Resume

Hand Skills

Character Animation (Realistic and Stylized)
2D Animation
Creature Animation (Flying and Quadruped)
Motion Capture
Character Rigging
Game Engine Implementation
Digital Lighting and Rendering
Digital Painting
Fine Art

Programs

Autodesk Maya
The Adobe Suite (Photoshop, After Effects, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere)
Autodesk Motion Builder
Unreal Engine and Unity
Linux
Shotgrid
Slack, Wrike, Asana, Airtable
Microsoft Excel

Work History

Animation Technical Assistant

DreamWorks Animation

2021 - 2023

Worked with Head of Character Animation, Animation Supervisors, and Rigging Department to ensure characters and assets are in good working order prior to the start of animation production.
Tasks include:

Full character and prop rig wrecking both for technical and aesthetics purposes
Provide detailed rig feedback to rigging team based on animation and story needs
Create animation performance tests to test the rig, explore behaviors and expressions of new characters, and ensure character rigs perform correctly according to the shape language of the show
Create and populate animation pose libraries
Animate production shots as needed
Animate character cycles to be used for crowd simulation
Act as the bridge between Rigging and Animation departments, as well as CFX, Lookdev, and Modeling as needed
Modify existing rigs to create more varied generics to be utilized by crowds
Design internal Anim Department web pages
Create documentation for rigging systems and animation workflows
Assist animators as needed on software troubleshooting, shot creation and modification, pipeline bugs
General troubleshooting and other support needs for the animation team

Feature film work:

Trolls 3 (Release 2023)

Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken (Release 2023)

Kung Fu Panda 4 (Release 2024)

Cycles Animator

DreamWorks Animation

2021

Created animation cycles to populate crowd simulations
Animated promoted close-to-camera background characters

Feature film work:

The Bad Guys (Release 2022)

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Release 2022)

Freelance Animator

Various

2014 - 2021

Animation and art for various companies and individuals, including Top Hat, Freeform Labs, 8th Frame LLC, McGraw Hill, Sun Maid Raisins, McGraw Hill
Character animation, motion graphics, graphic design, character and concept design, storyboarding, illustration, medical/technical illustration, portraiture
Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere), Autodesk Maya, Toon Boom Animate Pro, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, Trapcode Particular, Tv Paint, ZBrush, Nuke, Powerpoint, Traditional art (watercolor, pencil, oil pastel).

Motion Capture Animator

Annapurna Interactive

2020 - 2021

Animated characters in Motion Builder using motion capture data as a base and keyframe animation when needed
Cleaned up and retargeted motion capture data
Integrated animation into the Unity game engine
Motion capture animation, keyframe animation, game engine implementation
Motion Builder, Unity, Slack, Airtable

Video Game work:

12 Minutes (2021), top down third person interactive thriller RPG

Animator/Motion Graphics Artist

AppliedVR

2019

Adapted a script into animation in a VR space to communicate complex concepts and ideas.
Designed, directed, and animated several short experiences using particle simulation, motion graphics, and typography
Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, Trapcode Particular, Adobe Illustrator, Slack, Unity

Virtual Reality work:

RelieVR, VR Experience using calming environments and animation to teach patients with chronic or labor pain methods of pain management

CG Generalist/Animator

Elementary Robotics

2018 - 2019

Created FK/IK mechanical rigs of several pre-existing physical six-axis robot arms in Maya
Prototyped new robot arm designs in Maya to explore range of motion before manufacture
Animated robots to explore behaviors
Pushed creation of a user friendly pipeline to transfer animations onto physical robots
Built animation tools for future users (animation pickers, instructional videos, Maya shelves and scripts)
Character animation, mechanical rigging, 3D modeling, lighting and rendering, MEL scripting, pipeline support
Autodesk Maya, Arnold Renderer, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Slack

CG Generalist

AppliedVR

2017 - 2018

Modeled, rigged, and animated environment and character assets for a realtime virtual reality experience
Low-poly 3D modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation
Maya, Adobe After Effects, Spine, Unity, Adobe Photoshop, Slack

Virtual Reality work:

RelieVR, VR Experience using calming environments and animation to teach patients with chronic or labor pain methods of pain management

Key Animator

ENOSIS VR

2016

Designed and animated 2D assets set to music
Revised existing animations from other members of the animation team
Worked with a small team under a very tight deadline
Adobe Animate, Adobe Photoshop, Slack

Virtual Reality work:

"The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience" (2016) - Virtual Reality music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," combining 2D and 3D assets. Created in Unity for iOS 360 video and Google Cardboard VR.

Full Project List

Leadership and Volunteer Work

Animation Mentor

Texas A&M University

2022-2023

The animation mentor for students in Texas A&M's Summer Industry Course. Students in groups of 6-8 create an animated short from scratch in 14 weeks, going through every part of the pipeline. Taught students of various experience levels. Gave several lectures and demos, advised on project scope, met with students one on one, and held dailies and office hours. Gave students critiques and drawovers on shots, helped them problem solve, helped students figure out their workflow.

Character animation, cycles/crowds animation, rig wrecking, early career coaching.

Autodesk Maya.

Alumni Mentor

University of Southern California

2020 - 2021

Tutored students in the Animation and Digital Arts BA and MFA programs. Gave early career advice, helped with networking and self-branding, consulted on thesis films, and critiqued demo reels. Created an animation curriculum to help students build their character animation skills and set them on the path to success as they neared graduation.

Character animation, website design, early career coaching.

Autodesk Maya.

Tutor

Animation Mentor

2019 - 2021

Tutored animation students in the Character Animation track for Animation Mentor. Gave students critiques on shots, walked them through problem areas, gave tips on cutting together reference, helped students figure out their workflow, and in some cases taught students how to animate in Maya.

Character animation.

Autodesk Maya, Adobe Premiere.

Education

Animation Mentor (2017 - 2024)
- Character Animation Track (2017 - 2018)
- Creature Animation Track (2019)
- Cartoony Animation (2020)
- Game Animation (2024)
Women in Animation Mentorship Circle - LGBTQ Animation and Allies with Becki Tower (2020)
University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts (2011 - 2015)
- BA in Animation and Digital Arts
The Animation Guild (2016)
- Environment Design & Drawing with Jon Messer
The Animation Collaborative at Pixar (2013)
- Animation Lecture and Demo with Mike Makarewicz
Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy (Fall Semester 2013)
California State Summer School for the Arts at Calarts (CSSSA/Innerspark, 2010)
- Major in Digital Arts
- Double Minor in Painting and Printmaking
University of California, Los Angeles Summer Institutes DESMA (Design and Media Arts) 3: Game Design A & B (2010)

Awards

2015 LADWP Futurethon #HacktheDrought: USC Annenberg Innovation Lab Fellowship for "Terracotta."
2015 Proto Awards: Honoree "ElemenTerra."
2015 USC Undergraduate Symposium: First Place in Arts and Digital Media for "ElemenTerra."
2014 USC Science Film Competition: 2nd Place for "Terry's Sound"
2013 USC Science Film Competition: 2nd Place for "Stem Cell Billy"
2011 USC Ed Wood Film Festival: Honorable Mention for "Yeti Wizards"
2011 USC Alphies Film Competition: Grand Prix for "Aha!"
2010 UCLA DESMA 3 Game Design: Best Game

Affiliations and Interests

Animation Mentor
Women in Animation
The Magic Castle
Trojan Marching Band
Model Drawing Collective
Dungeons and Dragons
Renaissance Faires
Video games
Marine Biology
Baking
Gardening