Lords of the Fallen 2 within the Unreal Engine. Designed and created concept art for a variety of props for use in-house and outsourcing.

Avalanche Studios

New York City, NY (2014 to 2018)

Procedural Environment Artist / Environment Artist
Created 3D assets and coordinated environments for the open world action game, Just Cause 3. Used a physically based render engine. Collaborated closely with the art director, concept artists, world builders , designers and graphics coders. Worked in small teams with large responsibilities. Just Cause 4 had me solely as a procedural environment artist, making textures and terrain materials for the entire JC4 world.

Created terrain materials for the JC4 world. Materials not only had to follow design constraints physics and graphics limitations and be performant at ground level, but transition smoothly to great looking landscapes 1000's of meters away, using only 32 small scale, and 16 large scale textures for the entire game.
Contributed in using and developing voxel-based world terrain sculpting software developed in-house.
Oversaw the finalizing and development of all military bases, harbors, pit mine and police station locations within the world. Creating large clear reads when far, but sufficiently detailed when near was important here.

Harmonix Music Systems Inc.

Cambridge, MA (2008 to 2014)

Senior Artist
Created and coordinated 3D environments in AAA games. Maintained composition and interactivity of scenes and levels, closely liaising with asset, animation, audio, code, engine, FX, and production leads. Developed storyboards, layout, lighting FX, environment animation, optimization.

Developed and improved environment art pipelines to make environment modeling more time effective and more optimized. Also Identified problem areas and took action to fix them.
Standardized working practices and techniques for creation of rock models in ‘unannounced projects’, whilst developing aesthetic appearance for the environment.
Coordinated and maintained scenes in Fantasia: Music evolved. Successfully tied together animation, FX, asset, and audio departments and collaborated with design and code to create highly integrated scenes, particularly using a motion control interface.
Trained interns and mentored other artists in the tools and techniques involved in creating environment art.
Worked on in-house demos in small teams which led to successfully green-lighted projects.
Collaborated with outsourced concept artists whilst giving them direction and feedback.

Framestore

London, UK (2004 to 2008)

Modeler
Created 3d models of prehistoric creatures for TV, modeled environment and props for feature film and feature animation. Also spent time working as a creature and Finalling TD on cloth, hair muscles and skin.

Contributed to research and development, and modeling environments on the film ‘The Golden Compass’ which successfully won ‘Academy Award for Best Visual Effects’ (2007).
Contributed to additional work as a Creature TD on The Golden Compass and Finaling TD work on The Tale of Desperaux.
Improved the believability of a shots and creatures by creating blendshapes for facial expressions and environment deformation, sometimes animating them myself.
Mentored interns and junior artists on the creature modeling pipeline.

Futurate

Sheffield, UK (2000 to 2003)

Web/Graphic Designer
Managed the art function for this small start-up web design house.

Designed corporate homepage, commercial web-sites, internet-based learning graphics and promotional print materials, concentrating on best web practices of the time..
Learned clients’ needs and wants for their web presence and produced websites that communicated clients’ desired outcomes.

Candlelight Productions Ltd.

Products Ltd. Sheffield, UK (2000 to 2000)

Product Designer
Designed housewares, giftwares, lighting and packaging for many of the blue-chip, high-street chain stores.

Designed shapes using 2D and 3D CAD, hand-painted surface patterns and transfers, designed graphic packaging and promotional design for print, prototyped lighting ideas, and 3D visualisation of products on the computer.
Met very tight deadlines and used a great attention to detail and color as a key member of a team of designers with different skills and media.
Collaborated across departments to deliver top notch presentations to clients and directors

Education

MA (distinction) in 3D Computer Animation, Bournemouth University (National Centre Computer Animation), Bournemouth, UK
BA (Hons) Industrial Design (Product), Sheffield Hallam University, UK

Skills Set

2D: Photoshop, Illustrator, Substance Designer, Substance Painter.
3D: 3DS MAX, Maya, Z-brush, Agisoft Photoscan, World Machine, Apex Engine, Unreal Engine 4,
Quixel Mixer.
Post Production: Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Shake.
Web: HTML 4.0, CSS, XHTML, Javascript, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash.
Game: Perforce, Node-based shader networks, Substance Designer, Agisoft Photoscan, PBR Pipelines, Current and Next Gen Console development.

Addendum of Credits

People Can Fly NYC (Video Games)

Outriders (2021)

Avalanche Studios (Video Games)

Just Cause 4 (2018)

Just Cause 3 (2015)

Just Cause 3: Mech Land Assault (2016)

Harmonix Music Systems (Video Games)
Fantasia: Music Evolved (2014)
Unannounced Projects (2010 -2013)
Dance Central (2010)
RockBand 3 (2010)

Framestore (Film, TV, Animation)
Wanted (2008)
The Tale Of Despereaux (2008)
Primeval (series 2) (2008)
The Golden Compass (2007)
Primeval (series 1) (2007)
Ocean Odyssey (2006)
Prehistoric Park (2006)
Walking with Monsters (2005)

Show Awards
VES Award 2006 -‘Walking with Monsters’: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special
Emmy Award 2006 - ‘Walking with Monsters’: Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour Or More)
BAFTA Film Award 2007 – ‘The Golden Compass’: Best Special Visual Effects
Academy Awards Oscar 2007 – ‘The Golden Compass’: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Conehead (Short Film, 2004) official selections:

Global Student Animation Awards - WINNER, ANIMATION CATEGORY. (Conehead 2004)
Kalamazoo Animation Festival International, USA - GOLD AWARD WINNER. May 2005. (Conehead 2004)
Exposures National Student Film Festival, Manchester, UK - ANIMATION RUNNER UP. Dec 2005. (Conehead 2004)

Melbourne International Animation Festival, Australia. June 2005.

Tiscali Short Film Awards, Raindance Festival, London, UK. Sept/Oct 2005.

Raindance Independant Film Festival, London, UK. Sept 30/Oct 2005.

Anchorage Film Festival, Alaska, USA. Dec 2005.

Cinequest Film Festival, USA. March 2006.

Phoenix Film Festival, USA. March 2006.

One Dot Zero 10, London, UK. June 2006.
Animpact, Seoul, South Korea. April 2007

Other Awards & Acheivements

Designed award winning website (Becta/Gaurdian Teaching Resources Award 2002).
LEGO Futura UK recommended.
New Designers 99 exhibitor.

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Download Resumé (pdf)