Ken Henderson

Work History

• 

  Instructor, Animation and Concept Art program

  Vancouver Film School

  June 2015 - Present

  Vancouver, Canada Area

  I teach two foundational courses (Digital Painting 1 - Understanding Tonal Value/Digital Painting II - Understanding Colour) in Term's 1 and 2 of Vancouver Film Schools new Animation and Concept Art program.

• Concept Designer

  Ken Henderson-Design

  October 2014 - Present

• Studio Art Manager

  Atomhawk Canada Ltd.

  October 2021 - May 2023

  Vancouver, BC
• 

  Senior Instructor - Animation Concept Art Program

  Vancouver Film School

  June 2019 - November 2021

  Vancouver, Canada Area

  Overseeing the entire Animation Concept Art (ACA) program's structure and curriculum to ensure it's in line with industry best practices, techniques and tools. Along with the Head of Animation and Creative Director work to implement changes to curriculum and course structure when necessary. Instruct students in digital painting techniques, creative thinking, production pipeline needs and the foundational requirements to be successful within the industry.
• 

  Art Director

  DHX Media ~ 'Blaze and the Monster Machines'

  July 2016 - June 2017

  Vancouver, Canada Area
• 

  Art Director ~ 'Bob the Builder'

  Rainmaker Entertainment

  April 2016 - June 2016

  Vancouver, Canada Area

  Brought in to help finish up the episodic portion of Bob the Builder and lead the Visual Direction of the 1HR Bob Special.
• 

  Design Supervisor ~ 'Beat Bugs'

  Atomic Cartoons

  March 2015 - January 2016

  Vancouver, Canada Area

  I was hired as a Senior Designer and then promoted to the Design Supervisor on Beat Bugs. My role was to help bring the creative process back in line with production and scheduling goals. Managing client expectations, design and asset throughput, script feasibility and process workflow solutions with other Supervisors. In one month I helped turn a stale mate with the client into a workable system with approval throughput and accountability.
  
  I was also in charge of Script breakdowns and Script kickoffs with the client. In those meetings we would balance the feasibility of the script and brainstorm creative solutions to ensure that the core idea of the story came through in a production friendly approach.
  
  Based on the awards the show has garnered I think we hit that balance pretty well:
  
  Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts - Best Children's Television Series
  Daytime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Writing in a Preschool Animated Program
  Leo Awards - Best Animation Program or Series
• 

  Art Director/Production Designer/Matte Painter

  Rainmaker Entertainment

  July 2013 - August 2014

  Vancouver, BC

  Hired to help bring the Studio’s vision for their new Sly Cooper feature film to life. I worked closely with Kevin Munroe (director) to reinvent the characters and bring the stylized comic book world to the screen. After that project was done I worked on 3 other development projects for the reborn Mainframe Entertainment Television division of Rainmaker. I was the point person for look development on each project including a 6 month sprint to reinvent ReBoot, the companies iconic original IP. In that 6 months I worked closely with the Executive Producer and Lead Writer on series development, character development, series bible construction and script ideas as well as defining the look for all characters, environments etc. As part of the project we created a teaser trailer which I art directed and created a matte painting for.
• 

  Cartoonist

  The Georgia Straight

  September 2007 - October 2013

  Freelance (Comox, BC and Dartmouth, NS.

  I created a weekly sports editorial cartoon at StraightJAB, keying in primarily on local BC based sports teams/events but also covered major sporting events/leagues/happenings.

• Production Designer @ DHX Media ~ Jim Henson's Doozers

  Halifax Film / DHX Media

  May 2012 - April 2013

  Halifax, NS

  Brought in to help shape the look and feel of the Doozer world, construction techniques and the rational behind it. Creating location, exterior and interior set concepts for the majority of the world along with colour concepts, texture usage and series palettes all while ensuring that the design work being done ensured that the most efficient and production friendly assets went through the pipeline.
  
  4 months into my Production Design role I was asked to help Art Direct the series, where I helped to develop shaders, UI solutions, compositing and matte painting elements etc. Involved in script reads/structure, breaking down asset needs, scheduling, work assignment throughout the design team and helping to trouble shoot issues within the asset pipeline from initial concept to final production ready models.

• Creative Director

  Our Big Earth Media Co.

  September 2008 - May 2012

  Canada

  Lead the creative development team to launch and grow one of Western Canada's leading digital periodicals for families. As creative director, I built unique advertising tools focused on engagement and interactive experience for businesses ranging from small entrepreneurs to multi-national corporations.
  
