The very first scene I worked on in animation was camel spit with chewed hair in it, slowly oozing on Moses’s head. It was gross and wonderful - I was a trainee in the special effects department at DreamWorks Animation and had just graduated from an illustration degree at the Academy of Art in San Francisco! To say I felt lucky would be understating things; I was a girl who grew up in a tiny town in the English countryside and had dreamed of working in the movies since childhood.

For the next six years I learned my craft from the world class FX team bringing The Road to El Dorado, Spirit and Sinbad to life after Prince of Egypt was released; I worked my way up from trainee to assistant animator.

When DreamWorks turned its focus exclusively to CG animation I felt it was time for a change and had the hubristic idea that I might make my living with my painting, which has been a life-long joy. To keep the bills paid while I waited for a patron, I spent some time freelancing on projects in Los Angeles for tv, commercials, and FX for the movie version of Curious George and others as an FX animator, working still on paper at that time. (The reader may not be surprised to learn that the wait for that patron was long and unfruitful).

In 2005, having sat in about as much traffic and sunshine as I could take, I moved to Oregon and again freelanced, this time at PNW studios, Bent Image Labs and House Special among them. At House Special I was able to help design and create the FX for the magic on Carlos Steven’s The Alchemist’s Letter, which was great fun.

In 2010 I got a call from LAIKA Studios, who were looking for a traditional FX animator for their team working on ParaNorman, still to date the most fun I’ve had in animation. It was a joy to have more creative input than ever before to solve some of the design and movement challenges on Aggie in particular. It turned out to be work for which I was nominated along with the FX team who created Angry Aggie for the Visual Effects Society Awards that year.

After also working on the hand drawn FX elements on Boxtrolls, it was time for another change of creative work and I left LAIKA to start my own business. My natural textile design company Nettle & Silk has been the focus and has kept me busy for the last 8 years.

But lately I’ve been missing the collaboration of being part of an animation studio and missing the drawing and problem-solving of traditional FX work - it’s time to jump back in the animation pool!

I’m interested in remote or remote-hybrid projects needing an experienced hand-drawn FX element but would consider relocating for the right project. I would prefer to hand-draw and am proficient in Harmony but also have familiarity with other programs and learn quickly and on my feet. I credit being lucky enough to have had an arts education steeped in classic drawing, painting and design skills with preparing me well for a world in which one can bring all of those pieces into any program as they (and hopefully I) evolve.

Please note that I am currently working on a 2d animated project for the Japanese market, due to wrap in July 2023.

Please feel free to reach out if you have a project you feel would be a good match .

References available upon request.