I've always had an interest in art, design and technology so it's not a surprise that i'd end up working in web design, 3d animation or visual effects. Or all 3...
My interest in creative ventures started early - from drawing as a kid at an early age, to using the inherent lack-of-speed of an old macintosh (circa 1986) to make animations using the complete lack of refresh rate. Of course this wasn't very professional and I ended up studying Art and Design in school and college, where I learned the very basics (but importance) of things such as colour theory, form and shape. I also got my first taste of sculpture, which would prove more handy than I thought when I became able to model in 3d.
I started off my career producing CAD drawings for various design companies - architectural, mechanical, building services and even telecommunication firms. It was at this stage that I decided to start learning HTML and website design in my own time - in the desire to produce something more creative, that expressed my artistic side. An obvious move after learning basic web design was to learn Flash, so I did this in my own time (often juggling many things!)
I've always found that I can teach myself new abilities quite quickly, something i'm very grateful for and my interest in flash animation and interface production sparked a further interest into 3d vector animation, ending up in learning film-standard 3d animation and visual effects software. It didn't happen as quickly as that though! It was at this point that I started freelancing in the areas of web design, incorporating 3d, video and multimedia elements into my web work. I decided to learn accompanying skills with After Effects for compositing and motion graphics, camera tracking software, Photoshop, Illustrator and the like. I felt the more skills I could offer, the more work I could seek.
Since I started teaching myself, i've been able to work on increasing bigger projects and with an expanding portfolio, i've been able to offer additional services. In 2007 I attended Escape studios - Europes leading CG & VFX training facility and in 2008 I was nominated for a Visual Effects award at the Escape awards, held at the Tate modern. I did not win unfortunately, but it represented a milestone from sitting and teaching myself something some 8 or 9 years prior, to be able to be in a room with the best of those in the industry in the heart of London.
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Flash
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
AutoDesk 3DS Max - Vray, Brazil
PfTrack
Autodesk Maya - Mental Ray
Concept design
Illustration
Web design & development
Flash animation & interfaces
3D modelling, rigging & texturing
3D animations & walkthroughs
Visual effects/live action compositing
Rendering
CAD & Draughting
2007: Escape Studios, London
Maya Core course - Modelling, animation, rigging & texturing.
Nominated for an Escape Award by industry-leading VFX judges at the Tate Modern.
1998-2000: Brooklands Technical College, Weybridge, Surrey.
BTEC Diploma in Art and Design.
1996-1998: France Hill College - Camberley, Surrey
Art and Design A - Level (Grade A)
Graphical Communication A - Level (Grade B)
Computing A - Level (Grade B)
1991:-1994: France Hill Secondary - Camberley, Surrey.
Completed 10 GCSE's - Grade A to C
