Katherine Naeher Kaliniak

Work History

• 

  3D Animator

  Wētā FX

  August 2021 - Present

  New Zealand
• 

  Senior 3D Animator

  RocketWerkz

  May 2020 - August 2021

  Auckland, New Zealand

  Senior Animator on the AAA Game title: Icarus
• 

  Senior Animator

  Mill Film

  September 2019 - March 2020

  Adelaide, Australia

  Senior 3D Animator on "Cats," as well as other unreleased titles.
• 

  3D Character Animator and 3D Artist

  Assembly

  February 2016 - August 2019

  Auckland, New Zealand

  ­- Creating believable and appealing character animation using keyframes and / or motion capture
  
  -Working both in Maya and Motion Builder, as well as Photoshop and After Effects.
  
  ­- Animating rigid objects (cars / cameras / props)
  
  ­- Generalist modelling / texturing / shot setup / lighting / rendering / compositing tasks when needed.
  
  
  Completed Projects:
  - ANZ Credit Card commercial
  - Laika's "Kubo and the Two Strings," animation on our promotional video games
• 

  Freelance 3D Animator

  Assembly

  November 2015 - February 2016

  Auckland New Zealand

  - Motion Capture clean up using Motion Builder, and Keyframe Animation in Maya for multiple projects with PWC, throughout a handful of case studies.
• 

  Freelance 3D Animator

  Blockhead VFX

  November 2015 - November 2015

  Auckland, New Zealand

  3D Animator on a commercial for 8Bar Ice Coffee. I animated all scenes with the 3D Eagle.
  
• 

  Lead 3D Animator - Video Team

  Gameloft

  April 2015 - October 2015

  GameLoft Auckland's Video Team produce high-end cinematic style videos for Gameloft's marketing department. This includes game teasers, trailers, and various commercial work.
  
  - Working collaboratively with a full production team to develop various marketing materials to be used in both social media and television.
  - Creating fully animated projects from concept and Pre-vizualization, all the way through to completion.  Animating cameras, various bipedal, quadrupedal, and winged creatures, as well as all props in Maya and 3D Studio Max.
  - Animation Direction on all projects, and leading a team of 1-2 additional Animators.
  - Reviewing all Animated shots and providing detailed feedback to animators as per client requests, as well as individual shot needs.  This includes maintaining consistency in animation style throughout a project.
  - Directing our Character Rigger in all skeletal set ups, and working closely with him on all necessary features for each character depending on the project specifications and needs.
  - Managing shot lists, frame counts, camera breakdowns, and assisting to create production plans.
  - Assuring adherence to proposed production plans and deadlines from a Rigging and Animation standpoint on each project, including creating detailed time lines for each shot, depending on complexity and number of characters or props.
  - Modeling characters, as well as sets and props.  Exporting and cleaning up elements between 3D Studio Max and Maya, and ensuring consistency between characters used in our games as well as our marketing materials.
  - Rigging and skin weighting characters, and creating multi-use camera rigs for all scenes.
  - Voice Over artist for many of our Games and Advertisements, including Ice Age Adventures and Country Friends.
  
  
• 

  Mid Level 3D Animator

  Gameloft

  July 2014 - April 2015

  Auckland, New Zealand

  - Animating various bipedal, quadrupedal, and winged animals in 3D Studio Max to implement into game play on the “Ice Age Adventures” game for iPhone and Android.
  - Rigging and skinning characters in Max, as well as re-targeting rigs for new models from existing set ups to minimize data usage.
  - Organizing and exporting new and re-targeted characters into both the pipeline structure, and into game.
  - Testing characters and props through out game play to ensure there are no bugs, as well as troubleshooting any issues that may arise with any animated character or prop.
  
• 

  Freelance Character Animator

  Cirkus

  December 2013 - January 2014

  Auckland, New Zealand

  Worked on a short3D Animated TVC project for Rexona.
• 

  3D Animator

  Oktobor Animation

  November 2010 - December 2013

  Auckland, New Zealand

  • Creating high quality Animation for multiple Emmy Award Winning television series.
  • Required to work exceptionally fast on a daily basis to achieve the highest standard of animation within tight deadlines. Completing an average of 2,700 frames of finished animation per episode, within a given 10 week period, depending on the series.
  
  Animating on :
  • Nickelodeon's Emmy Award Winning TV Series: "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness."
  • Nickelodeon's Emmy Award Winning TV Series: "The Penguins of Madagascar."
  • Nickelodeon's "Robot and Monster."
  • Nickelodeon's "Monsters Vs Aliens."
  
  
  • Teaching new animators at Oktobor about our existing pipeline as an Animation Buddy, as well as becoming the first point of call for all questions and concerns during their first weeks at the studio. Providing advice on how to handle shot and character control set ups, as well as trouble shooting technical issues in individual scenes.
  • Anchor Animator within my individual team of 10 – 11. Responsibilities include both technical and creative assistance to other team members throughout the duration of a project. Providing direct answers and solutions to specific situations prior to Director involvement.
• 

  Animation and Graphics Intern

  Pixeldust Studios

  March 2010 - September 2010

  Bethesda, Maryland

  • Editing 2.5D graphics utilized in two episodes of TLC’s “Hoarding: Buried Alive.”
  • 2.5D Animation using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects for web productions of “Historivision: Churchill on the Afghan Front” and “Historivision: Copernicus and the Scientific Revolution.”
  • Creating 3D Creature Animation in Maya 2010 for National Geographic New Zealand’s “Jurassic CSI: Dino ER.”
  • Matte painting for NBC’s “Real Warehouse,” “Historivision: Churchill on the Afghan Front,” and hand modification of high-resolution satellite imagery for multiple projects.
  • Modification of the company DVD labels using Adobe Photoshop.
• 

  Freelance Production Assistant and Researcher.

  Henninger Media Services

  October 2009 - March 2010

  • Actively researching images and video footage for use in the "Aquaria Project" for the Assateague Island National Seashore.
  • Providing Production Assistance with wardrobe, extras, and general needs of the crew and cast in the production "Operation Lifesaver Pedestrian PSA."

• Lead Animator and Production Assistant

  Fit Kidz

  April 2009 - October 2009

  Working on a project for children's health and fitness to be used for the Public School System.
  
  • Lead Animator.
  • Associate modeler, texturer and lighter.
  • 3D Set designer.
  • Story boarding
  • Organized and directed casting calls.
  • Props
  • Production Assistant on Set
• 

  Production Intern

  Henninger Media Services

  September 2008 - December 2008

  ·Worked specifically on a documentary for the National Geographic Channel.
  ·Transcribed and time coded video interviews.
  ·Researched various topics including video shoot locations, news articles, and biographies relevant to projects.
  ·Arranged and assisted in video shoots on location.
  ·Revitalized text treatments and animations on projects to make them more creative and interesting.
  ·Assisted producers in props creation.
• 

  Visualization Intern

  FOX Architects

  June 2007 - August 2007

  • Worked in 3D Studio Max to create 3D models and animations to promote the Visualization Department.
  • Editing in Adobe After Effects.
  • Created storyboards in Adobe Photoshop.