Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Kevin McCullen

Simi Valley,CA

Summary

Adaptable professional Animator with a strong track record with AAA and mobile game pipelines across multiple platforms. Expert in creating innovative tools and workflows with Maya, Unreal Engine, character performance, real-time VFX, and cinematic storytelling. Adept at leading teams and streamlining production processes in early-stage R&D environments.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience

Work History

Senior Animator

Visual Concepts
07.2019 - Current
  • Led motion capture shoot for NBA 2K25: Gravity Ball, ensuring precise player movement and athletic realism.
  • Created dance cards to guide performers, refining locomotion transitions for animation-driven PvP combat mechanics.
  • Cleaned up locomotion and weapon animations, optimizing responsiveness and combat feel and animation prototyping for new mechanics.
  • Provided feedback to external animation teams, ensuring consistency in outsourced animations for LEGO Drive and Gravity Ball.
  • Developed crowd VFX systems using Niagara, enhancing dynamic environmental responsiveness.
  • Prototyped reactive vehicle effects, ensuring smooth visual transitions that reinforce gameplay mechanics.
  • Worked closely with designers to prototype power-ups, refining gameplay feedback loops for fun player interactions.
  • Created Maya Python tools to streamline workflows for character animation and modeling.
  • Provided Unreal Blueprint support, improving sequencing and cinematic integration for 2K LEGO Drive.
  • Strong storytelling focus through previsualization, ensuring cohesive cinematic sequences that enhance narrative immersion.
  • Designed rigs for quadrupedal, arachnid, fish, and bipedal characters, ensuring fluid motion fidelity across various animation needs.
  • Provided 2 years of direct management across shared internal resources, interns, task allocation through Jira, Monday and Shotgrid.
  • Mentored junior animators, fostering skill development and ensuring quality standards across multiple production pipelines.
  • Acted as a key liaison between in-house and external teams, reviewing and providing feedback resources to hit quality on outsourcing efforts.

Technical Animator

Daybreak Games
10.2018 - 07.2019
  • Developed rigging and animation systems for sci-fi weapons with custom state machine logic integrated within morpheme and custom proprietary engine.

Associate Animator

MZ Game Studio
03.2015 - 04.2018
  • Engineered rigs and animations for mobile 3D characters, creatures, and vehicles.
  • Crafted a unique visual style for low-poly, cartoony characters and supported storyboarding and previsualization for outsourcing pipelines.

3D Compositor

Legend 3D
11.2014 - 02.2015
  • Applied advanced compositing techniques for the film 'The Walk.'

Animation Intern

Sony Online Entertainment
04.2014 - 06.2014
  • Integrated and cleaned motion capture data into the Planetside 2 animation pipeline.

Education

Art Institute -

Art Institute
San Diego, CA
01.2014

Skills

  • Cascadeur
  • Maya
  • 3ds Max
  • MotionBuilder
  • After Effects
  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • Unity
  • Unreal Engine
  • Morpheme
  • Jira
  • Python
  • C
  • MEL API
  • Unreal Blueprint
  • Animation prototyping
  • Pipeline & Tool Development
  • Motion capture
  • Character rigging
  • Animation cleanup
  • Mentorship
  • Character animation
  • Team collaboration
  • Cinematic integration
  • Project management
  • Keyframe animation
  • Particle effects

Timeline

Senior Animator

Visual Concepts
07.2019 - Current

Technical Animator

Daybreak Games
10.2018 - 07.2019

Associate Animator

MZ Game Studio
03.2015 - 04.2018

3D Compositor

Legend 3D
11.2014 - 02.2015

Animation Intern

Sony Online Entertainment
04.2014 - 06.2014

Art Institute -

Art Institute

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Kevin McCullen