3D animator & character artist
Zach Grzymala
I like being the person who can take a character from a sketch to a lit, rendered shot without handing it off.
- Based in
- Las Vegas, NV
- Currently
- Aristocrat Gaming
- Education
- Ringling BFA
- Focus
- Character performance
How I got hereBio
It started with WALL·E. I was a kid in Bel Air, Maryland who had already cycled through basketball, dance and acting, and then I watched a small robot with no dialogue carry an entire film on personality alone. That settled the argument in about ninety minutes.
I studied art and animation through high school and found my way to Ringling College of Art and Design, which turned into less a school than a sanctuary for the work. I graduated with a BFA in Computer Animation having learned every station of the pipeline — modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting and comp — and directed my thesis short, Rebound, start to finish.
Since 2023 I have been an Animator at Aristocrat Gaming in Las Vegas, building original character content end to end for titles that ship to casino floors worldwide. Before that I sculpted holiday merchandise characters for the Walt Disney Creative Group, boarded a national TV spot at PSYOP, and built a commercial spot at MAKE Visual Studios.
What I care about is weight and intention — the pause before a character commits, the beat after they fail. I work primarily in Maya, ZBrush and Substance Painter, and the thing I most want to do next is character performance on a feature crew.
Where I have worked8 roles
Animator
Aristocrat Gaming · Las Vegas, NV
3D model, texture, rig, animate and composite original slot game modules end to end. Establish visual wealth through symbol hierarchy and prop design, working alongside artists and game designers to keep a cohesive look across titles.
3D Character Artist
Walt Disney Creative Group Workshop · Orlando, FL
Translated supplied 2D illustrations of Mickey, Pluto and Goofy into appealing 3D models for holiday merchandise, sculpting in ZBrush and Maya to Disney's model sheets and notes.
CG Generalist
MAKE Visual Studios · Minneapolis, MN
Built a 15-second 3D animated commercial for Bubly Sparkling Beverages with a small team, from story ideas through character design to final assets.
Contract Storyboarder
PSYOP Studios · Los Angeles, CA
Boarded 100+ panels of 3D characters in three weeks for the ALDI Christmas 2022 World Cup TV spot, building camera compositions and revising to director notes.
3D Animation Teaching Assistant
Ringling College of Art and Design
Taught high-school students the basics of computer animation in the Ringling Precollege Program, giving critique and shepherding complete shorts inside a two-week class.
3D Animation Intern
Riley Animation Studios · Tampa, FL
Modeled assets to the animation supervisor's designs for studio pitches, built functional rigs for humans, creatures and props, and animated four characters for a 30-second teaser trailer.
Render Farm Manager
Ringling College of Art and Design
Ran the college render farm eight hours a week, triaging student render failures and queue issues.
BFA, Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design · Sarasota, FL
3.68 GPA. Dean's and Horizon's Scholarships. Student Ambassador.
What I work inToolset
Advanced proficiency
- Autodesk Maya
- ZBrush
- Substance Painter
- Photoshop
- Premiere Pro
- Arnold
Working knowledge
- Nuke
- After Effects
- Simplify3D
- Lightroom
- Graphic design
- Photography
Disciplines
- Character animation
- Modeling
- Texturing
- Rigging
- Lighting
- Lookdev
- Storyboarding