Renee Dunlop
818.585.2211
renee@firewalkdigital.com

QUALIFICATIONS:

Alias|Wavefront Maya and PowerAnimator, and PhotoShop since 1992.
Background in lighting, modeling, and texturing.
Experience with Unix.
Six years digital production experience in games and an award winning short film.
Ten years contracting experience including multimedia, editing, and project management.
Eleven years digital experience, including 2D, 3D, Graphic Design, Illustration, 3D and Cel Animation.
Multiple classes in movement study, anatomy, and acting for animators.
Variety of art styles, from realism to surrealism to impressionism, from fantasy to eerie to industrial.

OBJECTIVE:
To work as a team member in a creative environment. To participate in extraordinary achievement. To create a world as we don't know it.

EMPLOYMENT:
Firewalk Digital, Turtle Bay Entertainment: Gaffer for "Gotham Cafe", short film based on "Lunch At The Gotham Café" from Stephen King's best-selling collection, "Everything's Eventual".

Firewalk Digital, View Askew Productions: Lighting TD for 16 second animated 3D logo for View Askew Productions, Kevin Smith. First showing in the film "Jersey Girl" (March, 2004) along with Lighting TD sequence from Major Damage, 2001.

Firewalk Digital, Emerging Entertainment: Lighting TD and Digital FX Coordinator for digital enhancements on live action short film project, "Berserker". Coordinated small team via internet adding digital elements to live action background. Handled Lighting and Texturing, plus some Modeling and Motion Tracking animation.

Guest lecturer, Cabrillo College: Conducted per semester on Visual FX.

Firewalk Digital, CallUs.com: Virtual set with fly through camera for web based news show. Handled entire design from concept, through revisions to final construction, texturing and lighting. Created in PhotoShop and Maya on NT platform. Total of 12 3D sets built including revisions and finished set. Project completed in two weeks.

Major Damage: Lighting and Surface Artist, Melvin's Room sequence. Earned top billing (under Lighting Supervisor). Lighting and textures for sequence, and textures for title character. Presented at Siggraph 2001 and at Cinequest San Jose Film Festival, 2002, on behalf of the short.

Explorati: 3D Artist/Art Director. MMOG using real time graphics. 3D art including concept, models and textures. Worked on both high and low res models, polygons and NURBS, repeatable texture maps for a period environment that aged throughout storyline. Art Director for marketing project. Responsible for staffing and managing team for 3D storyboard presentation.

Sierra On-Line: Lead Artist, Background Artist. Concept art, art direction, production schedules, and communicating with programmers for online environment "Middle Earth", a MMOG real time game and Tolkien License. Background Artist, Character Animator for two shipped titles.

Collegeville/Imagineering: Senior Designer Assistant, Concept Costume Design. Assisted senior designer in concept designs for both original and licensed Halloween costumes. Worked within constraints on licensed costumes and assisted in communication with license holders.

Earlier work:
Turtle Beach Systems: Lip Sync Animation Artist
Please Touch Children’s Museum (Philadelphia), multimedia kiosk: Compositing
Burroughs/Wellcome Pharmaceuticals, multimedia kiosk: Blue Screen Production Assistant, Compositing
Bucks County Theater Animation Festival: Editing
James A. Michener Art Museum: Co-coordinator and Supervising Editor, RAMS, ROMS and Rainbows Digital Arts Festival.

Education:
Degree in Art, minor in Computer Animation, GPA 3.83. Full pass course load, Siggraph 2000, 2003, 2004. Certification training in Maya Essentials. Full pass course load, GDC, 2003, 2004. Full suite of Maya Master Classes, GDC 2003. Acting for Animators with Ed Hooks. Multiple anatomy classes, Tai Chi, Modern Dance, and Yoga to study movement. Research on location: Disney MGM Studios (by invitation), Jim Henson Productions, Children’s Workshop. Basic web site and HTML training.

Other personal interests:
Writing, costume design, decorating, learning, roller coasters, camp fires, caving, hiking, new experiences, movies (duh), yoga, singing (in the closet), varmints, air, land, and water, and the occasional healthy scare.

Bio:
(back to top)

Renee Dunlop (nicknamed Rane) is a Digital FX Artist in games, film, web, video, and multimedia, and has been in the industry for approximately 11 years. Her background includes a variety of game companies such as Sierra On-Line, Yosemite Entertainment, Miacomet, and Explorati, working on both pre-rendered and real time titles. Over the years she has worked in digital lighting, textures, NURBS and Poly modeling, 3D animation, 2D cell animation, web site design, editing, multimedia, lip-syncing, and blue screen production. She has worked in a variety of packages including Photoshop, Maya, and PowerAnimator since 1992 starting on a Unix platform then moving to PC, MAX, SoftImage, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Premiere, and even Tips and Crystal Topaz.

