Dina Salama

Work History

• 

  Senior Character Artist

  Rayon FX

  April 2024 - July 2024

  Montreal, Quebec, Canada · Remote

  Responsibilities:
  - Modeling, Animal Muscle & Bones Creation, Texturing, Grooming & Look Development in Houdini and Arnold.
  - Implement probability-based shading techniques in Houdini to create realistic texture variations for fur, feathers, and skin.
• 

  Groom Artist

  Pixomondo

  January 2024 - March 2024

  Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany · Remote

  Projects:
  Woodwalkers (2024)
  
  Responsibilities:
  - Collaborate with modelers to refine the animal's base geometry, ensuring it provides a suitable foundation for grooming and resembles the animal’s anatomy accurately.
  - Create highly realistic fur that matches the animal’s specific breed, species, and age based on the real on-set animal.
  - Develop custom shaders for the animal’s fur.
  - Work closely with the Look Development team to achieve lifelike textures, ensuring that fur and skin textures respond realistically under different lighting conditions.
  - Collaborate with CFX to ensure the groom responds naturally to movement, considering muscle and skin deformations.
  - Troubleshoot technical and artistic challenges in grooming, finding solutions that maintain quality without compromising render times.
  - Document the grooming process, shaders, and other technical aspects to support other artists and provide future reference.

  
• 

  Senior Character Artist

  Terminal FX

  November 2023 - February 2024

  Remote

  Projects:
  Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024)
  Mary and George (2024)
  
  Responsibilities:
  - Create highly detailed 3D models of animals and insects based on references, ensuring anatomical accuracy and aesthetic appeal.
  - Design and implement grooming solutions for fur, ensuring they can be adjusted efficiently for different shots.
  - Address technical and creative challenges by developing solutions that optimize asset quality and render efficiency.
  - Create procedural systems that allow fur and texture details to scale, supporting various levels of detail while maintaining visual integrity.

  
• 

  Lead 3D Character Artist

  Trend VFX

  January 2021 - November 2023

  Clients: Netflix, Amazon, Shahid and Viu
  
  Projects:
  Oscar: Return Of The Mammoth (unpublished)
  The Assassins (2024)
  Slave Market (2023-2024)
  Go for Grandma (2023)
  Day 13 (2023)
  The Boys (2022)
  Lullaby (2022)
  Into The Dark (2022)
  
  Responsibilities:
  - Build feather and fur Houdini workflows.
  - Scoping improvements of the grooming pipeline & development.
  - Develop and implement efficient workflows and pipelines to streamline character production processes.
  - Mentor junior artists, providing guidance on techniques, tools, and industry best practices to enhance their skills and career growth.
  - Conduct interviews.
  - Collaborate with directors and art supervisors to establish and maintain a cohesive artistic vision across projects.
  - Conduct regular reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members, promoting continuous improvement and artistic excellence.

  
• 

  3D Character Artist

  Trend VFX

  March 2020 - January 2021

  Projects:
  In Our House There Is A Robot (2021)
  The Humans and the Mongoose (2021)
  Wadi Al Jinn (2021)
  Newton's Cradle (2021)
  
  Responsibilities:
  - Develop detailed 3D characters and animals from concept art and real-life references, ensuring fidelity to design and artistic direction.
  - Create and apply textures using industry-standard techniques, enhancing the realism and visual quality of character assets.
  - Cleaning up scanned data for digital doubles.
  - Create facial blend shapes for animals and digital humans for animation department.
  - Utilize Yeti for grooming to produce realistic hair and fur, focusing on natural movement and texture.
  - Look development in Maya and Arnold, optimizing shaders and lighting to achieve the desired character appearance in scenes.
  - Collaborate with other artists and departments to ensure seamless integration of character assets into the overall project.
  - Deliver character assets within specified timelines, maintaining high standards of quality and artistry.
• 

  GTA in Multimedia and Computer Graphics

  Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transpo

  September 2016 - September 2018

  Alexandria Governorate, Egypt · On-site

  Responsibilities:
  - Developed and delivered engaging course materials for "Introduction to Multimedia" course, focusing on key concepts and techniques in digital media.
  - Facilitated interactive sessions in "Human Computer Interaction," guiding students in understanding user-centered design principles.
  - Assisted in the "Media Production" course, providing hands-on support in various aspects of multimedia creation, from pre-production to post-production.
  - Led discussions and projects in "Game Design," encouraging creativity and critical thinking in game development processes.
  - Conducted professional training sessions in Adobe software, equipping students with essential skills for multimedia design and production.
• 

  3D Generalist

  Brandsoul AG

  August 2017 - September 2017

  Zürich Area, Switzerland · Remote

  Created a short animation featuring stylized characters for the company’s website landing page. Responsibilities:
  - Concept Design.
  - Modeling stylized characters.
  - Rigging.
  - Animation.
  - Rendering.