Christopher McCabe
Rigging Artist
christopher.mccabe.77@gmail.com
DreamWorks Animation
Rigging Artist
Glendale, CA.
4/1/2022 / Present
- 3D Character rigging and skinning for primary and secondary class characters and associated wardrobe and props.
- Maintain relationship with animators to meet asset standards and identify and solve issues.
- Trained new employees in CurGen and NextGen pipelines.
- Maintained training documentation.
- Worked with pipeline API to automate tasks.
Company 3
Rigging Supervisor
Burbank, CA.
2020 – 2022
- Supervise the daily operations of a seven person rigging department
- Manage the interdepartmental workflow of rigging for multiple television shows
- Communicate task statuses to animation, production, and management
- Work with production to meet project deadlines and expectations
- Prioritize feature requests for the animation team
- Implement modular rigging system in place of linear workflow for character rigs
- Develop modular rig components using Python
- Administer and maintain F.A.C.S. facial rigging system
- Advance the facial motion capture workflow for all character rigs
- Record and process full body and facial motion capture for animation library
- Apply Git version control standards and practices for software tool development
- Build software tools to assist in daily departmental tasks • Diagnosis and resolve issue reported by animation at rig and shot level
DNeg
Rigging Artist
Montreal, Canada.
2019 – 2020
- Set up and maintained complex creature rigs
- Developed and enhanced rig modules within the Pinocchio rigging system
- Wrote function libraries to automate common rigging tasks
- Collaborated with the Animation department to implement specific rig requests
- Collaborated with the CFX department to support Ziva work flow
- Provided support to secondary rigging department in Mumbai
- Tested pipeline and provided recommendations for ongoing improvements
- Attended production meetings to evaluate and prioritize development milestones
Blur Studio
Rigging Artist
Culver City, CA.
2017 – 2019
- Collaborated with modeling and animation departments to articulate realistic characters
- Produced rig functions and requirements based on animators’ requests
- Designed and created character effects such as cloth and fur simulations
- Provided support to character rigs throughout production
- Created User Interfaces and tools to assist the CFX and Rigging departments
- Developed long-term strategies to automate character production
- Worked with Leads and Production staff to prioritize tasks
Reel FX
Rigging Artist
Dallas, TX.
2016 – 2017
- Worked with Leads to create and execute the Director’s vision of fur and cloth on all productions
- Run realistic and stylized cloth simulations in a production environment
- Developed complex garments for use in shot work
- Performed corrective shapes and sculpting fixes for cloth simulation in shot
- Developed and create new tools for the pipeline and fellow artist
- Rendered cloth and hair elements
Janimation
Lead 3D Artist
Dallas, TX.
2015 – 2016
- Participate in creative brainstorm sessions with Artists and Designers
- Model, texture, rig animate and render environments, effects, characters and props
- Develop pipeline and artist tools to drive quality and improve performance
- Manage and mentor internal talent by providing training and pipeline support
Element X Creative
Lead 3D Artist
Dallas, TX.
2011 – 2015
- Manage assets and technical development for various projects
- Create original character models, rigs, textures and animation.
- Supervise junior art staff throughout production
- Implement and maintain Arnold render
- Develop effects and tools using Softimage node editor.
Vancouver Film School
3D Animation and Visual Effects
2007 / 2008