Tag Archives: Maya

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Jobs: LA Sr Character Animator-Zoic Studios

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zoic logoZoic Studios

LA Sr Character Animator

Location: Culver City, CA

Department: Episodics

Type: Contracted

Min. Experience: Experienced

CLICK TO APPLY

Zoic Studios is an Award winning VFX company made up of accomplished artists and producers who understand story, process and relationships. Partnership, integrity and enthusiasm are our key founding principles. Some of our recent credits include, Gangster Squad, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Once Upon a Time, Fringe and Falling Skies.

“Visual Evolution” is our mission. We invest in constantly improving our technological and studio processes so that our artists can focus on being creative even in the lightning fast paced world of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Episodic Television. We apply these principles to our work on some of the most VFX intensive film and television projects out there. We like a challenge. Do you?

Our LA office is currently interested in Sr Character Animators available in June for our episodic department

Summary of Position
Works under the CG Supervisor to create realistic creature and character animation for episodic productions. Animators at Zoic may be asked to animate anything from an alien slug to a 6 legged chimera so strong visual understanding of anatomy and physics is a must.

Responsibilities:

  • Realistic creature and character animation
  • Ensuring animation meets production deadlines
  • Ensuring animation meets quality standards
  • Knowing and following all pipeline and studio policies and procedures

Qualifications

  • Experience working as a character animator within television or commercials, a must.
  • Experience animating in a realistic style
  • Proficiency animating in Maya from reference, with the ability to take animation to final.
  • Ability to work within a fast-paced team environment.
  • Positive attitude, hard worker, flexible schedule.
  • Strong attention to detail and follow through.
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David Rodriguez

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Hey, I’m David Rodriguez and I’m currently a Freelance Animator at Halon Entertainment.  Working on a “Shhhhh” project.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I haven’t had any real “crazy” jobs, I would say mostly jobs you typically get when your young looking for work.  My very first job was when I was 18 years old working at Toys R US.  I was running on the main “Boys World”  that was fun.  Then after that I worked in Shipping & Receiving for some wholesale company.  Very boring and physical work.  I didn’t last there too long.  I wouldn’t take a job like that again.  You do too much for too little.  After that, I landed a job at a doctors office as an office clerk while I was attending college.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I would say my very first animation project I landed.  I got to work for Start Wars: Unleash The Force II.  That was lots of fun.  But I guess any animation project I work on I feel proud of.  Even now, working on Previs. makes me feel like I’m helping the director bring his ideas to life.   I also worked on Piranha 3D movie and some other small video game titles.

How did you become interested in animation?
I would say the very first time I saw Toy Story in theaters. Ever since then I wanted to know how 3D animation was made.  In some weird sense it felt like Continue reading

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Danielle Powers

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Danielle Powers and most recently I’ve worked on a freelance project doing visual development and before that I worked at Nickelodeon as a texture artist apprentice.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing too crazy. I’ve worked at Taco Bell, Albertson’s, and my college library to name a few.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The Penguins of Madagascar was my favorite project to work on. I was on the show for nearly a year and I’m proud to say I was a part of it and I worked on it from the very beginning, before there was even an art director. I painted A LOT of textures for the character’s habitats which were used in the pilot episode and I see them show up in many current episodes and even Penguins toys at Toys R Us.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
When I was five, the Little Mermaid had just been released and I was obsessed with it. I remember bringing the video tape to kindergarten to watch in class and feeling very proud that I was the first kid to own the video. As a kid I was always drawing characters from animated movies and shows and making up my own stories and characters. In junior high I had the opportunity to Continue reading

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Promote Yourself: 4Wheel Vehicle Autorig Plugin

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This is Tutorial of using the 4Wheel Vehicle Autorig Plugin that is uploaded here:
Autodesk Exchange (Available) (Version 1.1.3): (2013, 2013.5, 2014, 2015, 2016)
apps.exchange.autodesk.com/MAYA/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3a4wheelcarsautorig_windows32and64%3aen
gumroad.com (Version 1.1.3):(2013, 2013.5, 2014, 2015, 2016)
gumroad.com/l/hfGr
CreativeCrash(Version 1.1.3): (2013, 2013.5, 2014, 2015, 2016)
creativecrash.com/maya/plugin/vehicle-autorig-4wheel-for-vfx
Brake Caliper added:
vimeo.com/96989529
Please Email me if you have problem with its cost or have any idea…
note: it is available for maya 2013, 2014 and 2015 (windows platform), i’m developing it for other versions of maya and probably other platforms.

Studios that used it:
ntropic.com/
polygoncgi.com/
koffeecup.net/
general-gau.com/

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Larry D. Whitaker

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Larry D. Whitaker (director and animation director)

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
(Painting houses and graphic design for small business).

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
 (Tigger Movie, Space Jam, Mighty Joe Young, and Tiny Toons)

How did you become interested in animation?
( I was always drawing since I can remember and was very involved with both art, writing and drama as a student before college.  I went to school in Oklahoma, and had art class as part of the curriculum from K-12th grade.  While in jr. high and high school, I was heavily involved in Continue reading

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Where to Work: Top 100 Studios for Animation Professionals

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Animation Career Review has a list of the Top 100 Studios for Animation Professionals. Below is A-B. Click the link for a full list!

