Patrick O'Brien

I am a technical artist.

I possess technical abilities such as scripting and programming, as well as artistic abilities: painting, lighting, compositing, and surfacing. My skillset allows me to bridge the gap between software engineers / developers and artists, directors and artistic driven clients. I can translate technical and artistic terms and ideas so both artists and developers can be successful.

Perseverance and Hardworking

My initial path after graduating with an Information Systems degree was to start work at Enron or Compaq (now Hewlett Packard) as an information analyst. An unfortunate set of events left both companies in a state of collapse. I decided to pursue my love of art in combination with my technical skills. I applied to a masters program at Texas A&M University called Visualization Sciences. I was denied entrance due to a lack of artistic and technical representation. Ever persistent, I started a web design business to support myself while I increased my art portfolio and obtained a math minor to showcase my true capabilities. During this time, I also took many computer science classes including a intro to computer graphics. After much hard work and dedication I was accepted and entered the masters program at Texas A&M.

Artistic and Technical Skills

 While at Texas A&M, I took several computer science courses where I wrote a simplified image manipulation program like Photoshop, a ray tracer, and a rigid body solver. I wanted to challenge myself further, and wrote a GPU based watercolor program as my thesis based off the Lattice Boltzmann equations. I believe my demo reel speaks to my artistic talents, which demonstrates my understanding of value, color, and composition. I have in depth lighting, compositing, and rendering knowledge, as well as knowledge of modeling and surfacing.

Team player and Leader

I spent many years at Dreamworks Animation helping to develop their latest proprietary lighting tool called Torch. I worked with VFX supervisors, CG supervisors, artists in fx, lighting, and surfacing as well as the software engineers. I helped lead feature development, provided quality assurance, and was a liaison between artists and developers. I understand what it takes to be a part of a thriving healthy team, and can provide leadership that drives a company forward to their goals.