Stephen Phillips

Work History

• 

  Animator

  CounterPunch, A Virtuos Studio

  October 2024 - Present

  Los Angeles, CA
• 

  Senior Animator

  Halon Entertainment

  July 2022 - August 2024

  Glendale, California, United States

  Projects: Fortnite Battle Royale
  -Created gameplay animations such as idles and emotes for playable characters
  -Set up sequencers, blueprints, and montages for playable characters within Unreal Engine

  
• 

  Animator

  Sony Interactive Entertainment

  November 2021 - July 2022

  Project: The Last of Us Part 1
  -Enhanced motion capture performances by keyframing prop interactions, pushing timing and poses, general polish, and removing pops and stutters.

  
• 

  Previs Artist

  The Third Floor

  August 2020 - October 2021

  Los Angeles, CA and Sydney, AUS

  Projects: Wandavision and Thor: Love and Thunder
  -Worked with a small team abroad in Sydney, Australia to complete previs for Thor: Love and Thunder
  -Previs duties included: character animation, motion capture cleanup, camera layout and animation, compositing, match moving, and postvis

  

  
• 

  Animator

  CounterPunch Studios

  March 2020 - August 2020

  Los Angeles, California, United States

  Project: Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
  -Completed several keyframe in-game character animations
  -Created cycles and idles for various characters

  
• 

  Animator

  Sony

  September 2018 - March 2020

  San Diego, California

  Projects: Marvel's Avengers and The Last of Us Part 2

  

  
• 

  Previs Artist

  The Third Floor

  March 2017 - September 2018

  Los Angeles, CA

  Projects: Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War, Transformers: Bumblebee, Christopher Robin, Spider-Man: Homecoming

  

  

  

  

  
• 

  Animator

  CounterPunch Studios

  July 2015 - March 2017

  Greater Los Angeles Area

  Projects: Injustice 2, Mafia 3, NBA 2K16, and Netflix's Tarzan and Jane.
  -Completed face capture performance cleanup for in-game cinematics
  -Keyframe animated scenes for an episode of Netflix's Tarzan show.

  

  
• 

  Animator and Rigger - Offsite

  Art Bully Productions LLC

  July 2014 - October 2016

  Rosedale, NY

  Animated and rigged characters for Frictional Games' survival horror game, "SOMA".
  
  Provided character animation for other unreleased projects.
• 

  Previs Shot Creator

  The Third Floor

  July 2016 - September 2016

  Los Angeles, California
• 

  Animator and Generalist

  Freelance

  July 2013 - July 2015

  Los Angeles, CA

  Projects: Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice, SOMA, Evolve, Borderlands 2, E-Card
  content, and augmented reality apps
  
  Clients: Gearbox Software, Art Bully Productions, Jib Jab Media, Pure
  Imagination, and Halon Entertainment
  
  Tasks: character animation, rigging, and layout
• 

  Previs Shot Creator

  The Third Floor

  April 2015 - June 2015

  Greater Los Angeles Area
• 

  Animator and Layout Artist - Offsite

  Pure Imagination

  March 2015 - June 2015

  Greater Los Angeles Area

  Provided Layout and Character Animation for a cinematic sequence in Sega's Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice.
• 

  Animator and CG Artist

  Art + Science Labs

  June 2014 - March 2015

  Culver City, CA

  Animated, modeled, and rigged characters for augmented reality apps and games designed for mobile devices. Created animations and models in Maya for use in the Unity game engine.
• 

  Contract Animator

  Halon Entertainment

  September 2014 - September 2014

  Santa Monica, CA

  Animated characters and edited motion capture performances for Turtle Rock Studio's "Evolve".
• 

  Freelance CG Artist and Animator

  Freelance

  December 2013 - May 2014

  Provided animation, modeling, and storyboarding services to companies in the L.A. area. Clients included: Audio Eyes, Pearson, and Stone Wheel Games.
• 

  Freelance Animator

  JibJab Media

  November 2013 - November 2013

  Venice, California

  Animated Elf and Santa characters for the holiday e-card, "Santa's Twerkshop". Modeled and rigged props.
• 

  CG Generalist

  Green Grass Studios

  May 2013 - June 2013

  Dallas/Fort Worth Area

  - Modeled weapons and props for Zynga’s “CastleVille”.
  - UV mapped props and weapons for texturing.
  - Created shot layouts for an in-house short film.
  - Worked on test animations to develop the personalities and motion styles
  of the characters in the film.
• 

  Computer Animation Student

  Ringling College of Art + Design

  August 2009 - May 2013

  Sarasota, Florida

  - Created the comedic animated short film, "Scoutin' for Skunk-Ape!" as part of a 3-man team.
  - Animated characters with a focus on emotion, comedic timing, and exaggeration.
  - Designed, modeled, UV mapped, and textured characters and props to fit the film’s expressive and stylized aesthetic.
  - Completed the film under strict deadlines by collaborating with team members to prioritize milestones and create effective work methods.
• 

  Animator

  Green Grass Studios

  June 2012 - July 2012

  Dallas/Fort Worth Area

  - Animated characters for a trailer of Zynga’s, “Bubble Safari 2”.
  - Worked from layout shots provided by Zynga to create polished final animations.
• 

  Animation Intern

  Element X Creative

  June 2011 - August 2011

  Dallas/Fort Worth Area

  - Animated characters for an episode of the animated series, “Bowlopolis”.
  - Collaborated with other team members to retain visual consistency.
  - Developed a working knowledge of Softimage XSI.
  - Gained valuable experience with working in a professional studio environment.