Working Instructors

Jackson is a Look Development artist based in San Francisco with years of experience in the animation, VFX, and games industries. Primarily focused on shading and grooming for feature film, he most recently worked as a Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios contributing to the character work for Elio (2024) and Hoppers (2025), and previously held roles including Lead Pipeline & Rendering Technician, freelance VFX artist, digital concept artist, and technical advisor/mentor to students. His journey began in traditional art, but over time his skills and interests have evolved into a blend of technical and artistic expertise. With a background spanning various aspects of the 3D pipeline, including lighting, rendering, compositing, and pipeline technical direction, he brings a broad perspective to his work, using these disciplines to inform and enhance his workflow strategies and artistic contributions. Whether drawing, painting, developing technical shading workflows, or scripting artist-friendly tools, above all his passion for creativity, problem-solving, and sharing knowledge with others is what drives both his professional and personal pursuits.

United States