343 Industries

This is the studio that took over Bungie’s Halo series back in 2009 and released Halo 4 in 2012.  In October this year we’ll finally get to play Halo 5: Guardians and see what’s in store for the future of Master Chief. No matter where the series is headed, I’m sure 343 will consider hiring plenty more game artists in the coming years to create make Halo 6. Next year we’ll get Halo Wars 2 to help us wait.

A-1 Pictures

This is simply one of the hardest working animation studios in the anime industry today. In 2014 and 2015 combined they have released a new season for twenty four different anime series including the highly anticipated Sword Art Online II and Persona 4 The Golden: Animation. Sure, they often collaborate with other animation studios to complete so many shows, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen a 2D animation studio deliver such an intense schedule of releases in such a short amount of time.

Aardman Animations

If you fell in love with the stop motion clay animation in Chicken Run or the Wallace and Gromit films, then this is a studio name you probably know well already. In 2006, they entered the computer animation industry with the film Flushed Away, and since then they’ve worked on the films Arthur Christmas (2011), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012), Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and they’re currently at work on Early Man (2018) and Shaun the Sheep 2 (TBA).

Animal Logic

My prediction from last year for this Australian studio hasn’t come true yet, but I’m still holding out hope! Illumination Entertainment hired Mac Guff to create most of the film Despicable Me for them, and then used the massive profits to buy the studio outright. Warner Bros. Animation went through a similar symbiotic relationship with Animal Logic, which animated all of The Lego Movie for them, so I still wonder if an acquisition is on the horizon. Either way, Animal Logic just opened a new office in Vancouver a few days ago, so they’re doing just fine! Both offices are hiring, so check them out!

Anzovin Studio

This animation company is located in Massachusetts and offers services in storyboarding, animation, graphic design, game art, software development, Maya plugins, character designs, character rigging, and can work in Maya, Mudbox, 3DS Max, ZBrush, VRay, Substance Designer, and all the Adobe CC products. Their rigging tools look superb, and it’s no surprise they’ve worked with famous clients like Bungie, A&E, PBS Kids, Microsoft, Syfy, DreamWorks Animation SKG, and Sea World. If you want to work on lots of different projects over a year instead of a huge neverending project over many years, then this could be the perfect studio for you.

Bardel Entertainment

The name “Bardel” comes from the names of its married founders, Barry Ward and Delna Bhesania, and they formed this Vancouver animation studio in 1987. Together they’ve handled plenty of large projects in the past, but what’s really gaining them global recognition is The Prophet and their hilarious art in the new television show, Rick and Morty. One of their other ongoing projects is doing all the animations for VeggieTales and VeggieTales in the House.

Bento Box Entertainment

This California studio is one of the younger ones on the list, but already has several hit series under its belt. Founded in 2009, they’ve already helped worked on Neighbors from Hell, Bob’s Burger’s, Allen Gregory, Brickleberry, Out There, Murder Police, and Bordertown. Add in the Web series The Awesomes and Gloves and Boots, as well as the films Achmed Saves America and Madea’s Tough Love, and you’ve got one of today’s most promising young studios.

Bethesda Game Studios

If you’re a gamer, then all I have to say is the Fallout series and The Elder Scrolls series. Enough said? Enough said. Not a gamer? Then this is a studio name to remember; even when it’s been years since they’ve released a game for either series, I still listed them as one of the most influential video game studios in the world. When Skyrim came out in 2011, the Internet was a quiet wasteland for a few days as everyone unplugged to play the expansive game. Forums went dry, comments sections were barren, and no one got insulted on YouTube for a whole sixty seconds once. Then, a few days later, the Internet damn near broke when everyone came back all at once and discussed the game everywhere and anywhere on every dot com imaginable, which made for one of the most memorable months the net has ever experienced. This November, Fallout 4 will finally be released! Prepare yourselves!

BioWare

One of the oldest game studios on this list, BioWare was founded back in 1995 and has been relevant ever since then. Its famously memorable storylines rely heavily on award winning writing, making it a highly competitive studio to get employed at. Lately they’ve been releasing several games for the series Dragon Age and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and are now looking to launch another Mass Effect title. They’ve got a lot of exciting things in motion, but they also have a lot of job applications, so bring your best and see if you can get an interview.

Blizzard Entertainment

In one word, legendary. Blizzard was legendary long before they became an Activision subsidiary. Sometimes Blizzard gamers can be notorious for only playing Blizzard games, but even when that’s not the case, the loyalty is still strong. When Blizzard releases a game, almost everyone plays it, regardless of their demographics. For decades they have released the most breathtaking 3D animated cinematics the world has ever seen, even when compared to the best films the box office has to offer those years. They only hire the best, but the projects they tackle are so huge that they hire a lot of employees, so if you want to be one of the thousands of names listed in their next credits list, then apply and see what happens!

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