Paul Naas

P.O. Box 1440

Menlo Park, CA  94026-1440

650 780-9894

paulnaas@comcast.net

 

Overview

- Experienced in computer, traditional, stop-motion, and Flash animation.

- Training and background in both traditional and computer drawing techniques.

- Experienced in teaching traditional, computer, and stop-motion animation.

- Strong background in project management; able to coordinate all aspects of a project and manage it

  through to completion.

 

Work Experience

Bzillions/C2 Gaming; Las Vegas, NV

Game Designer/Developer (contract)       July 2004-Present

Design and create art assets for video slot machines.  Create game theme, reel symbol sets, backgrounds, animation, and bonus games.  Design and create glass art and sales brochures.  Coordinate with senior graphic designer to provide game art files to programming staff.

 

Canada College; Redwood City, CA
Adjunct Faculty, Multimedia                                        January 2007-Present
Design curriculum and teach classes in Introduction to 3D and Character Animation, both using Maya.  Develop class materials, handouts, and exercises designed to teach basics of 3D animation and principles of character animation.   Work with students to help them achieve desired outcomes for their projects.

Digital Praise; Fremont, CA

Character Animator (contract)May 2005-June 2005

Created character animation for movie cutscenes in Adventures In Odyssey videogame.  Created character elements in Flash, coordinated with other remote animators and artists, and offered suggestions on workflow issues.

 

Crawford and Associates International; Palo Alto, CA

Web Animator (contract) June 2004, September 2004

Develop and deliver Flash-based animation elements for elearning projects.  Work includes character, effects, and text animation.  

 

Cisco Systems; San Jose, CA

Web Animator/Content Developer     December 2002-April 2004

Design, develop, and execute web-based e-learning content for Human Resources.  Learning delivered via short animation, interactive games, comic strips, and interactive video.  Responsibilities include project scheduling, character design, storyboarding, asset creation, animation, video editing, video integration, and Actionscript coding.

 

Program Manager, Multimedia   October 2001–December 2002

Oversee a multimedia development team producing web sites, CD-based product, and multimedia presentations.  Responsible for defining scope of projects, identifying resources, assigning team members, developing art assets, scheduling, tracking progress, and ensuring timely completion of projects. 

 

Web Animator/Content DeveloperSeptember 2000–October 2001

Design and execute 3D animated sequences for Enterprise Line of Business Online Quick Start guides. Create 3D models and texture maps of Cisco hardware, using technical drawings and photos as reference.  Design individual scenes to best illustrate installation step being described.  Convert final scenes into vector graphics for use in Flash, optimize graphics to reduce file size and lower bandwidth requirements.

 

Casino Data Systems; San Carlos, CA

Senior Animator/Artist      February 1998-September 2000

Design characters, environments, gameplay, and bonus games for video slot machine products.  Create 3D models of characters and environments, texture maps, and player interfaces.  Set up and animate characters and environmental elements for reel games and bonus games.  Add post-production effects and prepare artwork to programmer's specifications for incorporation into the games.  Design and execute art for marketing and slot machine case theming.  Serve as project lead, coordinating the work of up to three other artists.  Directed and animated promotional video for in-casino advertising of "Monkey Business" game.  Directed and animated promotional video for "Easy Street" game.

 

Cisco Systems; San Jose, CA  (freelance)       February 1998-September 2000

Working remotely, designed and executed 3D animated sequences for Enterprise Line of Business Online Quick Start guides. Created 3D models and texture maps of Cisco hardware, using technical drawings and photos as reference.  Designed individual scenes to best illustrate installation step being described.  Rendered final sequence and delivered to Cisco Web Shop group for incorporation into Quick Start webpages. 

 

Disney Institute (Walt Disney World Co.); Orlando, FL

Animator/Animation Instructor   October 1995-January 1998

Created computer and traditional animation for public service annoucements, educational films, and short subjects.  Character design and modeling for traditional and computer animated projects and instructional use.  Designed and executed character designs and print cartoons for non-profit organizations such as Give Kids the World and the American Red Cross.  Instructed in traditional, computer, and stop-motion animation techniques.  Instructed in character design and voice acting.  Developed and implemented animation curriculum for Disney Institute and Disney Cruise Lines.  Gave interviews to TV, radio, and print media, describing the Disney Institute offerings and experience.  Interviews included:

 

CBS This Morning (CBS)        National Public Radio

Very Merry Christmas Parade (ABC)      Newsweek

Walt Disney World Inside Out (Disney Channel)     New York Post

Home Matters (Discovery Channel) Associated Press

NBA Inside Stuff (ESPN)        Knight-Ritter News Service

 

Participated in live performances showcasing animation techniques, retrospectives of personal work, and radio drama.  Served as technical liason with the contractor who maintained our computer equipment.  Researched and recommended new technology for our computer animation studio.

