My Résumé

• Biography
• Employment
• Education
• Skills
• Accomplishments

I am seeking a fulltime or freelance position in 3D animation. I have over three years of in-depth, multi-platform industry experience, and a thorough understanding of the methods for developing animation for film, games, and web assets. Not only do I possess a solid dedication to the team while always keeping the final goal in mind, but I have proven ability to work in a group or individually, meet deadlines, and adapt to job requirements. My skill set spans technological and traditional animation and artistic mediums while continuing to pay great attention to detail.

I currently reside in Lakewood, Colorado just outside of Denver, but am open to opportunities regardless of location.

Current Member of the following Organizations:

• ACM Siggraph
• ASIFA Colorado
• Colorado Game Developers Association

Freelance Animation Experience - Freelance Artist

July 2008 - Present

Assisted the teams of Walrus & Carpenter, Laser LTD, ADA Sport, TripleJack LLC, Online Tools for Parents, and Little Wolf Pictures meet their needs on short term animation projects. Work closely with creative directors to determine project needs, timelines, and budgets. Implemented the information to produce approved work.

Selected achievements:

• Re-Designed and Re-Animated an illustrated trailer for a dramatic reading of Alice in Wonder-land. Continued to animate on the movie project
• Worked with project lead to design an illustrated advertisement for various marketing materials
• Created original Flash animation for a series of web episodes for ADA Sport
• Animated 2D Flash "bomb" and cariacature of Obama for online game
• Set up 3 characters for Online Tools for Parents (a nutritional website for kids) and animated 45 secs of entertaining and motivational clips for the site's "Pick Chow" game
• Tasked with final clean-up and in-betweens for an introductory film for magician Charles Bache's Las Vegas magic show "Wonders". Animated several 2D effect scenes, including laser beams adn end sequence, and assisted with final cleanup of water splash.

Kerpoof Studio, Walt Disney Internet Media Group - Associate Animator

November 2008 - September 2009

The company's goal was to release a new interactive game portal on DIsney.com. Exceeded expectations on all assets fro Disney Make A Picture, Comic Book Creator, and Animods.

Selected achievements:

• Contributed to Animods by developing creative and entertaining ways for the "pets" to interact with the Player
• Animated the Bird and collaborated with team members on the Cat and Dragon

AnimationMentor.com

Graduated in September 2011

Completed online courses for Character Animation. Individual mentors included active animators at Pixar, Blue Sky, Reel FX, and many others. Courses included Basic Principles, Body Mechanics, Advanced Body Mechanics, Introduction to Acting, Advanced Acting, and Polish and Portfolio.

Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design - Bachelor of Fine Arts

Graduated in December 2007 - Magna Cum Laude, 3.78GPA

Courses included substantial foundation artistic courses such as drawing, painting, life drawing, photography, and sculpture. Animation courses included Modeling, Texturing, Lighting, and Character Rigging in Maya, plus Advanced 3D character animation, Traditional Animation, and 2D Computer Animation, etc.

Scholarships / Awards

Paul Hall Memorial Scholarship Award - Animation (Won 3 times)
RMCAD Merit Scholarship (Won 2 times)

My art skills include 3D Character Animation, 2D Flash and Cell Animation, 3D Modeling and Texturing, Storyboarding Art, Character Design, and Illustration. My core software skills include:

Autodesk Maya

I have been using Maya since 2003, and would classify myself as a junior animator, but with good working knowledge of all aspects of the Maya program. My strengths with the application are modeling and animation.

Adobe Photoshop

I have used Photoshop since 1998 and use it on a daily basis for most of my projects.

Adobe After Effect

I learned After Effects in preparation for working for Walrus & Carpenter. I continued to learn and am now well-versed in AE's methods and features.

Adobe Dreamweaver

This program I have limited experience with, but I am comfortable navigating and setting up basic websites.

Adobe Flash

I pride myself on my Flash animating skills, and if you ever need anything done with this program, then I am the person for you! I have animated, set up scenes and characters, and compiled projects extensively since 2007.

Adobe Fireworks

Fireworks has proved invaluable when I was first learning Dreamweaver and setting up my first sites. I really appreciate its ability to optimize graphics and its ability to set up directories and web files for my projects.

Adobe Premiere

I started using this program at RMCAD and have many years of experience with video editing, project compiling, and exporting with various outputs.

A few of the projects and competitions I have been involved in.

Won "Second Best in Show" at SIGGRAPH'S 2009 GAME JAM!

August 2009

• Created original 2D Flash assets that were implemented into game play
• Played a valuable role in the winning group that competed against two other teams in a race to create a Flash video game in 24 hours that was judged by the public
• Animated 2 ending possibilities - one for "losing" and one for "winning"
• Co-Developed the story panels for game's introduction

Perchance to Dream, A Lauren Kimball Film

August - September 2008

Texture Artist / Character Modeler

• Took part in creating a short film about the effects captivity has on killer whales
• Won several awards and was featured in many prestigious film festivals including the South Beach Animation Festival
• Textured Miami Sea Aquarium billboard
• Modeled character for crowd-cheering scene

Mr. Clarence Seahorse, A Melissa Guldbrand Film

January - April 2008

Creator / Director

• Produced and directed a unique short film for the Second RMCAD Honors Portfolio Program that illustrates the effects loneliness has on a person when they reach the final stages of life
• Wrote original story and designed all pre-production assets (concepts, illsutrations, and 3D models)
• Directed and worked closely with fellow artists who took part in the production
• Created high-quality 3D animation of main character, supporting props, and camera

About Melissa

I have wanted to be an animator since I was 14 years old, and as of September 2011, I have both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design (Lakewood, CO) and have graduated from an 18-month animation course at AnimationMentor.com, which was founded by some of the best working animators in the business. My mentors included working artists from Pixar, Blue Sky, Reel FX, and more. I have had several intern positions while working my way through college, including two video game companies which included a division of Walt Disney Internet Media Group.

The picture at left was taken at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Lakewood, Colorado. I graduated Magna Cum Laude in December 2007. Following my graduation, I was invited to participate in the second RMCAD Honors Portfolio Program and completed that program in the summer of 2008. I have been working on freelance opportunities since then, as well as the AnimationMentor.com course.

I was born in Sweden, and hold dual citizenship in Sweden and the United States. I grew up in California, and have lived in Texas and Utah, and am now living in Lakewood, Colorado, just a few miles from Denver, the Mile High city. When I am not animating, drawing, or creating a new model, I love to travel, read books, play video games, and enjoy time with friends. I am looking for fulltime and freelance opportunities and look forward to new challenges and to work on exciting animation projects.

I very much enjoyed working with Melissa during her tenure at Kerpoof. She proved to be a very talented artist and demonstrated a high level of aptitude in the use of the Flash authoring tools. She was reliable, hard working and maintained excellent working relationships the staff. I highly recommend her.

– Sean Kelly, Kerpoof Studio, Walt Disney Co.

It is a pleasure to know and to have worked with Melissa Guldbrand. We began working at Kerpoof in 2008. I've known Melissa to be a creative, talented, hard-working animator, and her thirst for knowledge is vast. She has a desire to discover all there is to know about her field, and she has continued her education to add new abilities to her natural talent. Her flair for storytelling and animation is unique, and she is exceptional at visualizing a concept and executing it with confidence. She manages time like a time wizard, and her focus is that of a laser. Her work ethic and gifts would be a welcome addition for any employer.

– Laurissa Hughes, Animator/Colleague

Portfolio

Contact Information

There are plenty of ways to reach me, but email is often the best. Thank you for your consideration, and I promise to return your call, email, or tweet just as soon as possible!

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