daniel giron

daniel giron

Versatile Senior CG Artist | Elevating Visual Effects

Senior CG Generalist / Senior Environment Artist / 9 yrs

Los Angeles, CA

Hire Me

3D Generalist

Masters of the Air (2024)

Environments Artist

A League of Their Own (2022)

Environment TD

Alien: Covenant (2021)

Environments Artist

Julie and the Phantoms (2020)

Environments Artist

The Prom (2020)

senior matte painter

The Predator (2018)

Matte Painter

Annihilation (2018)

Matte Painter

Mother! (2017)

Matte Painter

Wonder Woman (2017)

Visual Effects Artist

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

Matte Painter

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017)

Visual Effects Artist

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Matte Painter

Heroes Reborn (2015)

Matte Painter

Fear the walking Dead (2015)

Matte Painter

Gotham (2014)

Environments Artist

The 100 (2014)

Matte Painter

Ray Donovan (2013)

Matte Painter

The Walking Dead (2010)

CSI (2000)

Born and raised in the pulsing heart of Los Angeles, CA, I was captivated from an early age by the dazzling world of Hollywood blockbusters and the transformative magic of visual effects that defined the early '90s. This fascination, far from being just a youthful fancy, ignited a lifelong passion that has driven my career to this day.

By 1998, at just ten years old, I had already begun my foray into digital art, mastering tools like Photoshop and Lightwave 3D. My natural ability to assemble and troubleshoot computers not only sparked my interest but also equipped me with the technical prowess needed in the ever-evolving field of computer graphics.

Today, I am proud to hold the title of Senior Artist in the film industry, with a robust portfolio accrued over five years of intensive professional experience. My specialties include matte painting and environment creation, where I leverage both 2D and 3D spaces to infuse depth and realism into cinematic narratives. My approach is both inventive and meticulous, allowing me to transform challenges into visually captivating stories.

My academic path took me to the prestigious Academy of Art in San Francisco, where I honed my skills in Animation and VFX. The rigorous training and collaborative projects there didn't just sharpen my technical abilities—they sculpted my capacity to blend technology, art, and the subtle nuances of nature into compelling visual effects. This synthesis of knowledge and creativity is what I bring to every project, striving to make each frame not just seen, but felt.

This journey has not only shaped me as an artist but has also instilled a deep commitment to pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in visual storytelling. I continue to expand my expertise, always aiming to contribute innovative solutions and breathtaking visuals to the film industry.
Work History
  • Freelance 3D Artist

    DGFX

    March 2020 - Present
    Los Angeles Metropolitan Area · Remote

    -Specialized in creating assets, environments, and visual effects for various clients across multiple industries.
    -Collaborated with clients and artist to integrate assets into game engines, and other digital platforms, ensuring optimal performance and visual fidelity.
    -Advanced knowledge in modeling, texturing, and animation to deliver high-quality visuals that enhance user engagement and experience.
    -Continuously adapt to the latest technologies and software, staying ahead in a competitive and evolving digital landscape.

  • CG Generalist

    Self Employed

    April 2020 - Present

    -Specialized in creating assets, environments, and visual effects for various clients across multiple industries.
    -Collaborated with clients and artist to integrate assets into game engines, and other digital platforms, ensuring optimal performance and visual fidelity.
    -Advanced knowledge in modeling, texturing, and animation to deliver high-quality visuals that enhance user engagement and experience.
    -Continuously adapt to the latest technologies and software, staying ahead in a competitive and evolving digital landscape.

  • CG Generalist

    Whiskytree

    September 2022 - June 2023

    Created realistic environments and assets. 3D Modeling, shading, lighting, cloth simulation, vegetation.

  • Environment Artist

    Framestore

    September 2021 - September 2022
    Los Angeles Metropolitan Area · Remote

    -created environments with 3D and 2D techniques, utilizing industry standard graphics software to create high quality set extensions.
    -Advanced compositing skills for integration of CG elements into live-action plates.

    -Effectively used Houdini for intricate scattering setups, terrain creation, vegetation.

  • Environment Artist

    Outpost VFX

    May 2021 - September 2021
    Los Angeles, California, United States

    -Utilized Maya and ZBrush for the creation of high-quality environment assets, demonstrating expertise in look development and shading for detailed 3D models.

