Amy Gohal
Amy Gohal-Stephan
+1 503 869 5890amygohal@gmail.com
Work History
Faculty-InstructorAcademy of Art University San Francisco
Feb 2021- Current
- Teaching animation 101 - Photoshop and After Effects to incoming freshmen, short film making
- Teaching animation 108 - Cinematography for Visual Effects, Editing principles, short film making
- Teaching Art Experience 29 - 3D animation course using Maya. High School students go through the entire pipeline of animation in a 6 week course. They begin with character design and end with a fully rendered animation.
Academy of Art University San Francisco
Sept 2019 - May 2020
- Teaching careers in animation and VFX; professional practices, promotional materials, networking.
- Interviewing, teaching techniques to stay on point and on track for successful outcomes in job interviews
Sept 2017 - Sept 2019
- Teaching Junior Project 1 and 2 - students learn to make a short film in one semester. They learn the struggles and goals to achieve creating short films in a small in a short time frame. This preps them for their final year of filmmaking.
- Teaching CFX: Cloth FX : Teaching students cloth simulation, set up, sim running, cleanup
- Teaching Animation 2: A continuation on the basic principles of animation. Exercises include : weight shifts, jumps, lifts, possessions.
- Teaching Rigging : Teaching character rigging; blend-shaping, paint-weights, controls with implementation, IK/FK setups for arms/legs/spines
- Teaching Advanced Rigging: Teaching quadruped and robot rigging, blendshaping, paint-weights, controls with implementations, teaching multiple IK FK leg spine and arm set ups
March 2018
- Consulting on Rigging of characters and giving instructions to employees on how to proceed
- Teaching: Paint weight techniques to employees
Making Waves Academy
Sept 2016 - May 2017
- Teaching the Creative Arts; Coming up with Course Plans per year to teach to the students
- Teaching drawing, painting and sculpture, and how the arts have affected us historically and in our communities today
- Helping students to understand time management and importance of repetitive tasks using game dynamics
- Teaching students to work together so we may all succeed and reach our goals using game dynamics
Academy of Art University San Francisco
Sept 2013 - May 2016
- Teaching graduate level and undergrad level classes; teaching proper rigging techniques
- Teaching character rigging; blend-shaping, paint-weights, controls with implementation, IK/FK setups for arms/legs/spines
- Teaching facial rigging; facial setups with GUI's
- Teaching advanced rigging; stretchy systems, bendy systems, ribbon systems, muscle systems, cloth systems
- Teaching careers in animation and VFX; professional practices, promotional materials, networking
- Teaching Directed Studies: one on one with students moving forward in rigging
- Teaching CFX: Cloth FX: teaching students cloth simulation
- Studio X Rigging: Studio experience for students: Supervising and overseeing short film projects that require rigging for animation. Studio X projects listed below:
"Grounded" by Thomas de Maleingreau - Short Film June - Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of all character and prop rigs for project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Biped Rig: Old man; Hector
- Creature Rig: Goose; Waldo
- Mechanical Rig: Plane Rig
- Prop Rigging: Hangar and all props inside
"Tuff Stuff" by Mario Grilli -Short Film -Sept - Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of all character and prop rigs for project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rigs: Biped; Jacob, Zeta Bear
- Creature/Mechanical Rig; Nightling monster
"Ninja Turtles: Veterans of the Night" by Miguel Diaz Rivera - Teaser Trailer - Sept- Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of all character and prop rigs for this project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rigs: Bipeds; Ninja Turtles
- Prop Rigs: Weapons; bow staff, sai, katanas, nunchuks, ninja stars
"Muscle Beach" by Corey Rosen - Short Film Summer 2014 - Sept - Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor
- Oversaw rig fixes to pre-rigged characters
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rigs: Bipeds; Hank, Marvin, Honey
"Foodie Cats" by Jr Giants of San Francisco Giants baseball team - Sept - Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of character rigs for this project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rig: Egg Cat
"Cact I" by Ye Won Cho - Short Film June - Dec 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of all character rigs for this project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rigs: Bipeds; John, Paul, George, Ringo, Scarf Girl
"Art School of Horrors" by Thijs Bazelmans -Feature Film June-Aug 2014
- Rigging Supervisor
- Oversaw creation of character rigs on this project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rig - Biped - Paperman
"The Knight" by Mary Kate Dangoia - Short Film June-Aug 2014
- Rigging Supervisor, Model Advisor
- Oversaw creation of Character and Creature rigs on this project
- Managed rigging artists for:
- Character Rig: Biped; The knight
- Creature Rigs: Chicken, Fire Chicken, Octo Dragon
June 2015 - Sept 2016
- Character TD/Rigger on four main characters for cloth simulation
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations.
