Announcing Speaker Jeremy Vickery

Jeremy Vickery has over 12 years experience in animation, film, video, and concept design. He worked as a Lighting Artist /Technical Director for Pixar Animation Studios for many years and  helped create the films The Incredibles, Cars,Ratatouille and Wall-E. Before joining Pixar he was the Lighting Supervisor at Fathom Studios in Atlanta Georgia, and before that a Modeling/Texture Artist at Big Idea Productions in Chicago, working on several of the popular kids animated videos, “Veggie Tales”. Jeremy has also lectured on many occasions, speaking recently at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco and Paris, has consulted with many studios around the world,  and has been interviewed online many times, and has even produced a DVD about light and color for the Gnomon Workshop. His artwork has been published in the Ballistic Publishing book “Painter” and “Expose 6”.

His workshop will teach you how to create compelling lighting that will bring your story to life.

http://www.jermilex.com

Announcing Speaker Eric Ryan

Eric Ryan is a concept artist with over 7 years experience in both the film and video game industry. Using solid art technique and a strong knowledge of creature anatomy, Eric creates images that are at the same time fantastic and believable.

Beginning his studies at the University of Berkley in Molecular and Cell Biology, Eric moved to the Art Institute of California to study Media Arts and Animation in 2001. A short two years later, Eric started work as a 3d and Concept Artist for Liquid Entertainment in Pasadena California working his way up to Associate Art Director. Eric has offered his talents as an instructor of Character Design at Gnomon School of Visual Effects, Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art and the Art Institute of California.Presently, Eric works as a Senior Concept Artist at Sony Computer Entertainment of America.

Eric’s workshop will take you step by step through the creation of amazing yet believable creatures and characters.

Announcing Speaker Kenny Roy

Kenny Roy started his career in 1998 as a dustbuster on the animated film,Marco Polo: Return to Xanadu. From those humble beginnings, he’s gone on to animate some of the most memorable characters on screen. In 11 years, Kenny has animated for TV shows, pilots, commercials, games, web, ride films and feature films, with his most notable credits being Scooby Doo 2, Garfield and King Kong.

In 2006 Kenny founded Arconyx Animation Studios, LLC in Los Angeles, Calif. The boutique studio caters solely to character projects, and has found major success pleasing high-profile clients from Mattel to MTV, Nike to Nickelodeon, Saban to Sci-Fi Channel.

Kenny will be focusing on the different techniques and aspects of character animation for various productions.

http://www.kennyroy.com/

Announcing Speaker Peter Zoppi

Peter Zoppi is a Senior Character Artist at Teryarch/Activision. Most recently, Peter worked on Call of Duty: Black Ops, which holds the record for largest entertainment launch in history. Peter’s character models reflect a great level of believability while maintaining a unique feel that gives each character its own personality.

Peter has a long list of credits in both film and video games including Silent Hill the movie, Underworld Evolution, The Golden Compass, James Bond: Quantum of Solace the game, and Call of Duty Black Ops. He is a graduate of Trinity College with a B.A. in Studio Art. Peter’s Master workshop will focus on character creation for one of the highest grossing games of all time “Call of Duty: Black Ops” and his overall approach and techniques when it comes to creating believable characters.

http://www.zopfx.com/

Announcing Keynote Guest Shane Acker

Shane Acker is an award-winning director, animator and designer. Shane is the director of 2009 film “9″. The Focus Features/Universal Studios picture is produced with Jim Lemely and executive producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov.

The 11-minute short “9″, which the feature is base on, premiered at Sundance in 2005 and has garnered numerous awards including the gold medal at the student Academy Awards, “Best in Show” at the 2005 SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006.

Shane has a multidisciplinary background, studying architecture for several years before becoming a filmmaker. He is a graduate of UCLA’s School of Arts and Architecture where he received both a Masters Degree in Architecture and a MFA in Animation.

Shane currently resides in Los Angeles where he freelances as a 3d artist, director and instructor while actively developing his own independent films. We are honored to have Shane Acker share his experience and journey from student to Director of an award winning feature film.

http://www.shaneacker.com/