3D ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS FACULTY
Â鶹¹ÙÍø Faculty consists of the most highly trained professionals in the creative industries. While our full-time instructors provide more one-on-one time with students than any other school, our part-time instructors are pulled right from the heart of the industry, equipped with the most current, relevant industry experience and credits.
We call this THE Â鶹¹ÙÍø ADVANTAGE.
Andrew
McDermott
Instructor
Andrew is the past President and a senior member of the Federation of Canadian Artists. Upon college graduation in Graphic Design and Illustration, he studied and further refined his own unique style, winning top awards in both Canada, China and the US. Andrew teaches life and figure drawing.
Colin
Giles
Head of Department
Colin has over 23 years of experience in both traditional and 3D animation. He’s hosted workshops and keynotes for groups such as CBC Video Workshop and TEDx Vancouver. Most recently, Colin animated 2D sequences in Seth Rogen’s Sausage Party and was Associate Director for Hello My Love.
Airi
Beltran
Mentor
Airi has been an animator for the past 10 years, working on shows from The Addams Family to Monsters at Work. She's been a Lead Animator for the past 6 years and comes from a software background that has proven an invaluable asset to her career.
Aidan
Langdon
Program Coordinator
Aidan Langdon is the Program Coordinator for Vancouver Film School's three animation programs: 3D Animation & VFX, Animation Concept Art, and Classical Animation. He is a concept artist and illustrator, and greatly enjoys the art of storytelling through environments.
Curtis
Amaral
Instructor
Manuel Armonio
Mentor
Manuel is a modeler and texture artist with experience ranging from video games to films. He maintains a generalist skillset for modeling and surfacing.
Marcelo De Castro
Mentor
Marcelo has spent the last 22 years contributing environment assets to a wide range of projects spanning TV, film, and advertising, including set design, pre-production, 3D environments, and Matte Painting. He currently works at CosaVfx as an senior Environment Generalist.
Anne Kopriva
Teaching Assistant
Anne is a Canadian theatre artist and animator. After graduating from University of Victoria's Theatre program, they pursued their lifelong dream of becoming a classical animator at Â鶹¹ÙÍø. Anne wanders the halls of Â鶹¹ÙÍø like a friendly ghost, coming up with new ideas to make people laugh.
Juan Franzius
Instructor
Juan is the Head of 3D Animation at Bardel Entertainment, and has been fortunate enough to work alongside many talented artists leading and helping them develop their animations skills. He has been teaching at Â鶹¹ÙÍø for 3 years.
Andrew Hudec
Instructor
Andrew is a Â鶹¹ÙÍø Foundation and 3D Animation alumni with 21 years of experience in the industry. He worked on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and currently is an Animation Director at ICON Creative Studio. His experience helps him elevate each student to greater potential.
Marv Newland
Instructor
Marv has been animating since 1969. He founded the animation production company International Rocketship Ltd in Vancouver in 1975, and has made films for the NFB and television product for companies in Canada, the USA and the Netherlands. He has no pets, tattoos, or legitimate opinions.ÌýÌý
Francois Van Eeden
Senior Instructor
Francois has worked in 3D Animation for almost 20 years. He spent 9 years working in the industry and the last 10 years as a full time instructor focused on modelling and surfacing.
Kayla Ziegler
Instructor/Mentor
Kayla joined the animation industry in 2016, working as a character animator and animation revisionist at Atomic Cartoons and WildBrain Studios. They’re proud to have worked on shows such as Molly of Denali, Max and Ruby, and The Snoopy Show. Kayla’s excited to help students master ToonBoom Harmony.
Jamal Knight
Mentor
Jamal is a seasoned educator & VFX artist, with experience in teaching animation, visual effects, & compositing. With a 20+ year career & a master's in Digital Effects, he has contributed to Life of Pi, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Suicide Squad.
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Andrew Mills
Mentor
With 15+ years in the animation & VFX industry, Andrew has contributed to film & TV projects for ILM, Scanline VFX, and MPC, with credits on Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, Avengers, & more. Andrew is passionate about mentoring the next generation of animators.
Karen Berna
Instructor
With 25+ years as an educator, Karen's mission is to awaken students' inner heroes and help them reach their potential. A certified coach through the Behavioural Coaching Institute, Karen also serves as Co-Chair of Vancouver's Women in Leadership Association.
Ali Rizvi
Mentor
Ali is an FX artist and Technical Director, specializing in realistic simulations. His expertise includes procedural growth, where he crafts lifelike growth of plants & trees and complex simulations like explosions, debris, dust, fluid dynamics, & cloth movement.
Alex Leung
Instructor
Full-time
Alex is an FX supervisor with 10+ years in film & animation. He's passionate about using media to tell compelling stories & fostering creativity through education. Alex's credits include LEGO Marvel & Star Wars productions, Ghostbusters, Suicide Squad, & more.