Hi! I'm Mike Oakley
I’m a multi-disciplined digital artist working in: 3d Animations, Look Dev, VFX, and Compositing.
In my 20+ years as an artist I have enjoyed changing hats on projects to fill in gaps on a production. I encourage an energetic attitude and teamwork, modernizing pipelines, and problem solving with my technical insight.
My experience comes from working on rapid television episodics, fast paced commercials and larger than life disaster films, all while continuing to tinker with the latest tech in an ever changing medium.
Lets do something great together!
Currently available for full time and freelance.
REMOTE READY: Projects are stored on AES 256-bit encryption drives.
ANIMATIONS
Animals and Vehicles
Cameras and Scene
Rendering
LOOK DEVELOPMENT
Shading and Lighting
Scene Management
Comp and 3d Pipelines
VISUAL EFFECTS
Fire, Smoke and Fog
Explosions and Destruction
Blood and Grime
Mike was able to take a show that needed a tight execution and really make it sing. The artists working with and for him enjoyed the show and did some fantastic work usually not seen with a small crew. This resulted in much less overtime than many of the crew had normally experienced. He's a hard worker and very solid for team leadership.
Ive been lucky enough to work with mike on a few features and every time its a pleasure. Mikes got the well rounded background as a 3d generalist, that proved invaluable as CG sup. Every time there was a problem, Mike had a solution and our core team was able to deliver a great product in a smooth and timely manor. I would definitely work with Mike again.
I value Mike's selfless contributions to foster a true team atmosphere. He's lead many mentor sessions with less seasoned artists and has helped guide them to solutions to improve our internal workflows. Those talks have lead to higher quality deliverables for in our clients and further drives consistency.
DEMO REEL
BREAKDOWN
Banshee / Vehicle Animations, Look Dev
Priest / CG Supervisor
To The Flame / Animation, Rigging, and Look Dev
Boeing / Animations, Look Dev, and Compositing
Under the Dome / VFX, Butterfly wrangler, and Look Dev
Oblivion / Dynamic Animation, and VFX
Under the Dome / Animation and VFX
Extant / Fire and Destruction VFX
Castle / CG Lead and Animation
PROJECTS
Mike is an incredible VFX artist that I had the pleasure of working alongside and under his leadership for 4 years. Mike's understanding and breadth of industry knowledge and best practices makes him a valuable asset to any team. He communicates clearly and effectively with a positive attitude and unfettered optimism to make every job a huge success. Mike's passion and drive pushes everyone around him to be their best.
Mike is a master at his craft, there has never been a project too big, or too complicated for him. Incredibly knowledgeable on all aspects of VFX\3D\Compositing, and above all, he has a natural gift of sharing what he knows, and we are all smarter for it. He has a keen eye for detail, and it shows in the intricacies of his work, which is second to none.
Mike is a very talented and knowledgeable VFX artist with very strong communication skills. Great understanding of modern industry best practices and techniques, and how to use them in a production environment.