Instructor at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art
Greater Los Angeles Area
- Current
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- Digital Painter/Designer at The Walt Disney Company
- Instructor at Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art
- Instructor at The Walt Disney Company
- Past
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- Development Artist at Digital Or Not
- Concept Designer at Mattel
- Theme Park Designer at Avalanche Bay
- Development Artist at Digital or Not
- Layout/Color Key/Prop Designer at Big Idea Inc.
- Layout Development/Beat Boards at Disney Toon Studios
- Art Director/Illustrator at Technicolor Creative Services
- Background Designer/Development Artist at Darkside Films
- Development Artist at MezCo. Studios
- Consumer Product Designer at Applause Inc.
- Consumer Product Designer at Global Solutions
- Education
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- California State University-Chico
- American Animation Institute (The Animators’ Guild)
- California Art Institute
- The Animation Academy
- The Gnomon School of Design
- The Walt Disney Employee Enrichment Program
- Recommended
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24 people have recommended Mark - Connections
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192
connections
- Industry
- Animation
- Websites
Mark McDonnell’s Summary
Currently working freelance for various animation studios and related projects. Specializing in a multitude of crafts ranging from Character Design, Layout Design/Look Development, Graphic Design, to Theme Park Design. Previously an Art Director/Illustrator at Technicolor Creative Services for 6 years servicing many of the studios including: Walt Disney Feature, Walt Disney TVA, Disney Toon Studios, Miramax, Fox, H.I.T. Entertainment, New Line, Mattel, Sony, Legendary Pictures, Jim Henson Company and many more.
Mark McDonnell’s Specialties:
Versatility: Layout Designer, Character Designer, Look Development/BG Designer, Graphic Designer, and an Instructor at various institutions - currently teaching at Walt Disney Television Animation.
Mark McDonnell’s Experience
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Digital Painter/Designer
The Walt Disney Company
(Public Company; DIS; Information Technology and Services industry)
April 2009 — Present (4 months)
Currently working on post-production and bonus elements for the release of Pixar's UP, in theaters May 29th.
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Instructor
Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art
(Animation industry)
March 2009 — Present (5 months)
Instructor with great emphasis on the importance of capturing the correct gesture and movement to be used and translated into many areas of the artistic process - Drawing, Painting, Sculpting, Illustration, Animation and the Entertainment Industry.
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Instructor
The Walt Disney Company
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Animation industry)
July 2007 — Present (2 years 1 month)
Instructor with great emphasis on the importance of capturing the correct gesture and movement to be used and translated into many areas of the animation process, including but not limited to: storyboarding, character animation, visual development, character development, development, and character design. Happily holding the torch of Walt Sanchfield's wisdom and teachings.
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Development Artist
Digital Or Not
(Animation industry)
January 2009 — February 2009 (2 months)
Development artist for a 3D feature film. Duties include: Layout/Set Design, Character Design, and Prop Design. Work directly for Tina Price and Rick Maki.
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Concept Designer
Mattel
(Entertainment industry)
February 2008 — June 2008 (5 months)
Concept designer on video game for Hot Wheels brand. Duties included: 3D character design, 2D character poses for starting each level, storyboarding, and various conceptual designs to help propel the story and look of the game.
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Theme Park Designer
Avalanche Bay
(Entertainment industry)
April 2008 — May 2008 (2 months)
Worked creating original characters and related concepts for winter related Holiday Light Show at Avalanche Bay, an 88,000-square-foot indoor water park in Boyne Falls, Michigan.
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Development Artist
Digital or Not
(Animation industry)
2007 — February 2008 (1 year)
Development artist for a 3D feature film. Duties include: Layout/Set Design, Character Design, and Prop Design. Work directly for Tina Price and Rick Maki.
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Layout/Color Key/Prop Designer
Big Idea Inc.
(Public Company; Animation industry)
April 2007 — January 2008 (10 months)
Responsible for creating multiple layouts, color key and lighting design for 3D sets, and Prop Design with breakdowns for the overseas crew. Worked closely with Tom Bancroft and Rob Corley of Funny Pages Productions, Tim Hodge, John Wahba, Tod Carter, and Joe Brusco.
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Layout Development/Beat Boards
Disney Toon Studios
(Public Company; Animation industry)
March 2007 — March 2007 (1 month)
Created development of beat boards and layouts for story pitches to John Lasseter for final approval of Tinkerbell updates and its related films.
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Art Director/Illustrator
Technicolor Creative Services
(Public Company; Design industry)
March 2000 — March 2007 (7 years 1 month)
Sole traditional and digital artist responsible for storyboarding/pitch boards, concept designs, environment layout for 3D processes, character design, prop design, digital paint/set extension, and graphic design.
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Background Designer/Development Artist
Darkside Films
(Animation industry)
January 2006 — March 2006 (3 months)
Development artist on Film Noir short in colabloration with Cartoon Network employees. Responsibilities include Visual Development and Environment/Location Designer. All designs were created digitally.
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Development Artist
MezCo. Studios
(Animation industry)
December 2005 — January 2006 (2 months)
“Blue in the Face” – 3D Development pitch. Duties included character design, storyboarding, and story development.
“Max in the Movies” – 3D Development pitch. Duties included character design, storyboarding, and story development. -
Consumer Product Designer
Applause Inc.
(Design industry)
February 2003 — April 2003 (3 months)
Created product for McDonald’s Happy Meal Deals. Clients include but not limited to: The Walt Disney Co., Warner Brothers, H.I.T. Entertainment, and others.
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Consumer Product Designer
Global Solutions
(Graphic Design industry)
November 2000 — February 2001 (4 months)
Created multiple product designs for various branches of companies. Clients include, but limite to: The Walt Disney Co., Hummel, Thomas Kinkade, Waterford, and others.
Mark McDonnell’s Education
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California State University-Chico
B.A , Art Studio, Computer Sciences , 1994 — 1998
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American Animation Institute (The Animators’ Guild)
Studied under Glen Vilppu and Karl Gnass as well as other instructor's in various other disciplines.
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California Art Institute
Studied under Jemery Lipking, Aaron Westerberg, and Glen Orbik.
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The Animation Academy
Studied under Steven Silver, John Nevarez, Jose Lopez, and Charles Zembillas.
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The Gnomon School of Design
Studied under Feng Zhu, Kevin Chen, and others.
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The Walt Disney Employee Enrichment Program
Additional Information
Mark McDonnell’s Websites:
Mark McDonnell’s Interests:
New Technology, old technology: watercolor, figure drawing, sculpting, painting, creating anything with my mind and hands.
Mark McDonnell’s Groups:
Gnomon, Sketchclub EAST, The Animation Academy, The Animation Art Form, Glen Vilppu, The Walt Disney Enrichment Program, John Nevarez, California Institute of the Arts, Diana Coco-Russell, Conrad Montgomery, Gang of 7 Animation
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The Creative Talent Network -
The Walt Disney Company Alumni Group -
Disney -
2D & 3D Animators -
Adobe Photoshop Group -
DVD Professionals
Mark McDonnell’s Honors:
DVDA Excellence Awards:
Lion King 1.5 - Innovation in Design
Auora Awards:
GOLD - Lion King 1.5
PLATINUM - "Best In Show" - Who Wants to Be King of the Jungle
PLATINUM - "Best In Show" - Bambi Virtual Forest Adventure
GOLD - Mickey's Reading and Math Fun
Mark McDonnell’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
