Lee Méndez
CG Generalist Resume
I’m a CG generalist with ten years of experience across the front and back ends of live action VFX and animation pipelines in both client and vendor scenarios. From storyboarding, to 3D asset generation, to motion tracking and compositing, I’m used to shoring up multiple roles in smaller teams as well as specializing in tasks for larger studios environments. Curiosity and a love of problem solving provide me with flexibility and the capacity to get up to speed quickly on new software packages and workflows including Maya, Houdini, Nuke, Blender, and After Effects, as well as the ability to write my own workflow tools between those packages in Python.
Between work on feature films, television, animated series and commercial work my strengths lie in adaptability and a positive disposition. And my background in film studies trained me to prioritize storytelling and visual clarity no matter what stage in the process I’m inhabiting.
Experience
October 2022 - April 2023
Legendary/Apple TV Godzilla Project: LA, California - CG Generalist
Previs - Quick Iteration Using Blender’s Grease Pencil to Animate in 3D for Directors and Stunt Coords
Post-vis - Quick Iteration for Inhouse
Compositing - Equipment Removal/Paint Fixes/Set Augmentation
3D Tracking - Adding 3D Assets and Digital Makeup
Photogrammetry Processing and Asset Management - Processing and Packaging Assets and Scan Data to Ship to Vendors
February 2020 - May 2022
Carnival Row (Legendary/Amazon): LA, California - CG Generalist
Previs - On-set Quick Iteration Using Blender’s Grease Pencil to Animate in 3D for Directors and Stunt Coords
Post-vis - Quick Iteration Using Blender’s Grease Pencil to Animate in 3D for Vendors
Compositing - Equipment Removal/Paint Fixes/Set Augmentation
3D Tracking - Adding 3D Assets and Digital Makeup
Photogrammetry Processing and Asset Management - Processing and Packaging Assets and Scan Data to Ship to Vendors
OCTOBER 2019 - December 2020
Rooster Teeth (Warner), Austin, Texas - Crowds, FX and Generalist VFX
Crowds and Pyro FX for Animated Series using Houdini
Procedural Asset Modeling using Houdini
OCTOBER 2018 - APRIL 2019
Rooster Teeth (Warner), Austin, Texas - Storyboard and Layout Artist
Storyboarding Sequences of an In-House Show: GenLock for HBO
Worked as a Camera Artist in the Layout Department Later in the Production
JUNE 2014 - JANUARY 2018
Mighty Coconut, Austin - CG Generalist
Comp Artist for Features and Television - Nuke/After Effects
Storyboarding for YouTube Red Original Series
Texture Artist - Mari
Lighting Artist - Redshift
FX Artist - Houdini
Motion Graphics - After Effects
Concept Painting
Motion Tracking - Syntheyes
MAY 2012 - AUGUST 2014
Adam Gravois Images LLC, Austin - GG Generalist
Texture Artist - Mari
Motion Graphics - After Effects
Motion Tracking - Syntheyes
NOVEMBER 2011 - FEBRUARY 2014
Sycamore Pictures, Austin - VFX Intern for Terrence Malick
Designed Interstellar Visualizations in Nuke for the documentary Voyage of Time
Education
AUGUST 2010 - MAY 2014
University of Texas at Austin - Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film
Focused on Film Studies and Production.
Skills
3D Packages:
Maya
Houdini
Blender
Compositing Softwares:
Nuke
After Effects
Fusion
Digital Painting:
Mari
Substance Designer and Painter
Photoshop
Illustrator
Clip Studio
Misc Software:
Syntheyes - Matchmoving
Agisoft Photoscan - Photogrammetry
Premiere - Editing
Davinci Resolve - Editing and Color Correction
Programming Languages:
Python
C
And a little itty bit of C++
Film:
I studied film production and history in college, and having worked in both live action and animation environments ever since, I have developed an understanding of shooting vocabulary, which allows me to communicate with directors and leads efficiently.