    -Leveraged the power of Mari for texture painting across multi UDIM tiles and Speedtree for the generation of realistic vegetation, enriching the environmental complexity.

    -Developed photo-realistic renders by creating intricate Arnold shaders using a blend of procedural and hand-painted texture maps, thereby enhancing the visual quality and realism of the final outputs.

  • 3D Matte Painter

    Pixomondo

    November 2019 - March 2020

    -Created realistic background and environments of television projects.

    Projects:
    Westworld
    Star Trek Discovery

  • Environment Artist

    CoSA VFX

    March 2020 - July 2020
    Los Angeles, California, United States

    Generalist artist with the environments team including 3D modeling, texture painting, set dressing, vegetation modeling, and look development of CG assets. Also tasked with projection/precomp of sequences with Nuke. Worked with 2D matte painters by providing renders for paint-over work.

  • 3D DMP Key Artist

    Mill Film

    March 2019 - November 2019
    Montreal, Canada Area

    Shows:
    Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
    Body Cam
    BIOS

  • senior matte painter

    Method Studios

    October 2018 - October 2019
    Montréal, Canada
  • Freelance Matte Painter (remote)

    Inhance Digital

    January 2017 - March 2017
    Los Angeles, California
  • Sr. Matte Painter / Environment Artist

    Atomic Fiction

    April 2018 - October 2018
    Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Creating matte paintings, environments, and backgrounds for feature film.

    Software: Photoshop, Maya, Terragen

    The Predator (2018)
    The First (Hulu)

  • 3D Environment Artist

    Atomic Fiction

    January 2016 - August 2017
    Montreal, Canada Area
  • Matte Painter / Generalist

    MPC

    September 2016 - November 2016
    Montreal, Canada Area

    Alien: Covenant (2017) Director: Ridley Scott

  • Freelance Matte Painter

    Eight VFX

    July 2017 - July 2017
    New York, New York

    Mother! (2017) Director: Darren Aronofsky

  • Freelance Matte Painter

    Shade VFX

    July 2017 - August 2017
    Los Angeles, California

    Downsizing (2017)
    Inhumans (2017)
    Lost in Space (2017)

  • Matte Painter

    The Aaron Sims Company

    December 2017 - February 2018
    Los Angeles, California

    Azura (2018)

  • Matte Painter

    Hydraulx

    October 2017 - December 2017
    Los Angeles, California

    A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix)

  • Matte Painter

    Double Negative

    November 2016 - March 2017
    Vancouver, Canada Area

    Wonder Woman (2017)
    Annihilation (2017)

  • Environment Artist

    MPC

    September 2016 - November 2016
    Montreal, Canada Area

    Alien: Covenant (2017) Director: Ridley Scott

  • Matte Painter

    Stargate Studios

    August 2015 - January 2016
    Greater Los Angeles Area

    Responsible for creating photo-real matte painting and environments for various television series

  • Matte Painter

    Mirada Studios

    August 2015 - August 2015
  • Digital Artist

    CoSA VFX

    December 2014 - April 2015

    Matte Painter and 3D Digital Artist

    TV Shows:

    Gotham

    CSI

  • 3D Environment Lead

    Studio 400A

    January 2014 - December 2014

    3D Environment Lead for "Market Street" and various short films. Created 3D sets of San Francisco with Photogrammetry & DMP using Maya, Mari, Vray, Photoshop.

  • Guest Lecture

    Academy of Art University

    March 2013 - March 2013

    Live workshop on 3D matte painting using advanced projection techniques in Maya, also covered technical animation using particle systems for snow effects.

  • Production Assistant

    AFI - "Silk" short film

    July 2012 - July 2012

    Created concept art for production. Coordinated with art department construction.

    https://silk-themovie.com/

  • Graphic Artist

    Futurefilmstv.com

    July 2012 - July 2012

    Created 3D motion graphics and logos for upcoming website.

  • Production Assistant

    3 Ball Productions

    November 2011 - December 2011

    Assisted the art department with planning, set construction, set preparation.

  • Graphic designer

    Greentrees Films

    May 2011 - September 2011

    Created logos, web graphics, film budgets, filing and organizational tasks.

Education
  • Environment Art for Games in UE4

    CGMA

    2020 - 2020
  • Academy of Art University

    2009 - 2014