Faculty

Sophie Désaulniers is also a Creative Specialist at Foundry, a developer of creative software for the media and entertainment industry. With over 8 years in the industry and a strong foundation in traditional arts, she blends technical knowledge with a passion for storytelling. Her work bridges digital and classical practices, from USD-based procedural workflows in Katana, Mari, and Nuke to life drawing and sculpture. She has trained artists and studios internationally, in both French and English, and is recognized for her collaborative, artist-focused approach to education. Sophie encourages curiosity, technical confidence and creative exploration in every learning environment she supports.

Gilberto Jimenez is a CG generalist, 3D instructor and filmmaker with over 10 years of experience in animation, TV and visual effects. His work has been featured in international film festivals such as Short Shorts Asia & Japan and Monterrey International Film Festival. His personal work blends animation and mixed techniques and original music to explore social themes. He has worked in animation, live-action and game cinematics at Vancouver studios MPC, IGG, Bardel Entertainment and others.

Dr. Jordan Gowanlock’s work focuses on the interaction between technology and creative practice in the history of animation, special effects and games. He has a PhD in Film and Movie Image Studies from Concordia University and was a Visiting Researcher at University of California Berkeley, with support from the Fonds de Recherche sur la Société et la Culture. Jordan has published in the academic journals Animation, Technoculture and Navigationen and has published a monograph through Palgrave Macmillan titled Animated Unpredictable Effects.

Adriana received her MFA degree from the Division of Animation and Digital Arts, School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Before joining academia, she worked as a senior digital trainer for teams of animators at Sony Pictures Imageworks. She has also collaborated with several independent directors creating visual effects for their award-winning projects.

Born in South Korea, Woonam Kim studied Korean Literature before earning an MFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts. Woonam has worked as an animator and CG artist at Industrial Light and Magic, Digital Domain and Microsoft Game Studios. His credits include Star Wars: Episode III, War of the Worlds, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Thor and Ender’s Game.

John Li is an educator and expert in the 3D animation industry. With over 23 years of experience, he continues to refine his craft while mentoring the next generation of animators. His career spans some of the most renowned studios in television, film, and video games, including Sony, Microsoft, and Disney, where he has contributed to projects across multiple platforms. John’s deep understanding of animation production ensures his students gain real-world knowledge and skills to succeed in a competitive industry.

Rubén Möller works as an independent animator in Vancouver. He pursues film and digital production to evolve his theory and practice of new media structures. Through his own production company along with television and theatrical organizations he branches out these ideas into industry and education.

Viv is a creative professional with more than 20 years in VFX, animation and games. After a successful career as a senior lighting artist, she shifted her focus to mentorship and recruitment, using her deep understanding of the 3D pipeline and creative industry workflows to support emerging talent. As a content creator, teacher and career coach, she empowers artists through portfolio development, job search guidance and community mentorship. Viv also advocates for industry inclusivity, serving on the WIA board where she leads mentorship recruitment, acting as a Women in Games Ambassador, and being a member of the Visual Effects Society.

Marc Roumi has been actively engaged in the entertainment industry for over 15 years. With a passion for Disney and a flair for vibrant colors and creativity, he has had the privilege of working on numerous international franchise shows, including Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Transformers. Currently, he serves as a Lighting/Compositing Supervisor on Lego/Marvel, where he brings expertise in visual arts and technical skills to deliver outstanding results.

Keith Shapland is an industrial designer and educator. As a designer he specializes in the development of mock-ups and prototypes, ranging in scale from a full size 747 interior to tiny surgically implanted medical devices. He has designed and made a wide range of things, including aircraft cockpit voice recorder test and manufacturing equipment, trade show booths and museum exhibits. He was also an image compositor at Mainframe Entertainment on MTV’s Spiderman and Barbie.

Alisha Steinberger began her career at Scanline VFX, working on Hollywood movies The Suicide Squad, Black Widow and Eternals. Alisha then worked at BRON Studios on TV series before finally moving to Meta, working as an animator at their first party game studio Sanzaru Games. Alisha also worked on the AAA VR game Asgard’s Wrath 2.