The Artist’s Journey: Pathways into VFX

Marcella Brown is a Senior Effects Technical Director at Industrial Light and Magic, originally from Columbus, OH. She served in the US Army for over 5 ½ years as an ammunition specialist and is an Iraq War veteran. After retiring from the military, Marcella pursued her passion for art and received her bachelor’s degree in game art and design in 2013, before completing her certificate in visual effects from Gnomon in 2017. Her credits include Elemental, Avatar: The Way of Water, Encanto, and Godzilla vs Kong to name a few prior to her work at ILM. She has contributed her skills at Walt Disney Animation Studios, WētāFX, Pixar Animation, ScanlineVFX, and MPC Film. In 2019, Marcella founded The VFX Club and is the host of its podcast, “The VFX Club Podcast.”

Christian Olan-Geddes is an Effects Artist at DreamWorks Feature Animation with seven years of industry experience. He began his career at Rhythm & Hues shortly after graduating from Gnomon, where he worked on commercials and episodic television projects like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. With his valuable experience from Rhythm & Hues, Christian went on to contribute to several notable films, including recent projects such as Disney Animation's Strange World, Pixar's Elemental, and DreamWorks' The Bad Guys.

Christian's skill set encompasses a blend of technical expertise and artistic direction, making him a valuable asset in the field of effects animation. In Elemental, he specialized in creating guided water effects that added depth and realism to the film's visuals. Additionally, in Strange World, Christian utilized command line tools to automate two sequences of effects, showcasing his proficiency in streamlining workflows. Furthermore, he demonstrated his ability to create procedural animations, such as procedurally animating sweat effects in The Bad Guys, adding dynamic details and humor to the characters.

Christian Olan-Geddes' contributions highlight his versatility, creativity, and strong command over effects animation techniques, making him a highly skilled professional in his field.

Santhosh Koneru is a 3D Modeler/Texture and LookDev artist with a 3D Generalist background. With over eight years of experience in the VFX industry, he has worked on creating game cinematics for titles such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Lawbreakers, League of Legends, various commercial advertising projects, and multiple music videos for the digital influencer Miquela. His film and TV credits include Westworld, The Boys, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Shazam 2, and The Batman.