3D ANIMATION & VISUAL EFFECTS FACULTY
VFS 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 VFS ADVANTAGE.
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.
Casey
Kwan
Creative Director
Casey has devoted himself to the computer animation industry for 25 years. For the last twelve years at VFS, he has focused his experience as a production designer, CG supervisor, and art director to shape VFS's industry-focused curriculum.
Kristine
Baz
Senior Instructor
Kristine is a compositor who works in TV and Film, with a BA in Film and a diploma in 3D Animation & VFX. She joined VFS as faculty in 2019 and continues to work in the industry, most currently at Warner Bros. TV, bringing her experience to the classroom.
Myriam
Casper
Instructor - Editing
Myriam is a documentary filmmaker, editor, and photographer. Since 2003, she has mentored 4500+ student short films and animations at VFS. Myriam previously worked as Producer for Channel M television, and cinematographer and editor on Mosaico TV, a documentary series about Portuguese colonies.
Arthur
Gonzales
Instructor
Arthur is a CG generalist from London, Ontario. He co-founded VRcadia.ca, a VR venue, and ExarStudios.com, which is dedicated to VR/AR development and film production. He has taught 3D software for 7 years, and hosted London’s 1st VR film festival.
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.
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.
Lawrence
Wong
Senior Instructor
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.
Dave Ritchey
Mentor
Dave Ritchey is the Animation Director at Atomic Cartoons. He has experience in both 3D and 2D animation, and as a mentor offers shot feedback and career advice.
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 VFS. Anne wanders the halls of VFS 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 VFS for 3 years.
Andrew Hudec
Instructor
Andrew is a VFS 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.
Marc Mason
Instructor
Marc is a VFX Producer based out of FuseFX's Vancouver office. With a decade of experience in visual effects, his work spans feature films, TV, and commercials. Marc has worked at prestigious visual effects companies, such as MPC, Digital Domain, Prime Focus, Zoic Studios, and DNEG.
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.
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
Senior Instructor - VFX
Jamal brings 20 years of experience of working in the visual effects industry. He holds an MA in Digital Effects, and has worked in England, Australia, US and Canada at VFX companies such as ILM, Sony, Digital Domain and Method Studios.