Professional Experience
August 2022-present Spire Animation Studios: Real-time CG Supervisor
In my role at Spire, I helped develop and pioneer a comprehensive in-engine approach, spanning pre-production planning to final elements in an effort to enhance efficiency and collaboration benefited by the rapid iteration process. I led teams of artists in teaching in-engine look development, resulting in improved visual quality and artistic techniques with real-time feedback. I helped develop and optimize workflows for seamless in-engine data ingestion and export. In my role, I also collaborated closely with production management to execute production requirements, meet target goals, and ensure accurate bidding. Utilizing our partnership with Epic Games I worked closely with developers to refine and implement key in-engine improvements, most notably, Substrate. I also worked closely with infrastructure teams, ensuring software and hardware needs were met across artistic disciplines. Collaborating with the Production Engineering team as well as UE TDs, we developed innovative tools, both internal and external to the engine, enhancing overall efficiency as well as authored in-engine blueprints and functions to automate processes and eliminate redundancies.
July 2021-July 2022. Unreal Fellowship 2021: Mentor
In this role, I mentor a smaller team of 16 fellows through the story, pre-production and production of their short films in the Unreal Engine. Responsibilities include, leading scrums, short form lectures, demos, technical assistance as well as project management, scheduling and most importantly, maintaining the well-being of the team through a rigorous 5 week timeline
October 2021-November 2021. Writing in Unreal: Previs Artist
For the event, I was the Previs Artist paired with an indie filmmaker who was just being introduced to the engine and its capabilities. I had three weeks to execute a three-minute sequence/script-vis of the director’s full-length feature film “Sunshowers.” The result of this real-time virtual exploration helped answer questions in pre-production about general look dev, and helped to solve for executing the more challenging lighting and surfacing requirements in her film. The last three days of the event were spent working side by side with the director at the Tribeca studios in New York. This approach freed up the director to keep her focus entirely on her story rather than worry about technical execution and a ticking clock. This experience allowed me to hone my skills of debugging in Unreal under pressure while maintaining a calm and positive demeanor for my team when technical issues did arise
May 2021-July 2021. Unreal Fellowship 2021: Technical Artist /Teaching Assistant
Technical Artist and Teaching Assistant supporting 90+ fellows through production of their short films in the Unreal Engine within a 5 week time frame. Since the needs and challenges of each film varied greatly, this role relied heavily on creative-problem solving. Responsibilities include, short form lectures and demos as well as technical assistance covering all aspects of the Unreal Engine from world-building, sequencer, animation, lighting and rendering
Contributions also include: Mocap Previewer Application
During the Spring Fellowship a colleague and I collaborated on an application that allowed users to easily view over 600 pieces of custom mocap generated from the previous fellowships using a tagging system
Feb 2021-April 2021. Unreal Fellowship 2021: Fellow/Student
From script to screen, the Fellowship examines the use of Unreal Engine for virtual production. This five week course focused on Engine fundamentals, model ingestion, linear animation, mocap integration, and basic look and lighting development. Project culminates with a 1:30 short film
2011-April2021. Blue Sky Studios: Materials Character Lead
Spies in Disguise /Ice Age: Collision Course/ Peanuts the Movie/ Epic/ Ice Age: Continental Drift:
Materials Lead for all show characters, Developed and implemented new material workflows, Oversaw multi-department pre-production and production of characters, Assigned tasks and managed multiple artists, Mentored multiple artists and interns at the studio, Worked closely with Production Management to build and adjust schedules and bids based on real-time production needs, Worked closely with Creative Heads, and supervisors from lighting dev to filmout to ensure quality control
July2020-April 2021. Blue Sky Studios: Lead Character Artist and Environments Artist
Undisclosed shorts for Disney+
Materials Lead and artist. Responsible for overseeing the pre-production and producing the Surfacing work done on all show characters. In addition to my contribution in the Characters department, I also supported the Environments team as an artist in the Materials discipline. Worked closely with Production Management to build and adjust schedules and bids based on real-time production needs, Worked closely with Creative Heads, and supervisors from lighting dev to filmout to ensure quality control
2008-2011 Blue Sky Studios: Senior Materials Technical Director
Rio/ Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs:
Senior Materials artist on primary and secondary show characters, Developed reliable material libraries and scripts for efficient workflows, Supported primary and secondary character assignments through all downstream departments, Established organization and information dissemination on character assignments, Mentored artists in character pipeline and the use of CGI Studio
2006-2008 Blue Sky Studios: Materials Technical Director
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs/ Horton Hears a Who:
Materials artist working on both characters and sets, Materials and Fur intermediary
Aug2005-2006 Blue Sky Studios: Junior Materials Technical Director
Horton Hears a Who/ Ice Age: The Meltdown:
Junior Materials artist on first feature production, Improved skills and knowledge using CGI Studio, Supported senior artists in Materials and Lighting during crunch time
Jun2005-Aug2005 Blue Sky Studios: Materials and Lighting Technical Assistant
Ice Age: The Meltdown/ Robots (promotional content/DVD bonus footage):
Materials and Lighting assistant, Render wrangling in CGI Studio, Supported artists in Materials and Lighting during pre-production and production of DVD bonus footage
Jun2004-Aug2004 Wacky World Studios: Materials Artist/Intern
The Roach Approach: Don’t Miss the Boat:
Artist and Intern on first production, Developed textures that were entirely procedural in the Maya Hypershade, Render wrangled, Produced BG anim cycles
Jun1997-Aug2003 AAA Decorator Service: Seamstress
Various client projects:
Assistant fabricator of high-end interior decoration in Palm Beach, Supporting workroom during multi-phase projects for clientele ranging from residential to commercial
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Computer Animation, 2005
Ringling School of Art and Design
Skills
Software:
Unreal Engine, Maya, USD, Houdini, CGI Studio, Substance Designer/Painter, Mudbox, 3-D Coat, Photoshop, Arnold, Renderman, Nuke, Zbrush, Shotgun
Programming Languages:
Python, MEL, C++, Perl
Operating Systems:
Linux/Unix, Windows, Mac
Hobbies/Interests/Affiliations
Painting, Textiles, Fabric Art, Sewing, Interior Design, Woodworking, Women in Animation, Democratic Party Election Official, Triangle Community Center Volunteer