Faculty
William (Bill) Dwelly’s film credits include multiple Oscar-winning Avatar as Lead Technical Director at Weta Digital; I Robot & King Kong as Senior Animation Technical Director and Oscar-winning animated short Ryan.
Bill has worked in the film and entertainment industry since the late 1980’s as a Theatrical Lighting Designer, a Cameraman, Pipeline Developer and CG Supervisor. In addition to his production experience, William was Head of the Maya program at Seneca College in Ontario and is the author of two books; Modeling in Maya and Character Rigging in Maya.
Bob holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Animation from the Emily Carr University of Art & Design, and a Diploma in Digital Animation. Since 1999, he has worked as a Cinematic Director, Lead Character Modeler, Technical Artist and Animator, and a Maya and Zbrush instructor for the Art Institute of Vancouver, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Radical Entertainment and Vancouver Institute of Media Arts.
Clint is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, and Applied Multimedia Training Center. Having received training in classical and 3D animation with professional 3D animation and storyboarding experience, Clint is also a former gymnast, dancer, actor and since 2006 a highly appreciated figure drawing instructor at VanArts.
Geoff is an environment artist at Propaganda Games (Disney Interactive). His focus is mainly on concept art and modeling. Geoff is a graduate of VanArts' Game Art and Design program. He also holds a Bachelor of Design specializing in illustration from the Ontario College of Art & Design, and was an award recipient for achievement in editorial illustration and academics. Prior to his involvement in entertainment design Geoff worked for seven years as a freelance designer in a variety of fields including clothing design, editorial illustration and vinyl toy design.
Gideon Hay has been sculpting creatures, props, prosthetics, maquettes and other projects for the entertainment industry since 1993. He has worked for Lindala Makeup FX, Mainframe Entertainment, Propaganda Games (Disney Interactive) and many other schools, studios and clients for private art commissions.
His feature film, television, and video game credits most recently include TRON: Legacy, Night at the Museum 2, Turok: Son of Stone, Twilight: Eclipse, and dozens of other high profile and independent projects.
His extensive portfolio can be viewed at his website: www.gideonhay.com
Gideon Hay at IMDB
Stephen studied animation at Capilano College, and has worked as an animator and concept artist in several Vancouver studios, including AKA Cartoon, Bardel/Dreamworks, Mainframe, Digital Alchemy & Backbone Entertainment. His credits include Mtv's Cartoon Sushi, Stickin Around, Joseph-King of Dreams, ActionMan, Bomberman & Heavy Gear. Stephen is a gifted fine artist with vast experience in illustration, conceptual design, murals, window display installation and foam sculpture for many local businesses.
Tom Johnson has 14 years of experience as a professional artist for the entertainment industry, at companies such as Electronic Arts Canada, Square Pictures, Digital Domain, Simex Digital, and Warner Brothers Animation. His film and game credits include Batman Forever, The Fifth Element, Final Fantasty: Spirits Within, Skate, Need for Speed Underground, World Club Soccer, FiFA 07/08, and SSX 3 Snowboarding.
Joe Crawford is an experienced teacher, computer animator and special fx artist. Having over 18 years experience in 3D software packages, he is our head maya technician at the school. Previously, Joe worked at Mainframe Entertainment where he produced animation and special effects for several television series including Reboot, Beast Machines and Action Man. Currently, he owns his own company which produces educational media and offers technical support.
