Year: 2017
Client: Coop
VFX Studio: Fable FX
I was responsible for grooming and creating the look development of the donkey for the Christmas advert of Coop.
Year: 2017
Client: Coop
VFX Studio: Fable FX
I was responsible for grooming and creating the look development of the donkey for the Christmas advert of Coop.
Year: 2017
Client: Coop
VFX Studio: Fable FX
I was responsible for grooming and creating the look development of the donkey for the Christmas advert of Coop.
Gabriela Salmeron
Gabriela Ruch Salmeron
I'm currently living in London, UK, and working at Framestore IA.
The areas I'm focused on are grooming realistic animals and creatures, feather creation and integration with the rigging, hair simulation, cloth simulation, and shading.
I have a very strong technical background and was responsible for programming several tools for grooming and CFX on Houdini, like the Probabilistic Maps for Shading, ClumpID Reconstruction, Auto-Partings, Geometry Generator and Deformer on Fur, Custom Wind Field, among many others. I'm also responsible for establishing workflows on both internal levels and between other departments, along with integration with the pipeline.
I have lead and supervision many artists on both Groom and Creature FX tasks, ensuring a standardized output across different shows while keeping a high level of efficiency. I also developed a series of tutorials and training for new artists, exploring both technical and artistic aspects.
The software I'm more familiar are Houdini, Maya, Yeti and Arnold and my main programming languages are C++ and VEX. I have a double bachelor's degree on Computer Science in the best university of South America (USP) and at Sydney University (Scholarship Award).
Awards:
2020 - 18º VES Awards, direct Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in Episodic with "Stag - The Crown S4"
2019 - 17º VES Awards, direct Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial with "#ReindeerReady"
2019 - 17º VES Awards, project Nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project with "Pearl Quest"
2018 - 16º VES Awards, direct Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in a Commercial with "Mercedes King of the Jungle"
2016 - Top 100 Influential Artists of the World By 3D Artist Magazine, Edition 100
2016 - Cannes Cyber Lions, Gold Lion with "Ivine and Pillow"
Softwares:
Houdini, Maya, Yeti, Arnold, Marvelous Designer, Substance Painting
Skills:
Grooming of Fur and Feathers, Character/Cloth Simulation, FX, Look Development and Programming (C++/VEX)
Highlight Projects:
2020 - "His Dark Materials" Season 2
Groom Supervision and R&D
2020 - "Jingle Jangle", Netflix
Lead Digital Effects
2020 - "Peel the Need", Aldi Commercial
CG Supervisor
2020 - "The Crown" Season 4, Netflix
Groom and Character FX
2019 - "The Witcher", Netflix
Character FX and Environment TD
2019 - "The Boys", Amazon
Character FX on Queen Maeve
2018 - "#Reindeer Ready", Mc Donald's Commercial
Reindeer Asset Lead
VES Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character
2018 - "Pearl Quest", Qingdao Rides
Character FX Lead
VES Nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project
2017 - "King of the Jungle", Mercedes-Benz Commercial
Groom and Character FX
VES Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character
2017 - "USS Callister", Black Mirror S04E01, Netflix
Character FX on Arachnajax
Past Jobs:
(2017) Groom/ CFX Technical Director at Framestore - London, UK
(2017) Hair and Fur TD at Vetor Zero - São Paulo, Brazil
(2016) Hair and Fur TD/ VFX at Consulado - São Paulo, Brazil
(2015) 3D Modeller at Vetor Zero - São Paulo, Brazil
(2012) 3D Generalist at Character Mill - Sydney, Australia
Education:
Computer Graphics Emphasis at University of Sydney - Full Paid Scholarship
Bachelor of Computer Science at University of São Paulo (USP)
Visual Effects Diploma at CG Spectrum College - Full Paid Scholarship
Animation, Illustration and Sculpting at Melies College
Pixar's Artists Masterclass - Sydney, Australia
Academic Thesis:
2015 - "Particle Simulation for Computer Graphics" - Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of São Paulo
2015 - "Tridimensional Modeling for Creative Industry"- Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of São Paulo
Short Bio:
I was born in a farm near a small village in the countryside of Brazil and since very young I was interested in drawing and an animal lover. At primary school, I launched my first comic book for other kids featuring a dog and a cat. The passion for video games made me start learning programming and creating my first flash game when I was a teenager. Then I got accepted to study Computer Science in the best university of South America, University of Sao Paulo (USP). In the middle of the graduation, I received a scholarship to do a computer graphics specialization at University of Sydney, in Australia. While there, I started working as a 3D artist and decided to follow this career.
Back to Brazil, I worked in several studios including Vetor Zero, which is one the biggest in South America. Initially I was in a generalist position, doing modelling, texturing, look development and animation, but along the way I started moving towards the technical field of simulation and programming until I found the middle term that makes me happier: working with grooming and character FX. My love for animals since I was a child is my inspiration to create cute creatures, always aiming to improve myself and get inspiration by nature.
In 2017 I moved to London and started working at Framestore IA as a Groom/Creature FX Technical Director, where I'm actually leading the team. I worked in many astonishing projects over the years in there, like the TV Series: "The Witcher", "The Boys" and "USS Callister" episode from Black Mirror. Also on two commercials that I was nominated for Outstanding Character in VES Awards, Mercedes "King of the Jungle" and Mc Donald's "#Reindeer Ready".