RESUME
Profile
Lighting artist with over six years of feature film and two years of feature animation experience. Knowledgeable in lighting and rendering across multiple platforms, good understanding of compositing and a general understanding of all things 3D. Reliable and flexible professional with the leadership ability to supervise teams and mentor individuals. Passionate about creating inspiring imagery through CG applications as well as traditional mediums and also enjoys helping fellow artists learn aesthetically and technically.
Skills
Proficient in: Lighting and Rendering (Understanding of how lighting and rendering software works aesthetically and technically across multiple platforms), Maya/Renderman, Look Development/Shading, Compositing/Nuke, Unix
Familiar with: Houdini/Mantra, Modeling (Maya), Sculpting (Mudbox), Vray, Texturing (Photoshop, Mudbox), Scripting (Parsley), Game engine deferred and baked lighting (Unreal, CryEngine), Normal mapping, Tone mapping
Traditional Art: Oil and acrylic painting, Figurative, still life and conceptual drawing, Clay sculpture, Light, Color, Composition, Anatomy
Experience
Lighting/Compositing Lead – Nitrogen Studios April 2014 – May 2016
- Sausage Party
• Set up sequence light rigs
• Responsible for shot assignments and priorities
• Work with lighting supervisor to test new tools
• Help develop and document tool usage and efficient lighting and compositing methods
• Show artists basic shot debugging techniques while helping them troubleshoot
• Work closely with look development to gain knowledge of proper shader settings
• Translate aesthetic comments made by VFX supervisors into technical direction for lighting team
Lighting Supervisor – Rhythm & Hues April 2011 – April 2013
- R.I.P.D
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked
• Developed talent and aesthetic vision of the studio’s lighting department
• Held and recorded tech-ops and discussions with local and international lighting teams
• Collaborated with peers to manage studio lighting and rendering priorities
• Helped build and maintain lighting and rendering tools
• Worked with software department to develop studio and show specific rendering functionality
• Managed overall character lighting workflow throughout the show
• Interacted with leads daily to understand team and individual lighting needs
• Worked directly with look development on character lighting and shading implementation
• Helped production, managers and lighting teams estimate workload and schedule tasks
Lead Lighting TD – Rhythm & Hues January 2009 – April 2011
- HOP
- Yogi Bear
- Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
- Aliens in the Attic
• Set up sequence light rigs
• Worked with lighting supervisor to test new tools
• Helped develop and document tool usage and efficient lighting methods
• Worked within a stereo rendering pipeline
• Showed artists basic shot debugging techniques while helping them troubleshoot
• Worked closely with look development to gain knowledge of proper shader settings
• Translated aesthetic comments made by supervisors into technical direction for lighting team
• Created documentation and video recordings for international lighting teams
• Communicated daily with international lighting team through phone and video conference
Lighting TD – Rhythm & Hues June 2006 - January 2009
- Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
- The Incredible Hulk
- The Golden Compass
- Night at the Museum
• Executed supervisor's comments and turned them out within tight deadlines
• Worked with proprietary 3D and 2D software throughout the lighting pipeline
• Manipulated rendered light layers in a pre-comp for basic 2D lighting adjustments
• Managed and prioritized shots and their assets throughout multiple sequences
• Collaborated with lighting and compositing teams for consistency between shots
• Debugged minor technical lighting and rendering problems
Education
Gnomon School of Visual Effects, Hollywood, CA 2004 – 2006
Two-year Certificate Graduate in High-end CG
Focus in Lighting/Look Development
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 2000 – 2004
Bachelor of Arts
Major in Studio Art, Minor in Art History