Jacob Hilton

Jacob Hilton

Jacob Hilton is a CG Generalist living in Los Angeles, Calif

Lead Crowd Artist / 6 yrs

Los Angeles, CA

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Crowds Lead

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

Crowds Artist

Trolls Band Together (2023)

Crowds Artist

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Crowds Artist

The Bad Guys (2022)

Crowds Artist

The Boss Baby 2 (2021)

Crowds Artist

Gen: Lock (2019)

Animator

Bluefin on the Line (2014)

Crowds Artist;layout Artist

RWBY (2013)

Digital Compositor;compositor

Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles (2003)
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Crowds Artist
Guinea Pig Run
00:06
Crowds Artist
Crowd Control
00:04
Lead Crowds Artist
Komodo Waterfall
00:10
Highlight Reel
00:19
Jacob Hilton is a CG Generalist living in Los Angeles, California with over 12 years of experience in 3D Animation, from documentary and new media to feature films. He is proficient in many software packages including — Windows, Linux, Maya, Houdini, 3DS Max, Blender, After Effects, and Unreal Engine. Jacob’s work can be seen in many TV series and animated features including: The Bad Guys, Kung Fu Panda 4 and the Wild Robot.
Work History

  • Lead Crowd Artist, Developer, Unreal Engine Generalist

    DreamWorks Animation

    January 2020 - May 2024
    Glendale, California, United States · Hybrid

    - Lead Crowd Artist for Kung Fu Panda 4 -
    · Managed artists and shotwork while adapting to technology changes in the pipeline.
    · Worked with production to establish tracking documents and ShotGrid (Autodesk Flo Production Tracking) workflows
    · Delivered crowd sequences with aggressive and changing deadlines/dependencies which included adapting to the industry strikes in 2023.
    - Unreal Engine Generalist -
    · Built a crowd system using Unreal Engine's Blueprints to create quick populations of 10 different animal types. Functions were also setup for randomizing the size and color of the characters as well as the static meshes assigned to these characters to create an expansive cast.
    · Using retargeting tools in Unreal engine, animations were recycled from previous shows and applied to the various characters that had been setup for Kung Fu Panda 4 previz. Motion capture was also used to capture my performance for specific actions needed for the show.
    · Using the crowd tools that were created for Unreal Engine, scenes were setup to explore crowd density, composition, camera lenses and angles, as well as early motion requirements for massive cityscape sequences.
    · Troubleshooting to solve problems in crowd simulations, cycles, and renders.
    · As the spearhead of the Unreal Engine crowd effort, I presented pre-visualization of crowds, placed in various sets in order to determine environment modeling, and rigging needs at an early date. This saved calendar time and labor costs.
    - Crowds Shot Artist (Boss Baby2/Puss In Boots 2/The Bad Guys /Trolls 3 /Wild Robot) -
    · Trained new artists on DreamWorks crowds pipeline and provided troubleshooting support on the fly.
    · Delivered crowd sequences under aggressive timelines with many technical hurdles to overcome.
    · Crowd character setup, development and troubleshooting.
    · Developed various workflows including tools for time offset as well as creating quick crowd layouts and separating them into groups for export.

  • Creative Director

    Pixel Mover

    June 2011 - Present
    Los Angeles County, California, United States · Hy

    · Communicating with clients and studios to produce high quality motion graphics, 3D, and animation.

  • Generalist / Crowds Shot Artist - TV

    DreamWorks Animation

    June 2019 - December 2019
    Greater Los Angeles Area · On-site

    · Setup and layout for crowds seen in Fast and Furious: Spy Racers as well as Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
    · Quickly promoted to Feature Animation Crowds department based on job performance

  • Lead Crowds Artist

    Rooster Teeth

    May 2018 - May 2019
    Austin, Texas Area

    · Trained and led a team of artists in producing animation cycles and crowd simulations
    · Generated crowds in Golaem and Houdini for 3D animated series RWBY and gen:LOCK
    · Responsible for motion capture transfer and layout for the 3D animated series RWBY

  • Camera & Layout Technical Artist

    Rooster Teeth

    April 2017 - May 2018
    Austin, Texas

    · Responsible for shot and scene layout and final camera for episodes of RWBY. Worked with layout and tech to develop camera and pipeline tools to improve workflow in the studio.

  • Freelance Compositor & Layout Artist

    Rooster Teeth

    November 2016 - April 2017
    Austin, Texas, United States

    · Compositing in After Effects for the series RWBY and Red vs Blue

  • Freelance Motion Designer

    Invodo

    June 2016 - September 2016
    Austin, Texas, United States · On-site

    · Motion Graphics using After Effects / Element 3D for Verizon and Moto Z products

  • Freelance Motion Graphic Designer

    Proof Advertising

    March 2014 - July 2015
    Austin, Texas Area · Hybrid

    · Created animated banners for ERA real estate that were shown on large trade show screens.
    · Built assets and renderings for Memorial Hermann 3D building layout.

  • Freelance Motion Graphic Designer

    NFusion

    March 2014 - March 2015
    Austin, Texas Area · On-site

    · Created animated Flash banners for clients such as Samsung, AMD, La Madeleine, and Alert Logic.
    · Worked on client pitches and company case studies in After Effects.

  • Digital Compositor;compositor

    McGarrah Jessee

    May 2013 - November 2013
    Austin, TX

    I created a promotional video for the Frost Bank Android app using Maya and After Effects. I also created a 2D character rig and animated a series for Job Propulsion Lab.

  • Motion Graphics Contractor

    Production For

    November 2013 - November 2013
    Austin, Texas Area · Remote

    · After Effects animation for Glimmer of Hope.

  • Motion Graphics Contractor

    McGarrah Jessee

    August 2013 - November 2013

    · 3D, motion graphics, and post for Frost Bank, Shiner Bock, and Whataburger

  • 3D Modeler and Multimedia Designer

    SCCI

    September 2011 - May 2013
    Austin, Texas Area · On-site

    · Producing 3D assets to be used in Flash activities for the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)
    · Creating designs and programming in Flash for the United States Navy

  • Contract 3D modeler

    Critical Mass Interactive

    April 2011 - August 2011
    Austin, Texas Area · On-site

    · Character modeling and texturing in Maya for slot machine animations
    · 3D asset creation and compositing to create scenes for themed games

  • Director / Character Modeler

    Mech Mod

    October 2009 - August 2010
    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada · On-site

    · Wrote, directed, and created models for the 3D short film Nuts and Bots.

  • Digital Designer / Illustrator / Flash Animator

    HCB Health

    March 2008 - October 2008
    Austin, Texas, United States · On-site

    · Created illustrations that appeared in national publications
    · Designed animated banner ads for web sites
    · Worked with creative team members on advertising concepts

  • Digital Designer / Illustrator / Flash Animator

    SJ&J advertising

    March 2007 - August 2007
    Austin, Texas, United States · On-site

    · Created designs for national retail outlet
    · Produced ads for national restaurant chain

  • Intern

    HC&B Healthcare Communications

    June 2006 - August 2006
    Austin, Texas, United States · On-site

    · Made both final artwork and comps for print and web advertisements.

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Education

  • Vocational, 3D modeling for Games and animation

    The Art Institute of Vancouver

    2008 - 2011

  • The University of Texas at San Antonio

    2006 - 2008