Christian Penz

Continuing Studies Instructor – 2D/3D Animation, Intro to Maya, Storyboarding at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Design and deliver adaptive courses for interdisciplinary professionals, increase program enrollment by 10%. Conduct weekly classes and identify skill gaps from novice to intermediate. Employ hybrid lecture-demo models to support student development and career transitions.

3D Modeling, Art and Animation Instructor – 3D Animation at British Columbia Institute of Technology

Design and optimize curricula for animation prerequisite courses for cohorts of 25+. Develop assignments, lectures, and Maya demonstrations leading to a 91% graduation rate. Conduct office hours with high demo reel completion and GPA improvement rates. Create personalized five-step plans to support struggling students.

Senior Animator – Journey to Foundation at Archiact VR

Created 260+ animations using MotionBuilder and Motion Capture, enhancing cinematic sequences for player immersion, including game reveal trailers. Led weekly workshops upskilling junior animators. Rebuilt all cinematic sequences in Unreal Engine 4’s Sequencer, securing final in-game content integration without delays. Directed and performed motion capture shoots to elevate storytelling.

Gameplay Animator – Gears of War: E Day at The Coalition

Prototyped over 40 gameplay and previs animations to establish core mechanics for two projects. Executed client gameplay demo sprint driving cross-functional collaboration in Unreal Engine 4, earning Microsoft's approval. Initiated restructuring of onboarding and training programs, increasing artist retention by 11%.

Animator – Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Stormground & Mario Strikers Battle League at Gasket Games

Keyframed 50+ hero and minion animations, setting visual standards and benchmarks for timing, posing, and polish. Mentored junior animators with weekly reviews and coaching. Produced celebratory animations that earned critical praise and high Metacritic game scores.

Facial and Gameplay Animator – FIFA at Electronic Arts

Constructed 50+ animations in Maya and MotionBuilder to enable pipeline adoption of new facial rig and motion capture systems, improving player performance quality and realism. Led creation of custom sequences in ANT and drove Frostbite development and transition efforts. Drove daily critique sessions improving game responsiveness by 22%.

Animator – Avengers: Infinity War & A Wrinkle in Time at Digital Domain

Created 11+ VFX animations exceeding quota benchmarks while maintaining Marvel quality standards. Developed and integrated animation cycles reducing downstream workload by 25%. Directed and performed reference for over 15 animators to ensure alignment and continuity in high-stakes sequences.

Continuing Studies Instructor – 2D/3D Animation, Intro to Maya, Storyboarding at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Designed four adaptive courses for interdisciplinary professionals, increasing program enrollment by 10%. Delivered over 10 weeks of classes per term, adapting lessons to advance student skills from novice to intermediate. Employed a hybrid lecture-demo model supporting both technical and artistic development and enabling career transitions.

3D Modeling, Art and Animation Instructor – 3D Animation at British Columbia Institute of Technology, School of Business + Media

Designed and optimized curriculum for more than four prerequisite animation courses for cohorts of 25+ students over 15-week terms. Developed assignments, analytical lectures, and Maya workflow demonstrations leading to a 91% graduation rate. Conducted weekly office hours achieving 96% demo reel completion, 45% project advancement, and 32% GPA improvement. Developed over 12 personalized five-step action plans to support struggling students’ academic progress.

Senior Animator – Journey to Foundation at Archiact VR

Created over 260 animations using MotionBuilder and Motion Capture, enhancing pivotal cinematic sequences for optimal player immersion, including game reveal trailers with over 135K views. Led 100+ weekly workshops upskilling five juniors, meeting quotas of 20 animations per day. Rebuilt all cinematic sequences in Unreal Engine 4’s Sequencer within four weeks to secure final in-game content integration on schedule. Directed and performed four motion capture shoots using Xsens technology, elevating storytelling and supporting future pitches.

Gameplay Animator – Gears of War: E-DAY at The Coalition

Prototyped over 40 gameplay and previs animations to establish core mechanics and game identities for two projects. Executed a client gameplay demo for a new IP within a 2.5 month sprint, leading cross-functional collaboration using Unreal Engine 4 across locomotion, state machines, and VFX, earning Microsoft’s approval for continued development. Initiated restructuring of onboarding and training programs studio-wide, increasing artist retention by 11%.

Animator – Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground & Mario Strikers Battle League at Gasket Games

Keyframed more than 50 hero and minion animations, setting visual standards and benchmarks for timing, posing, and polish. Mentored three junior animators through 40+ hours of weekly review and coaching, raising production efficiency. Produced over five celebration animations for Mario Strikers, earning critical praise and a Metacritic score of 89/100.

Facial and Gameplay Animator – FIFA at Electronic Arts

Constructed more than 50 animations in Maya and MotionBuilder, enabling pipeline adoption of new facial rig and motion capture systems. Upgraded player performance quality, realism, and variety. Built and implemented 10+ custom sequences in ANT, spearheading Frostbite development and transition efforts. Led daily animation critiques during stand-ups and playtests, improving input game responsiveness by 22%.

Animator – Avengers: Infinity War & A Wrinkle in Time at Digital Domain

Created over 11 VFX animations within three months, exceeding quota benchmarks while maintaining Marvel quality. Formulated and integrated more than five animation cycles, reducing downstream workload for crowd and VFX by 25%. Directed and performed reference for over 15 animators for high-stakes sequences to ensure alignment and continuity.

Instructor – 3D Animation at British Columbia Institute of Technology

Design and deliver curriculum for 4+ prerequisite Animation courses for cohorts of 25+ over 15-week terms; develop 5-8 assignments with analytic lectures and Maya workflow demonstrations; run weekly office hours; achieved 96% demo reel completion, 45% project advancement, and 32% GPA improvement; created 12+ personalized five-step action plans to support struggling students.

Instructor – 2D/3D Animation, Intro to Maya, Storyboarding at Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Senior Animator – Journey to Foundation at Archiact VR

Created 260+ animations using MotionBuilder and Motion Capture to enhance pivotal cinematic sequences for player immersion; gameplay trailers garnered 135K+ views; mentored 5 junior animators; led 25+ narrative design tasks in Unreal Engine 4 Sequencer; rebuilt cinematics from the ground up in 4 weeks; directed 4 mocap shoots with Xsens; improved storytelling and supported future pitches.

Animator at Gasket Games

Prototyped 40+ gameplay and pre-visualizations to establish core mechanics and game identities for two projects; delivered a client gameplay demo for a new IP within a 2.5-month sprint; collaborated across locomotion, state machines, and VFX in Unreal Engine 4 to earn Microsoft's approval for continued development; restructured onboarding/training programs studio-wide, increasing artist retention by 11%.

Gameplay Animator – Gears of War: E Day at The Coalition

Prototype and implement gameplay animations for Gears of War: E Day; collaborated cross-functionally to refine core mechanics and animations; contributed to level-cinematic sequences and performance.

Facial and Gameplay Animator – FIFA at Electronic Arts

Contributed to facial and gameplay animation; built 50+ hero/minion animations; mentored 3 junior animators for 40+ hour weekly review cycles; produced 5 celebration animations for Strikers; earned critical praise; Metacritic score 89/100.