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Character Animation


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Character Animation


I have been doing VFX professionally for 12 years.  Although I enjoy all aspects of visual effects and animation, it is character driven performance animation that I am most drawn to.  Digital acting in a sense.  I have been fortunate enough to spend the last 7 years at Weta Digital working on some of the most memorable digital characters in cinema. I have worked on films such as The Hobbit Trilogy, Avatar, Tin-Tin, and The Waterhorse, and commercials for Coke, Honda, Nike, amongst others. I have won an Annie Award and Clio Award, and been nominated for a VES Award for my animation work.  Here you will find a sample of some of that work.

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Gollum


GOLLUM

Gollum


GOLLUM

Gollum was the reason I got into feature visual effects, and I chased the opportunity to take part in some aspect of the character's animation for nearly 10 years.  I was fortunate enough to become the animation lead for Gollum on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and eventually was nominated for a VES Award, and won an Annie award for the work I did to bring him back to the big screen.


"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Animation Reel

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Smaug


SMAUG

Smaug


SMAUG

Only a close second behind Gollum, Smaug was a character that I had dreamt of working on for a long time.  Having completed my time as the Animation Lead for The Gollum sequence on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I was incredibly fortunate and thrilled to follow it up with being the Animation Lead for the Smaug gold chamber sequence on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  The work our team did on Smaug garnered the character a VES award for Most Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Film.


Smaug VFX Breakdown

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Stone Trolls


STONE TROLLS

Stone Trolls


STONE TROLLS

William, Bert, and Tom were an infamous trio in the Hobbit book, and bringing them to life was a unique challenge.  Unlike Gollum,  they had never been seen before on film.  But that challenge became the biggest thrill of leading the animation on this sequence as we were the ones responsible for bringing these characters to life for the first time in a feature film.  And it was good practice for the thrilling challenge that was Smaug.


"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" Animation Reel