Adam Briggs
Lead FX Artist
Maya | Houdini | Unreal Engine 5 | Nuke | Adobe Suite
Digital Nomad Entertainment — Senior VFX Artist
September 2024 - Present
Created large variety of real time game FX using Niagara in Unreal Engine 5 and Houdini
Worked with a team across several time zones and collaborated effectively to deliver high quality FX
Prototyped game functionality using Unreal blueprints
Developed dynamic materials, shaders, and textures as needed to enhance performance and appearance of FX
Dreamworks Feature Animation — FX Artist
August 2023 - July 2024
Utilized an all Houdini workflow to create several unique and high quality FX for Kung Fu Panda 4 including magic, food fx, smoke / dust, and liquid FX.
Created stylized water FX using Houdini and 2d hand animation for The Wild Robot.
Dreamworks TV — FX Lead/ FX Artist
August 2018 - August 2023
Managed a team of FX artists at partner studios and provided direction and feedback as needed to ensure due dates were hit and quality remained high.
Analyzed and interpreted script and storyboards/animatics and determined where FX would be needed, how to do them, and where to allocate artists time.
Developed, lit, and composited FX for several shows including Kung Fu Panda Dragon Knight, Dragons Rescue Riders, Boss Baby, Kung Fu Village, and Fast and the Furious Spy Racers.
Created hundreds of volumetric and liquid simulations, particle simulations, rigid bodies, nCloth, texture/shader FX, and comp FX/ gizmos.
Responsible for end-to-end creation and finishing of FX shots, from overall look development and simulation to rendering and compositing final elements.
Built and documented FX rigs to optimize speed of production locally and through partner studios.
Assisted in onboarding new artists. Mentored on how to approach challenging shots in efficient ways
Nickelodeon — FX Artist
July 2014 - August 2018
Developed, lit, and rendered FX for hit TV show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, utilizing volume and liquid simulations, particle simulations, rigid bodies, nCloth, texture/shader FX, and comp FX.
Used Maya, Realflow, Nuke, and Houdini interchangeably, depending on what would get each effect done most efficiently.
Responsible for complete creation of FX shots, from overall look development and simulation to rendering and compositing final elements.
Completed a large volume of high quality shots with very short deadlines, multitasking sometimes several unique effects per day.
Built and documented FX rigs to optimize speed of production locally and through partner studios.
Zoic Studios — FX Artist
September 2013 - April 2014
Simulated, lit, and rendered a large variety of effects for TV shows and commercials such as Once Upon a Time, The Flash, and several pilots
Worked with a large team locally and internationally to create effects on very short deadlines
Created and utilized dynamic rigs to improve speed of FX workflow
The Mission Studio — Realflow Artist
August 2013 - September 2013
Simulated Realflow and Maya FX for commercial and in house projects
Assisted in troubleshooting, fixing, and improving existing effects
Kastner & Partners — FX Artist
June 2013
Created water effects for digital advertisements
Modeled, textured, lit, animated, and rendered all 3D elements involved in a largely 2D graphic design workflow
Digital Domain Commercials — FX Artist
Jan 2012 - Feb 2012 | Jan 2013 - Apr 2013
Created dynamic effects for several upcoming game trailers and cinematics such as SimCity, Shadow of Mordor, and Destiny
Very quick turnarounds, completed large variety and volume of effects during short project timelines
Mirada, Los Angeles, CA — FX Artist
March 2011 | February 2012 - October 2012 | May 2014 - June 2014
Developed Realflow and Maya dynamic simulations for many commercials and some films, including Disney Fantasyland, Tide, Bud Light, MarioKart, and The Expendables
Simulated and lit specific effects to be integrated into the final product, rendering with Mental Ray, vRay, and Houdini’s Mantra
Baked FX, Culver City, CA — FX Artist
June 2011 | November 2012 | June 2014
Simulated, lit, and rendered Maya dynamic simulations for the film 7 Days in Utopia and a music video project
Assisted in troubleshooting, fixing, and improving existing effects
Luma Pictures, Santa Monica, CA — FX Artist
August 2011 - November 2011
Created dynamic effects for Underworld 4 and The Avengers
Created custom MEL tools for quicker production of repetitive tasks
Hydraulx, Santa Monica, CA — FX Artist
July 2010 - August 2011
Worked on feature films including Skyline, Battle: Los Angeles, Gulliver's Travels, and Take Shelter.
Set up and simulated particle, rigid body, and volumetric simulations in Maya, Realflow, and FumeFX.
High intensity projects with many 90+ hour work weeks.
Software
Houdini
Maya
Unreal 5
Nuke
Realflow
Adobe Suite
Education
Savannah College of Art and Design
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Effects
Minor in Technical Direction
Dean’s List 3.8 GPA
Languages
VEX / Hscript
MEL
Python