Damon Bard
Character/Creature/Environment/Prop: 3D Visual Development & Design
Animation - Stop-motion - VFX - Games
www.bardstudio.com
- Currently available for full-time and freelance work -
 
38+ years working in the entertainment industry primarily as a sculptor but also as a visual development artist and designer of characters and creatures through traditional sculpture and digital mediums. Has contributed to nearly 55+ films and other various projects during career for various clientele.

Services offered:
Art Direction/Consulting
Character/Creature Visual Development & Design
Maquette Creation; traditional sculpture & digital sculpture via 3d printing
Traditional sculpting
Digital sculpting

Experience:
current LinkedIn as of July 2024:

Bard Studio, LLC
Owner
1986 - Present (38 yrs)
www.bardstudio.com

Core Studio
Jul 2024 - Jul 2024
3D Vis-Dev/Design Artist

Paramount Animation
3D Visual Development Artist

January 2023 - October 2023 (10 months)
Sponge Bob 4
3D Vis-Dev Artist, Art Dept:
3D Designs of Characters, Props, Environments & Vehicles made to
Production Designers & Directors approval to then be passed onto our vendor
studio for them to prep for their pipeline.

Swaybox Studios
3D Character Vis-Dev, misc 3D Vis-Dev.

July 2017 - October 2023 (6 years 4 months)
IF
3D Character Vis-Dev of "Blue" character for John Krasinski's "IF" in theaters
May 2024
3D Character Vis-Dev, misc Vis-Dev for various other undisclosed projects
over the years.

Warner Bros. Animation
3D Character Visual Development

May 2022 - July 2022 (3 months)
WATCHMEN
Character Visual Development for WATCHMEN 2024.

Netflix Animation
3D Visual Development Artist

July 2020 - May 2022 (1 year 11 months)
Blue Eye Samurai
3D Vis Dev Artist, Art Dept
Tasks included: Character Visual Development, Set Vis-Dev, Prop Vis Dev,
Vehicle Vis Dev, Weapons Vis Dev.
3D Designs of Characters, Props, Environments, Vehicles & Weapons made to
Production Designers & Directors approval to then be passed onto our vendor
studio for them to prep for their pipeline.

Netflix
Senior Character Artist

January 2018 - December 2020 (3 years)
Wendell & Wild
Character Vis-Dev Design Artist on Wendell & Wild Stop-Motion Production.

Boulder Media
Vis-Dev Artist

February 2020 - July 2020 (6 months)
My Little Pony, A New Generation
3D Character Vis-Dev, 3D Environment Vis-Dev

Chiodo Brothers Productions Co
3D Character Vis-Dev Artist

May 2019 - May 2019 (1 month)
Alien Xmas
3D Character Vis-Dev of characters for "Alien Xmas" Netflix Feature.

Aquamen Ent.
3D Character Vis-Dev

December 2017 - March 2018 (4 months)
The MonkeyKing: Heaven's Great Mission
Early Character Vis-Dev/Design "The MonkeyKing, The Beginning" (working
title) 2017-18
The MonkeyKing: Heaven's Great Mission (release title) 2024 release date.

Katorama
Vis-Dev Character Sculptor

June 2017 - October 2017 (5 months)
Animation Outlaws
Character Sculptor/vis-dev on "Animation Outlaws" A DOCUMENTARY
ABOUT SPIKE AND MIKE'S FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION.
Character Designer- Watership Down at WATERSHIP DOWN LIMITED
Watership Down
December 2016 - May 2017 (6 months)
Character designer for the Netflix/BBC (4 X 1 hour CG animated mini-series) re-telling of the classic Richard Adams tale.


3D Designer at Snapchat, Inc.
March 2017 - April 2017 (2 months)



Art Director/Character Supervisor/VisDev at Mattel, Inc.


April 2016 - November 2016 (8 months)
Barbie & Her Sisters


Character Artist at Oculus VR
January 2016 - March 2016 (3 months)
Consultant on VR projects.
Development Artist on Oculus Medium VR sculpting program.



Character Visual Development Artist at Paramount Animation
December 2014 - March 2015 (4 months)
Character Visual Development Artist.
Cancelled "FIN" project.
Clay and Digital (ZBrush) maquettes.


Character Visual Development Artist at Cinesite
January 2015 - February 2015 (2 months)
Visual Development for "Charming" movie.
ZBrush design maquettes of 2 main characters.


Character Visual Development Artist (Traditional & Digital) The Little Prince
Onyx Films / Mikros Animation
October 2012 - July 2014 (1 year 10 months)
The Little Prince
-directed by Mark Osbourne-
Character Visual Development Artist responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of 5 main characters for the project. Traditional maquettes were scanned to be the basis for CG character assets. Additional digital visual development/design and art direction done on 30+ other characters, in ZBrush.


