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.
David Rose has worked as a Compositor on many blockbuster films including The Incredible Hulk, X-Men Origins, Percy Jackson, Battleship, and many more at studios such as MPC, Soho VFX, Prime Focus, and Intelligent Creatures. He is currently a Senior Compositor at Scanline VFX in Vancouver BC. Having received his visual effects training from Seneca College in Toronto, David is just as passionate about teaching as he is about production work and he will always to the extra step for his students.
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.
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.
Advisory Council
Jason Dowdeswell is known for his major contributions on blockbuster hits such as Twilight, Salt and Night at the Museum. He has worked in many studios including Rainmaker, Boss Film, CIS Vancouver and has had a diverse career in the film industry. He is currently the Head of Image Engine Vancouver and actively involved in the Visual Effects community, both locally and abroad.
Koen Vroeijenstijn brings over a decade of experience and knowledge to his role as a program advisory committee member. After starting his own effects studio in Amsterdam and working on European features and shorts for 8 years, his career took him to Guerrilla Games working on the successful PS3 game Killzone 2. Next Koen moved to the US and contributed effects to Kung Fu Panda, Megamind, Monsters vs. Aliens, Puss in Boots and Rise of the Guardians for Dreamworks Animation. Currently he is re-located to Vancouver as Lead Technical Director at Image Engine.
Mark Pullyblank is one of our most successful VanArts graduates and keeps in touch with us as a mentor and advisory board member. He has worked as an animator for Rainmaker Entertainment and Frantic Films in Vancouver, WETA Digital in New Zealand (as a senior layout technical director on James Cameron's Avatar), Sony Imageworks, and his current position as animation director for Goldtooth Creative. His other lead and supervisory animation credits include The Smurfs, Garfield, Dr. Dolittle 3, Stargate:Atlantis, Elektra, Night at the Museum, Blades of Glory, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Watchmen and many other projects.
Shawn Dunn, an engineer by training, is Head of Layout and Animation Technologies at WETA Digital, and has worked on Oscar-winning blockbuster feature films such as Avatar, King Kong and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Shawn also worked on the Oscar-winning short Ryan, and is the author of the best-selling book Learning Maya: MEL Fundamentals.