  Original community-based IP include:
  
  - The Comox Valley 30-Day Local Food Challenge
  - The Warmth of Christmas with Filberg Lodge
  - The Silliest Sandwich Competition
  - The Neighbourwood Walks Program
  - The SPROUTS Kids Gardening Program
  - NeighbourWood Eats Youth Food Education Program
  
  Licensed IP that I rebranded for national launch in the Canadian marketplace include:
  
  - National Costume Swap Day Canada
  - Books For Treats Canada

• Freelance Illustrator / Conceptual Designer

  Ken Henderson - Design

  May 2006 - May 2012

  While building a digital business keying in on community development with my wife, I worked on a wide range of projects for many of North America's industry leaders. Highlights include:
  
  FIFA STREET 3 NEXT GEN - EA Sports (Secondary Character Designer)
  STORM HAWKS - Nerd Corps (Set Design)
  STRAIGHT JAB - The Georgia Straight (Weekly Sports Editorial Cartoon in Canada's largest independent newspaper)
  TBA PROJECT - (Film, Book project. Lead designer, project manager)
  TBA PROJECT - Threewave Software Inc. (Conceptual Designer)
  "THIRST" film - Digital Alchemy (Matte Painter)
  ZIGBY - Digital Alchemy (Production Designer / Sets and Props)
  ZIXX LEVEL 3 - Digital Alchemy / Mainframe Entertainment (Production Designer / sets)
• 

  Contract Consultant/Designer

  DHX Media

  2011 - 2011

  Consultation on script development in regards to production feasibility, staffing, stylistic approach and budget projections. Also helped to create initial concept bible by contributing stylistic conceptual approaches and key location designs.
• 

  Art Director

  Perpetual Entertainment

  May 2005 - May 2006

  San Francisco Bay Area

  Visual development lead and Art Team manager for Next-Gen MMORPG based on the Star Trek franchise. Responsible for overall look and feel development, hiring and management of entire art team including outsource houses and contractors. Responsible for look research, Main character, 2ndary character, NPC, Starship and location conceptual design direction, storyboards, cinematics, color concepts, texture creation and any other aspect of look development for the game. Involved in the creation and definition of all production processes relating to the creation of the game including approval process, naming conventions, workflows, role definitions and general project policy.

• Pre / Post production Art Manager

  LucasArts Entertainment

  June 2003 - November 2004

  San Rafael

  Manager for the User Interface, Special Effects and Technical Art teams within company. Helped to manage project resource needs based on these teams and act as a liaison to production for production / personnel solutions within these disciplines. Work to assess production methodologies and help to refine and enhance those methodologies through proposals, staff mentoring and team meetings. Help to refine overall company production methodologies and assess and propose potential solutions. Also work to bridge the gap and open lines of communication between different LucasFilm divisions in order to share knowledge, techniques and expertise to increase skill level of existing staff and lay the groundwork for future collaborative efforts.

• Art Director

  Escape Factory

  November 2001 - May 2003

  Greater Seattle Area

  Visual development lead and Art Team manager for the company. Responsible for overall look and feel development and management of 7-person team to create assets needed to realize that vision. Responsible for look research, Main character, 2ndary character, NPC and location conceptual design, storyboards, cinematics, color concepts, texture creation, some 3D model asset creation and any other aspect of look development for the game. Involved in the creation and definition of all production processes related to the creation of the game including approval process, naming conventions, role definitions and general company policy.
  When the company lost its only project I led the effort to find new IP within the company. I organized and managed a company wide push to develop new IP and helped to choose 3 unique IP to develop from 47 submitted concepts. Assisted in the development and structure of each project through conceptual illustrations, gameplay concepts and story structure.
• 

  Art Department Head

  Mainframe Entertainment Inc.

  March 2000 - March 2001

  Led the visual development of all future projects. Met with clients to discuss their expectations, deliverables, parameters etc. Created set and character designs for some of the proposals. Art directed the majority of the promos and created numerous character concepts for all upcoming and potential projects during this time.
  Met with other department heads to discuss production methodology and implement systems for current and upcoming projects. Implemented systems of production for design approval, and overall pipeline for the creation and delivery of models from design to 3D textured final / production ready models. Hired, trained, managed all designers and design teams on all productions. Met with senior management to discuss overall direction of the company, strategy and company policies.
• 

  Art Director/Concept Designer

  Mainframe Entertainment

  February 1996 - March 2001

  Vancouver, BC

  Supervised entire visual design of series. Created pipeline methodology for efficient delivery of designs to modeling supervisor, approval process, and supervision and feedback for individual modelers. Met with Directors, and the Producer to ensure that integrity of series concept was upheld. Hired, trained and managed team of 5 designers. Worked with the client on visual development and script deliverables. Created conceptual artwork in Photoshop and Illustrator. This artwork consisted of original character / environmental / prop conceptual designs, textures, matte paintings and reference material for the production. Created a custom catalogue of textures and all other visual material that was referenced as a guide during the project.

• Concept Designer/Art Director

  Multiactive Technologies

  1996 - 1997