Renee grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania in Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish country, and started drawing and sculpting as early as she can remember. After high school she moved to Quebec and spent the next three years as a fabric artist where she was known for her 3D tapestry art. Upon returning to the USA, she pursued a degree in Fine Arts with a minor in computer animation, graduating with a 3.83 GPA, while working at a costume company as Assistant to the Senior Designer.

She studied on a variety of 2D and 3D programs and assisted in the completion of an independent animation on Alias PowerAnimator that earned a grant from Johnson & Johnson. That exposure launched her into working at the local Alias office. She continued her career at SGI and as a freelancer in multimedia, and did a short stint as a demo artist and tutorial writer for a VAR in Manhattan. Not long after, she was offered a 3 month contract at Sierra On-Line just outside Yosemite National Park. Only 5 weeks later she was offered a permanent position.

At Sierra On-Line and Yosemite Entertainment, Renee produced 3D artwork on a number interactive projects, including SWAT 2, Cloak, Quest for Glory 5, and was lead Artist on the MMP Middle Earth. She went on to work in the games industry from her studio outside of Yosemite Park via the internet for game companies on both coasts. She also worked as a Lead Artist and Art Director for the company Explorati, and as a 2D cell animator and 3D modeler/animator for Miacomet.

Renee was recruited for the award winning short film "Major Damage" shortly after Siggraph 2000, where she worked as a Set Dresser, Lighter and Texture Artist, along with approximately 100 other volunteers from around the world. She was responsible for handling many textures and most lighting for Melvin and his room, textures for the Major himself, and lighting fixes for several of the Major's scenes. The team was supervised by three great members of the film and web community: Chris Bailey as the Creative Director, Kellie-Bea Cooper as Producer, and Doug Cooper as the CG Supervisor. The majority of the team never met until after the completion of the project, and worked almost exclusively over the internet, conquering production problems through language barriers and 24 hours of time zones. Renee received top billing (below Lighting Supervisor) for her contribution. "Major Damage" made its debut at Siggraph 2001 and is now internationally recognized. It was an extraordinary experience and a great opportunity to test her skills and stamina in an isolated environment. She presented on behalf of the Major Damage team at Siggraph 2001 and at the San Jose Film Festival, 12th Annual Cinequest.

Still based in California, Renee currently works as a contract artist in a variety of medias but is focusing her skills as a Lighting TD. Her traditional, multi-media, and 3D work has been shown in galleries, festivals, and museums including the James A. Michener Art Museum in Pennsylvania, the Please Touch Children's Museum of Philadelphia, and the Bucks County Animation Arts Festival.

Renee has continued her education with such courses as Acting for Animators, modern dance, tai chi, anatomy studies, sculpture, ceramics, and illustration, GDC and Siggraph courses, and various software specific certification courses such as Maya Certification and Master Classes. She has also done research into costuming at Disney MGM Studios (by invitation), Jim Henson Productions, and Children's Workshop. She loves the challenge, thrives on detail, and lives for a good render.

RELATED WEB SITES:
(back to top)
Major Damage Film Site: http://www.majordamage.org
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://us.imdb.com/Credits?0317890
Quest for Glory 5 info:  http://www.gamesdomain.com/demos/demo/820.html
SWAT 2 info:  http://www.happypuppy.com/win/demos/swat2.html

ARTICLES:
(back to top)
IMDb (Internet Movie Database)- Internet Movie Database
www.postmagazine.com
www.thescratchpost.com- http://www.thescratchpost.com/features/july01/features5.shtml
Women in Animation Organization- http://women.animation.org/

FILM:
(back to top)
Major Damage
Jersey Girl
View Askew Productions (logo)

GAMES:
(back to top)
Cloak
SWAT 2
Quest for Glory 5
Middle Earth
Gone Fishin'
Explorati

AWARDS:
(back to top)
Silver Sprocket International Film Festival, Best Children's Short Subject
5th Annual Magnolia Independent Film festival 2002, Best Animated Short
Westchester County Film Festival 2002, Best Animated Short
Crossroads Film Festival 2002, Best Animated Short
Gulf Coast Film and Video Festival 2002, Best Animation
Wine Country Film Festival 2002, Best Short Film: Animation
Canadian International Annual Film/Video Festival 2002, Best Independent Animation

OTHER:
(back to top)
James A. Michener Art Museum- Digital Art.
Please Touch Children's Museum of Philadelphia- Multimedia.
Bucks County Animation Arts Festival- Editing, and Animation Segments.
Burroughs/Wellcome Pharmaceuticals- Multimedia.
Turtle Beach Systems- Lipsync, Multimedia.
RAMS, ROMS and Rainbows Digital Arts Festival- Co-coordinator and supervising editor.
 
 

(Back to Top)

(Back to Who Is?)

(Back to Front Page)