Zerply

Michelle Ohana

Character Animator

Senior Character Animator / 15 yrs

Grass Valley, California

Hire Me

Animator

Monsters University (2013)

Animator

The Blue Umbrella (2013)

Animator

Brave (2012)

Animator

Cars 2 (2011)

Animator

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

Eternal Return Zoetrope

Animator

The Winston Show App

As long as I can remember I have been an empathetic person, connecting to others through the observance of gesture and movement. I was forming a library of inspiration to draw from for my future work.

As a professional animator, I strive to consistently discover original ideas for every performance. My background as a fine artist has equipped me with a natural understanding of composition and the intuition to know how to lead the viewers’ eye. I come from a long line of jokesters and I live for the opportunity to make the audience laugh.

Work History

Insomniac Games

? - Present
Animation Trainer, Mentor, & Coach

Private Consulting

September 2018 - February 2021

• Groomed animators from “good to great,” facilitating their trajectory into Pixar, Disney, and other internationally renowned studios such as Animal Logic in Sydney.
• Prepared and led weekly workshops via Zoom and in-person to teach advanced techniques in building character appeal, making smart acting choices, and understanding body mechanics.
Senior Animator

Wooga

June 2016 - April 2018

Berlin, Germany

• Led animation for Bubble Island 2, including character creation, story, rigging, blocking, polishing, and post-production of 9 lovable anthropomorphic animals.
• Created downloadable animated “stickers” of characters saying hi, blowing kisses, etc.
• Drove R&D for farm-simulation title, Homegrown, concepting and rigging 2 characters.
Animator

Oven Bits

November 2014 - November 2015

• Designed, rigged, and animated 2D puppet-style animation for the Bible App for Kids, the #1 most downloaded app for children (interestingly enough).
• Brought whimsical, comical characters to life in 50+ common biblical stories, offering a modern slant to classic tales, and pitching Jesus as an altruistic hipster.
Character Animator

PullString, Inc.

April 2013 - January 2014

San Francisco, CA

• Recruited by ex-Pixar CTO to build highly interactive, emotive characters powered by chatbot and speech recognition technology that’s been valuated at $160M.
• Transformed sketches into affable animated characters who became the lead roles on The Winston Show, which was featured as “Editor’s Choice” in the App Store.
• Partnered in depth with software engineers, riggers, animators, and business executives.
Character Animator

Pixar

January 2011 - April 2013

Emeryville, CA

• Hand-selected (from animation school) to work on Cars 2 feature during “crunch time,” earning follow-on contracts to animate Brave and Monsters University.
• Received rare double-promotion to work on TV and online promotional content, including animating the main characters from Oscar-winner Brave.
• Animated female lead in Pixar’s short film The Blue Umbrella, as part of 8-person team.
• Worked harmoniously with cross-functional teams of riggers, producers, and engineers.
Character Animator

Lightstream Animation Studios

June 2010 - August 2010

Petaluma, CA

• As a student, worked under ILM animator, who was the lead for Yoda in Star Wars, to design animation for adorable animal characters aimed at amusing kids.
Character Animator

Blue Sky Studios

January 2009 - March 2009

Greenwich, CT

Handpicked by professor to fly out to the East Coast and assist 50 animators with finishing up Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, requiring 80-hour weeks for 2 months.