 

Northstar Studios; San Mateo, CA   

Lead Character Animator          May 1994-September 1995

Responsibilities included character design, animation, and direction for interactive game projects.  Character designs were done traditionally, then translated to 3D computer characters.  Lead artist on a number of projects, overseeing the work of a team of five artists.  Trained staff artists in the fundamentals of animation and motion.  Critiqued and gave advice on creation and revision of character animation created for game play.  Assisted in the direction of cinematic sequences that appear between game play levels, helping cinematic artists to get more of a film-quaity storytelling feel into the sequences.  Responsible for the look and feel of video game characters, interfaces, and screen displays.  Most of my animation work was 3D computer, with some traditional animation work as well.

 

De Anza College; Cupertino, CA

Guest Animation Instructor        August 1994-August 1995

Subjects taught include storyboarding, character design, character types, poses, and facial expressions.  Served as informal coach with several students, helping them to become familar with the basics of animation, while working to make their personal projects as good as possible. 

 

3Com Corporation; Santa Clara, CA

Production Specialist/Illustrator  August 1991-April 1994

Created technical illustrations for manuals and release notes, designed icons for software products, and designed and produced packaging and documentation cover art.  Responsibilities included creating and adhering to a production schedule, electronic composition and paste-up, coordinating with print vendors, and proofing and checking final art.  Served on a committee whose responsibility was to redesign the look of the company's documentation.  Researched and implemented new technologies to cut printing costs while maintaining quality of final product.  Researched and created an interactive prototype for documentation delivery. 

 

Unisys Corporation; San Jose, CA 

Graphic Artist    August 1988-August 1991

Created illustrations for manuals and release notes, and designed and produced packaging and documentation cover art.  Responsibilities included understanding and adhering to a production schedule, electronic and manual composition and paste-up, coordinating with print vendors, proofing final art and checking final printed materials.  Designed, illustrated, and implemented a style guide for the publications department.  Created an interactive presentation, which showcased the capabilities of our department and the services that we offered.

 

Significant Achievements

Created cover illustration and text illustrations for the revised edition of "Acting for Animators" by Ed Hooks (published August 2003).

 

Completed three theatrical short subjects, "Nature Nuggets Part 1", "Bucky's Secret Life" and "Take Your Pick".  "Nature Nuggets" is currently available on the web at www.3btv.com and www.animatorsunite.com.  "Bucky's Secret Life" and "Take Your Pick have been shown in the Spike and Mike Festivals.  For these films I performed all aspects of production - character design, storyboarding, animation, soundtrack recording, background design, cel painting, filming, editing, and postproduction.

 

Collaborated via the internet on two film projects:  "UNICEF PSA - Non-Discrimination" and "Flailing Arms", an international compilation project.

 

Worked on station IDs for MTV.  On these spots I did animation, cel painting, and assisted with filming.

 

Created and presented animation seminars and workshops for the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (August 2005, March 2006, July 2006).  These presentations included discussions on the steps of production, differences between 2D and 3D animation, and hands-on activities including creating flip books, stop motion shorts, and optical toys.

 

Served on selection committee for 2006 Gordon Thomas Memorial Animation Scholarship, San Francisco State University.

 

Additional Skills

Musician - clarinet, guitar, and saxophone.  Played in various bands, formally and informally.  Toured Europe with 20-piece jazz band.  Performed at corporate functions, fund-raisers,and civic events.

 

Voice Actor - Trained with voice actors and directors such as Susan Blu, Ginny McSwain, Thom Pinto, and Samantha Paris.  Worked as a professional voice actor in the San Francisco market.  Client included:

 

Walt Disney World Co.   Chevrolet       KEZR-FM

Sunshine Crackers  The Learning Co.   Red Sky Films

Nintendo  Sony Interactive    UbiSoft

 

Education

 

Masters of Fine Art, Animation (In Progress)

Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA

 

Bachelor of Arts in Advertising, 1987

San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 

 

Associate of Arts in Computer and Information Systems, Business Systems emphasis, 1984

College of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA 

 

Certificate in Technical Communications, 1994

De Anza College, Cupertino, CA 

 

Additional Artistic Training

Richard Williams Animation Masterclass; June 1997

 

Completed the two-year animation curriculum at De Anza College, Cupertino, CA.  Courses included instruction in basic animation, character animation, character design, and professional animation.  Course curriculum included subjects such as weight, balance, and movement. 

 

Courses in drawing, figure drawing, and technical illustration at De Anza College.  Subjects included instruction in human and animal anatomy, perspective, gesture drawing, and quick sketching.

 

Ongoing weekly figure drawing sessions

 

Computer Skills

Hardware:

PC (Windows XP, 2000, NT, ME, 98, DOS)

Macintosh (OS X)

 

Software proficiency:

Maya, Lightwave 3D, Macromedia Flash, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, DigiCel Flipbook, Swift 3D, Word, Excel,

 

Additional software knowlege:

3D Studio MAX, Adobe Premiere, Animation Master, Painter, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Powerpoint, Macromedia Freehand