I'm a visual development and design professional with more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, specializing in visual development, art direction, design and set dressing. I contributed as a concept artist on Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and served as an assistant art director at LAIKA Studios, honing how visual storytelling supports the script and production. I've learned that cohesive teamwork, clear dialogue, meticulous script analysis, and the development of comprehensive build bibles are essential to team-based creative projects. From marketing campaigns to heartwarming animated series like Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show to immersive worlds in feature films, my work consistently strives for beauty, storytelling, and connection with audiences. I value collaboration and curiosity, and I bring a hands-on approach to turning ideas into tangible sets and visuals that audiences feel a part of.…

Jesse Gregg

I'm a visual development and design professional with more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, specializing in visual development, art direction, design and set dressing. I contributed as a concept artist on Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio and served as an assistant art director at LAIKA Studios, honing how visual storytelling supports the script and production. I've learned that cohesive teamwork, clear dialogue, meticulous script analysis, and the development of comprehensive build bibles are essential to team-based creative projects. From marketing campaigns to heartwarming animated series like Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show to immersive worlds in feature films, my work consistently strives for beauty, storytelling, and connection with audiences. I value collaboration and curiosity, and I bring a hands-on approach to turning ideas into tangible sets and visuals that audiences feel a part of.…

Available to hire

I’m a visual development and design professional with more than 20 years in the entertainment industry, specializing in visual development, art direction, design and set dressing. I contributed as a concept artist on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and served as an assistant art director at LAIKA Studios, honing how visual storytelling supports the script and production. I’ve learned that cohesive teamwork, clear dialogue, meticulous script analysis, and the development of comprehensive build bibles are essential to team-based creative projects.

From marketing campaigns to heartwarming animated series like Nickelodeon’s The Tiny Chef Show to immersive worlds in feature films, my work consistently strives for beauty, storytelling, and connection with audiences. I value collaboration and curiosity, and I bring a hands-on approach to turning ideas into tangible sets and visuals that audiences feel a part of.

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Work Experience

Freelance Illustrator at Self Employed
November 1, 2024 - Present
Created compelling concept art, visual design and illustration for clients that ranged from international comic book studios such as Dark Horse Comics to animation studios and personal private collections. Work displayed at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Portland Art Museum.
Set Dresser at Shadow Machine Studios
June 1, 2023 - October 1, 2024
On-stage, creating compositions and dressing sets for Nickelodeon’s Emmy winning The Tiny Chef Show and Peacock’s In the Know animated television programs. Actively participated in daily creative decision making while keeping in mind the intended audience.
Set Dresser at LAIKA Studios
August 1, 2022 - June 1, 2023
Headed up visual artistic charge of multiple sets on the stop motion animation feature film, Wildwood. Co-composed shots with the lighting and camera teams by arranging set pieces and elements to create aesthetically beautiful frames. This required an intimate knowledge of composition as well as traditional sculpting, scenic and traditional special effects techniques.
Concept Artist and Set Dresser at Netflix/ShadowMachine (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
Worked with the Director and Production Designer to achieve the vision of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio through digital concept art, hand drawn illustrations and multi-media visual development. Recreated artwork in real life for the stop motion feature film using fabricated props and sets.
Assistant Art Director at LAIKA Studios
January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019
Reviewed and broke-down portions of the developing animation film script and animatic to create visual build bibles for asset creation, including sets and props; led visual tests and look development presentations for the Director and CEO.
Assistant Art Director and Head of Set Dressing at LAIKA Studios
March 1, 2016 - July 1, 2018
Coordinated and led a team of 12 on-set artists over the course of the filming of the stop motion film Missing Link. The 12 artists worked on a total of 98 active miniature sets. Defined the assets to be created by various art departments and assisted in driving the process from concept to critique to completion.
Set Dressing and Lead Set Dressing at LAIKA Studios
January 1, 2011 - March 1, 2016
Co-composed hundreds of visually beautiful and complex shots for three stop motion animation feature films: ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings, in conjunction with the Camera/Lighting team. Assisted in the experimental look-development process of each film, involving unusual materials and techniques.
Art Director, Technical Art Director and Lead Composer at Duck Studios
June 1, 2008 - December 31, 2010
Set up and composited FX and Camera Moves in Adobe After Effects for film end credits, commercials and animated programming. Clients included Sony Animation’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Disneyland Theme Parks, Disney Educational Shorts, and Overstock.com.
Compositor - End Title Sequence at Sony Animation
January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009
End title sequence work on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Puppet Fabricator at Shadow Machine Studios
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2008
Set up and fabricated puppets and related props for animation projects.
Puppet Fabricator at ShadowMachine
January 1, 2007 - December 31, 2008
Additional puppet fabrication work supporting stop-motion animation projects.

Education

Master of Fine Arts - Experimental Animation Techniques at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts)
August 29, 2005 - May 9, 2008
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Illustration at Grand Valley State University
August 18, 1997 - May 4, 2001
MFA in Experimental Animation at California Institute of the Arts
January 11, 2030 - February 13, 2026
BFA Illustration at Grand Valley State University
January 11, 2030 - February 13, 2026

Qualifications

Distinguished Alumni in Residence - Grand Valley State University
October 23, 2023 - October 27, 2023
Presented to numerous college classes about production design for animation.
MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, NYC) - "Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio"
December 11, 2022 - April 15, 2023
Exhibit included my concept art and my stop motion on-set work.
Portland Art Museum - "Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio"
June 10, 2023 - September 17, 2023
Exhibit included my concept art and my stop motion on-set work. I was also a guest speaker.

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment
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