Character Visual Development Artist at Starburns Industries
April 2014 - June 2014 (3 months)

Sculptor/Designer at Tippett Studio
1996 - March 2014 (18 years 3 months)
Various roles/responsibilities ranging from Creature/Character Visual Development, concept design, sculpting, mold-making, model-making, painting, set dressing, lighting, rigging, puppeteering, animating and other traditional film making/stagecraft techniques.
Projects include:
Chronicle
Mad God
Mutant Land
Cosmos
Enchanted
Son of the Mask
Matrix Revolutions
Starship Troopers II : Hero of the Federation
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Blockbuster Video (Carl and Ray)
Evolution
Cats and Dogs
Hollow Man
The Haunting
My Favorite Martian
Character Visual Development Artist / Sculptor at ShadeMaker Productions, Inc. (Cinderbiter)
March 2011 - August 2012 (1 year 6 months)

Henry Selick's: The Shadow King
Sculpture Dept lead. Responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of all main and most secondary characters for design establishment and stop-motion puppet processes.
Art direction of CG modeling dept and sculpt dept liaison to the puppet/fabrication dept.


Character Visual Development Artist
Happy Product
2010 - 2011 (2 years)
Character Visual Development Artist responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining
the style of the characters.
Mylo Xyloto (Coldplay band) project

Prana
Character Visual Development

January 2010 - March 2010 (3 months)

Sausage Party
Character vis-dev of 4 main characters, Oscar, Brenda, Douche & Kummy

Sculptor/Designer at DreamWorks Animation
2002 - 2010 (9 years)
Feature Visual Development.
Character Visual Development Artist responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of the characters. Traditional maquettes were scanned to be the basis for CG character assets.
Projects include:
The Croods
Kung Fu Panda I & II
How to Train your Dragon
Monsters v/s Aliens
Bee Movie
Over the Hedge


Sculptor/Visual Development
Imagi Animation Studios


2009 - 2009 (1 year)
Tusker

Character Visual Development Artist responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of the characters. Traditional maquettes were scanned to be the basis for CG character assets.

The Orphanage
3D Character Vis-Dev

August 2008 - September 2008 (2 months)
Warcraft
3D clay Character Vis-Dev of "Varian Wrynn" character for Warcraft Pitch
package.

UGOBE
Product Designer

June 2008 - August 2008 (3 months)
Product Design for Tobi ID line


Sculptor/Designer at Laika Entertainment

2005 - 2008 (4 years)
Coraline
Sculpture Dept Lead.
Responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of all main characters for design establishment and stop-motion puppet processes.


Art direction of CG modeling dept.

Industrial Light & Magic
Model Maker

March 2007 - March 2007 (1 month)
Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Model Maker for beginning gopher/Paramount logo sequence, Indiana Jones &
the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Sculptor/Designer at Sony Pictures Animation
2006 - 2006 (1 year)

Surfs Up
Character Visual Development Artist responsible for defining 2D drawings into 3D designs of the main characters for the project.


Sculptor/Model Maker
ILM
2004 - 2004 (1 year)
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Sculptor/Modelmaker Mustafar lava fields.



Sculptor/Designer at PDI (Pacific Data Images) DreamWorks S.K.G

1996 - 2002 (7 years)
Feature Visual Development.
Character Visual Development Artist responsible for sculptural design development and to aide in defining the style of the characters. Traditional maquettes were scanned to be the basis for CG character assets.
 
Projects include:
Shrek 2
Madagascar
Monster.com (Trump)
Tusker
Antz




Sculptor/Designer at Pixar

2001 - 2001 (1 year)
Character Visual Development.
Ratatouille



Sculptor/Designer at Electronic Arts

2001 - 2001 (1 year)
IP characters.


Character Visual Development Artist/Sculptor
1492 Pictures & 20th Century Fox


1999 - 2000 (2 years)

MonkeyBone

Sculpture Dept Head. Responsible for sculptural design development of all main and most secondary characters for design establishment and stop-motion puppet processes and also for full scale makeups and bodysuits.
Sculptor/Designer
M-5 Industries
1996 - 1998 (3 years)
Various projects.

Sculptor/Designer
Rob Bottin Productions
1996 - 1996 (1 year)

Deep Rising


Sculptor/Designer
Skellington Productions


1994 - 1995 (2 years)

James and the Giant Peach

Industrial Light & Magic
Documentary Photography

October 1994 - October 1994 (1 month)
Mission Impossible 1
Unofficially assisted/interned in model-shop model shooting in evenings with
supplementary camera documenting on Mission Impossible 1, helicopter/train tunnel
chase sequence
.

Sandy Collora Studios
Sculptor

August 1993 - August 1994 (1 year 1 month)
Guyver - Dark Hero
Sculptor on Guyver Dark Hero: character stop-motion puppet for Guyver II
movie.
Sculptor on various other projects for pitch packages etc.

Will Vinton Productions "Claymation"
Sculptor

March 1991 - May 1991 (3 months)
Clay sculptor on TV commercials etc
.


Education:

Gnomon School of Visual Effects
Digital Modeling; Characters, Props, Sets, X-gen · (2015 - 2021)


Mold 3D
3D printing
Mastering Organic Modeling, 2015 - 2017
Creating Appealing Characters, 2016

Vaugel Sculpture Studio
Sculpture & Fine Art, 1993 - 1993
Loire Valley, France
Worked with live models sculpting the human form.



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