Hi! I'm Nick Mendoza, a 3D Character Animator and Layout Artist with over 17 years of experience. I specialize in animation production and layout design for educational, entertainment, and interactive experiences. I thrive when collaborating with directors and teams to wrangle assets, position cameras, and craft detailed scene layouts that align with storytelling goals. My focus is on character animation, with hands-on motion capture experience, and proficiency in Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, and Unreal Engine.…

Nick Mendoza

Hi! I'm Nick Mendoza, a 3D Character Animator and Layout Artist with over 17 years of experience. I specialize in animation production and layout design for educational, entertainment, and interactive experiences. I thrive when collaborating with directors and teams to wrangle assets, position cameras, and craft detailed scene layouts that align with storytelling goals. My focus is on character animation, with hands-on motion capture experience, and proficiency in Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, and Unreal Engine.…

Available to hire

Hi! I’m Nick Mendoza, a 3D Character Animator and Layout Artist with over 17 years of experience. I specialize in animation production and layout design for educational, entertainment, and interactive experiences. I thrive when collaborating with directors and teams to wrangle assets, position cameras, and craft detailed scene layouts that align with storytelling goals.

My focus is on character animation, with hands-on motion capture experience, and proficiency in Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, Cinema 4D, and Unreal Engine.

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Work Experience

3D Character Animator/Layout Artist at 3D Bob Productions
March 1, 2024 - April 1, 2026
Character Animator/Layout Artist for Season 2 (Star Spangled Adventures and Star Spangled Adventures The Movie). Collaborated with the director to refine visual layout and scene pacing; after layout approval, animated characters and props; ensured seamless integration with motion capture data and incorporated feedback to enhance the final product.
Character Animator/3D Generalist at Applied Minds
September 1, 2017 - July 1, 2023
Collaborated with programmers to supply models and animated graphics for rapid prototype immersive experiences; built animations to visualize functionality and stories; assisted with geometry cleanup, texturing, rigging, lighting and rendering; contributed to architectural renders using Unreal Engine and Twinmotion; experimented with Unreal Engine’s Niagara system, Metahuman creator, and facial capture tools.
Character Animator at Martin Brinkerhoff Associates, Inc.
May 1, 2017 - May 31, 2017
Assisted with final notes from the client to smooth and modify established animation to meet deadlines.
Lead Character Animator at Martin Brinkerhoff and Associates
February 1, 2013 - November 30, 2016
Led 3D character animation/rigging and graphical elements for projection/live shows for Disneyland parks worldwide; projects included Jack Skellington and Zero for Haunted Mansion, Yensid for Mickey and the Magical Map, and other projections.
Lead Animator / Motion Capture Artist/Actor at 3D Bob Productions
June 1, 2010 - November 30, 2012
Helped develop and supervise a character animation pipeline blending traditional keyframing and motion capture to complete over 60 webisodes; managed motion capture process; performed mocap cleanup and animation; additional duties included character design, storyboarding, and aiding lighting/rendering.
Character Animator at 3D Bob Productions
May 1, 2010 - May 31, 2010
Animated two 3D squirrels in two sequences for a short movie trailer.
Video Technician at Deluxe Entertainment Services Group
October 1, 2008 - March 31, 2010
Converted captured video files to appropriate formats for clients (NBC Universal, Fox Screeners, MGM/Lionsgate, Hulu, etc.); worked with Mac and PC; subtitling, watermarks, trimming trailers, and QC fixes.
Character Animatior at Andy Signore/Disney
November 1, 2009 - November 30, 2009
Designed, modeled, rigged, and animated 2D characters for Fred Figglehorn’s Christmas music video 'Christmas is Creepy'.
Character Animator, Motion Graphics, VFX at The Good Boys/ James Gunn
August 1, 2008 - August 31, 2008
Designed and animated 2D character, motion graphics, visual effects; performed compositing and rotoscoping.
Freelance 3D Animator at 3D Bob Productions
August 1, 2008 - August 31, 2008
Animated CG legs to be composited over incomplete footage to produce a seamless shot for a commercial.
2D Character Animator, Character Designer, Storyboard Artist at Pretty Picture Movement
June 1, 2008 - June 30, 2008
Designed, modeled, rigged, and animated characters for live action science show 'Lab X' using Anime Studio Pro; storyboarded all live action and animation scenes.
Character Animator, Motion Graphics at 3D Bob Productions
May 1, 2008 - June 30, 2008
Modeled, rigged, and animated characters for a pilot called 'Messianic Kids' using Flash and Anime Studio Pro; performed motion graphics and minor editing.
Freelance Animator at Freelance
February 1, 2008 - February 29, 2008
Animated CG tires for a fifteen second commercial spot for Big-O Tires.
Animation Intern at Shadow Machine Films
March 1, 2007 - August 31, 2007
Helped gather tools, sets, puppets, props and lights; broke down shots; ran errands; maintained animation studio cleanliness.
Lead 2D Animator at 168 Film Project
February 1, 2007 - February 28, 2007
Led a team to produce a five-minute animated short within 168 hours; modeled, rigged, and animated characters; intro; team won Best Score.

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts, New Media at Texas A&M Commerce
January 1, 2001 - January 1, 2005

Qualifications

Unreal Engine 5: Blueprint Scripting 101
January 11, 2030 - May 26, 2026
Unreal Engine 5 - Blueprints Game Developer Masterclass
January 11, 2030 - May 26, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other
    paper Disneyland Live Show Clips Long Edit

    Longer edit of clips of the character animation I did for the Disneyland live show projects.

    paper Disneyland Live Show Demo Reel Short Edit

    Projects I did character animation and some visual effects for various Disneyland live/projection shows around the world.