Curriculum Vitae - Yasumiko Cindy Lo Garry

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To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Miko. I am a doctoral researcher and animator at the National Centre for Computer Animation. My current project is for critical computer animation focusing on practices and procedures for studios and different fields of animation. I examine research methodology and make them relevant for industrial applications so as to expand artists' mindset, cognitive processes and creativity.

I have been working 8 years in Film&TV production and game development. My last position as the animation lead with Triumph Studios, provided me the freedom to develop a PRG title. Because it was a venture at a time, I was able to experiment with new ideas on game play and study integration with animations as well as develop in-house tools. Before that project, I involved in a UK Film council short film - Elroy III, animating the lead role - Daniella, which was shown in Cannes in May 2007. Because of my diverse experiences, I am always interested in how to make every application effective and how to obtain maximum quality within a given field satisfying both the product and the creator. This led to my decision to pursue a PhD.

In the beginning of my career, I was one of the 3D artists in-charged of 15 episodes of Tiny Planet - a full 3D animated series being broadcast in different countries during 2001-3. Later, I joined game development spending some time with a XBox RPG title - Sudeki creating game contents. Because of my experiences in traditional hand-drawn animation and TV production, I soon found myself in charge of the FMA sequences for Sudeki. I oversaw all aspects of the production from talking to clients, reviewing scripts & storyboard, cinematic to animation. I produced over 40 mins of full motion animations. In 2005 when I moved to the Netherlands, I joined Guerilla BV "strike" team resolving issues from their first Killzone title and upgrading the game play for PS3.

In my previous career as a design engineer, I worked 7 years in teams of multi-disciplines to create interactive graphics, simulations and programming for robotic and system control. I had experiences in large scale engineering project management and contract estimation. The six projects I had involved in were all unique and were joint effort of both art and engineering.

Apart from my normal duties, I helped to train others in the team. Delivering my experience to animators and applying my knowledge from engineering and animation production to game are especially rewarding. In the past years, I gave talks in conferences such as Animex - International Festival of Animation and different universities in UK focusing on animation practices, cinematic and industrial research.

Personally, I am always interested in mixed media SFX animation - 2D & 3D compositing work and interactive media. I studied, in particular, camera work and perspective matching for cinematic production. In my leisure, I write science fiction and fantasy story. I enjoy character design and paint anime illustrations. I would like to further myself in animation production, directing and management. I believe with my diverse skills and now research knowledge, I would be a valuable member in any team and also leading a team, aiming to create higher quality of work and improving techniques for the future.



PERSONAL DETAILS

NAME :

Yasumiko Cindy Tsz-Yan Lo Garry

NATIONALITY:

British

ADDRESS:

Vancouver, Canada

Tel : 001 604 420 2304

email: YasumikoLo@hotmail.com

CAREER HISTORY

2007-

Doctoral Researcher at the National Centre for Computer Animation

2008-9 PT

Animation Associate for Overlord II Title

2006-7

Lead Animator at Triumph Studios (The Netherlands)

  • Identifying style and animations and overseeing production
  • Prototyping concepts and working closely with the coding team on the engine development and improve in-house animation system
  • R&D on characters, fantasy creature rigs and game world interactive objects; integrating with game play and maximize animation quality
  • Training animators

project: Overlord Strategy RPG (Xbox 360 - PC)

Visiting speaker at Bournemouth University on Cinematic animation

2005

Animator at Guerrilla BV (Amsterdam)

  • Involving with "strike" team on character creation & prove of concept, level design and new game mechanic implementation
  • Developing in-game animation, animation diagram & blending techniques
  • Developing 1st person & 3rd person animation rig and expression handling for next gen

development project: Killzone (PS3)

Lead role animator for a short film production, Elroy - the potato head boy supported by UK Film Council.

Speaker at Animex – International Festival of Animation

Visiting speaker at National Centre for Computer Animation on Animation techniques for Film, TV and Games

2004

Speaker at Women in Games conference

2002 -2004

Animator at Climax (Solent, UK):

  • In charge of FMA sequences – reviewing scripts & storyboards, creating animatics, cinematic design and overseeing production
  • Identifying client requirements, negotiating time schedules, and organizing breakdown and animators.
  • Developing in-game animation, identifying style and effects
  • Training junior animators
  • projects: Sudeki (Xbox), Powerbabes (PS2 & Pinkfloor)

2000 - 2001

3D Artist at Pepper’s Ghost Production (London)

  • Pre-production - Character design and test animations including building up animation library for production
  • in-charge of 15 episodes of Tiny Planet - a CG TV series
  • Reviewing storyboards and animations, discussing with the director
  • Motion capture for pilot work.

1997 - 1999

Yas Studio

  • Anime Exhibition at City Gallery (UK) with 50 illustrations
  • Character design, illustration and concept work, producing storyboards and animation pilots.

1992 - 1997

Design engineer at GEC Alsthom (Leicester, UK)

  • Designing CG simulations, Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), and real-time control systems for robotics, off-shore rescue systems, power stations, nuclear facilities and the package handling system of British Airways’ world cargo centre (Heathrow).
  • Scottish Nuclear project management.
  • Budgeting for contract works and estimation of the London Jubilee line construction & various power stations in China.

1991 - 1992

Advanced Robotics Research Centre (Salford, UK)

  • Implementation of path-planning algorithms for mobile robotic systems & CG simulation

1990 - Oct 1990

HAECO Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co

  • Maintenance instructor conducting various training classes for groups of 20+ engineers, teaching the Airport Authority avionics license course and INS.

July 1987 -
Sept 1987

Six Delights Ltd (Hong Kong)

  • Clay sculpting instructor for public subscription classes.

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

1998 - 1999

Bournemouth University (UK)

MA in Computer Animation (pass with distinction)

1997 - 1998

University of Westminster (UK)

MSc in Digital Image Programming (part time), involving study of animation and computer graphics techniques.

1990 - 1991

Asahi Japanese Culture School (Hong Kong)

Passing the Advanced Class (lower division) in Japanese.

First Institute of Art and Design (Hong Kong)

Graphic design, still life, perspective drawing, calligraphy.

1986 - 1989

University of Southampton (UK)

B.Eng Hons Aerospace Systems Engineering (2:1)

1983 - 1989

Convent of the Holy Family (UK)

9 'O' Levels & 4 'A' Levels

OTHER SKILLS AND INTERESTS

Creative work:

I am interested in writing Science Fiction and exploring aspects of character design and illustration for related stories. I produced a number of stories with concept design work and various storyboards.

Computing skills:

Animation : Maya, 3DMax & CharacterStudio, Softimage

Special Effect : Media Illusion, Digital Fusion & AfterFX

Image processing : Photoshop, Painter

Video & sound editing : Media100, Premiere & Director

Asset management software : VSS, Alienbrain & Perforce

Languages: Fortran, Turbo Pascal and C/C++, OpenGL on Unix, XView programming and DevGuide, Yourdon design and Teamwork

Full UK driving license