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I’m Simon Uguen, a French 3D character animator and rigger based in Nantes. I focus on character acting, body mechanics, and staging, and I enjoy turning personality into motion through careful pacing and clear visual storytelling. I’ve directed and animated characters end-to-end on a graduation short film, from developing performance and acting choices to building rigs (body, face, deformations, skinning) from scratch. Alongside animation, I automate rigging and pipeline tasks—working with tools like Wrap Faceform, ngSkinTools, Maya/Blender, and Unreal Engine—to speed up production while keeping results production-ready.…I’m Simon Uguen, a French 3D character animator and rigger based in Nantes. I focus on character acting, body mechanics, and staging, and I enjoy turning personality into motion through careful pacing and clear visual storytelling. I’ve directed and animated characters end-to-end on a graduation short film, from developing performance and acting choices to building rigs (body, face, deformations, skinning) from scratch. Alongside animation, I automate rigging and pipeline tasks—working with tools like Wrap Faceform, ngSkinTools, Maya/Blender, and Unreal Engine—to speed up production while keeping results production-ready.

Simon Uguen

Character Rigger, 3D Animator, Character Designer, +2

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I’m Simon Uguen, a French 3D character animator and rigger based in Nantes. I focus on character acting, body mechanics, and staging, and I enjoy turning personality into motion through careful pacing and clear visual storytelling. I’ve directed and animated characters end-to-end on a graduation short film, from developing performance and acting choices to building rigs (body, face, deformations, skinning) from scratch. Alongside animation, I automate rigging and pipeline tasks—working with tools like Wrap Faceform, ngSkinTools, Maya/Blender, and Unreal Engine—to speed up production while keeping results production-ready.…I’m Simon Uguen, a French 3D character animator and rigger based in Nantes. I focus on character acting, body mechanics, and staging, and I enjoy turning personality into motion through careful pacing and clear visual storytelling. I’ve directed and animated characters end-to-end on a graduation short film, from developing performance and acting choices to building rigs (body, face, deformations, skinning) from scratch. Alongside animation, I automate rigging and pipeline tasks—working with tools like Wrap Faceform, ngSkinTools, Maya/Blender, and Unreal Engine—to speed up production while keeping results production-ready.

Available to hire

I’m Simon Uguen, a French 3D character animator and rigger based in Nantes. I focus on character acting, body mechanics, and staging, and I enjoy turning personality into motion through careful pacing and clear visual storytelling.

I’ve directed and animated characters end-to-end on a graduation short film, from developing performance and acting choices to building rigs (body, face, deformations, skinning) from scratch. Alongside animation, I automate rigging and pipeline tasks—working with tools like Wrap Faceform, ngSkinTools, Maya/Blender, and Unreal Engine—to speed up production while keeping results production-ready.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Language

French

Fluent

English

Advanced

Work Experience

3D Rigging & Pipeline Intern at Silkke Avatar 3D

January 1, 2025 - January 1, 2025

Worked on topology and rigging of 3D body scans of real people. Automated retopology using Wrap Faceform. Wrote Python scripts (Blender & Maya) to generate a temporary rig and fit scan data to the MetaHuman rig in Unreal Engine. Automated rigging workflows via MetaHuman and ran animation tests, including scene lighting and compositing in Unreal Engine.

Lead Animator & Rigger at ESMA Nantes

January 1, 2025 - January 1, 2026

Lead character development and supported pacing/staging with the team. Directed the animation of four characters, tailoring body mechanics and acting to each personality. Built all rigs from scratch for the four characters, including body, face, deformations, and skinning. The jury praised the film as one of its strongest points, and the project received the Best Animation Award at the ESMA graduation ceremony in 2026.

3D Rigging & Pipeline Intern at Silkke Avatar 3D, Nantes

January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025

Performed topology and rigging of 3D body scans of real people. Automated retopology using Wrap Faceform and built Python scripts in Blender and Maya to create a temporary rig and fit scans to the MetaHuman rig in Unreal Engine. Automated rigging workflows for MetaHuman, ran animation tests on rigged avatars, and supported scene lighting/compositing tasks in Unreal Engine.

Lead Animator & Rigger - Graduation Film at ESMA Nantes

January 1, 2025 - January 1, 2026

Developed character development, pacing, and staging with the team, recognized by the jury as one of the film’s strongest points. Directed animation of four characters, tailoring body mechanics and acting to each personality. Designed rigs for all four characters from scratch including body, face, deformations, and skinning. Worked across production to achieve performance-driven, production-ready character setups.

Animation Intern at ESMA Nantes

January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024

Animated five shots in a realistic style, focusing on subtle character acting. Worked to keep performance details believable and consistent across shots while supporting the overall animation direction of the graduation film “Skel.”

Animation Intern - Graduation Film at ESMA Nantes

January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024

Animated five shots in a realistic style with a focus on subtle character acting, bringing timing and performance to each scene.

Illustration Intern at Le Mékano coworking space, Rezé

January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020

Collaborated with illustrator Camille Nicolazzi and painter Nicolas Bertaud on client projects, supporting illustration production for external work in a studio environment.