- mel scripts
- blendshapes
WhiskyTree
Dec 2014-Jan 2015
- Character TD/Rigger on the main character for commercial test
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations.
- Mel scripting
- blendshape support
Jan 2014
- Character TD/Rigger on the vehicle used in the short film.
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations.
Sept 2013-Nov 2013
- Character TD/Rigger on one of two main characters for the short film.
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations.
Intel Corporation
Jan 2013 - July 2013
- VFX LEAD: (all listed below)
- Character TD - Rigging - rigging on complex characters for animation for real time engine: Havok use
- painting weights
- CFX - Cloth setup and simulations on character for real time engine: Havok use
- Project Lead for animators: Responsible for hiring animators and overseeing work sent down the pipeline to completion
- Project Lead for modelers: Responsible for hiring 3D modelers and overseeing work sent down the pipeline to completion
- Animation Layout -setting up scenes for animators
- Lighting - Lighting scenes in Maya
- programs: Maya 2012, 2013
"The Boxtrolls" (Full Length Feature Film)
LAIKA Inc
June 2012- Dec 2012
- Character TD - Rigging - facial setup and rigging on complex characters for animation and 3D printing
- Painting weights
- Blendshaping - facial blendshape creation and application on characters for animation and 3D printing
- MEL scripting
- Fixes for animators
- Programs: Maya 2012, 2013, Shotgun, linux
Rainmaker Entertainment
March 2012 to May 2012
- CFX: Cloth Sim Artist
- Cloth simulations and clean up
- Blendshapes for Cloth
- Animation for cloth
- Programs: Maya 2011, Maya 2012, Shotgun, Linux
Rainmaker Entertainment
Nov 2011 to March 2012
- CFX: Cloth Sim Artist
- Cloth prep and set up
- Cloth simulations
- Blendshapes for Cloth
- Geocaching scenes for cloth/lighting/blends
- Animation for cloth
- Programs: Maya 2011, Maya 2012, Shotgun, Linux
Rainmaker Entertainment
Oct 2011 to Nov 2011
- CFX: Cloth Sim Artist
- Cloth simulations and clean up
- Blendshapes for Cloth
- Animation for cloth
- Programs: Maya 2011, Maya 2012, Shotgun, Linux
A52 Visual Effects -Elastic
June 2011 - July 2011
- Character TD
- Rigging, character set-up,control implementations, paint weights, corrective blends
- Prop rigging
- Facial Rigging, fixes for animators
- Rig layouts for animators
- Scripting
Disney Animation Studios Apprentice
March 2011- June 2011
- Character TD in the apprentice program for the Feature Film Division
- Rigging, Character Set-up, Facial set-up, paint weights, corrective blends
- MEL scripting, linux
- Tech Anim - Cloth Hair and Fur set up AND simulations
Yu+Co
January 2011 - Feb 2011
- Character TD - Rigging, Painting weights, control implementations
- HIK skeletal set ups and matching for rigs designed for blending between mocap and animation sequences
- Scripting
- Scene prep for animators
- Geocaching scene files for lighting and cloth/hair sims
- Cloth TD - cloth sims on characters
September 2010 - November 2010
- Lead Character TD. Overseeing progress of work done by student riggers.
- Maintaining quality of work and quality of rigs.
- Monkey and Robot Winner of Animation Magazine's Pitch party for both 2009 and 2010.
Academy of Art University
June 2010 - Dec 2010
- Faculty - Directed Study Advisor to MFA students
- Teaching the proper implementations of character set up and rigging
- Teaching the proper implementations of the Maya Muscle System
Dilated Pixels
May 2010 - June 2010
- Cloth TD - Cloth Sims on Trailer
- Maya 2010
Motion Theory
April 2010 - May 2010
- Character TD/Rigger on all characters in the commercial
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations, facial rigging, fixes
- Maya 2010, Linux
Academy of Art University
Feb 2010 to May 2010
- Faculty - Directed Study Advisor to MFA students
- Teaching students the proper implementations of Rigging
Lightstream Animation Studios
Nov 09 - Dec 09
- Character TD: Rigging for cinematics for the DCU MMO.
- Rigging, painting weights, control implementations.
- Maya 2010
Rhythm and Hues
June 09 - Oct 09
- Technical Animator : Cloth, Hair, Fur TD
- Cloth,hair and fur simulations and clean up in post production.
- Proprietary Software, Linux
- Character TD: Rigging the main character for animation
- Maya 2009
- Character TD: Rigging the main character for animation
- Maya 2009
- Character TD: Rigging a character for mocap & Painting Weights
- Maya 8.5
Education
- Academy Art University c/o 2009 (BFA in animation emphasis on Rigging)
- College of Marin (transfer)
- Salesian High School c/o 98
Skills
- Rigging
- Facial Rigging
- Paint Weights
- Mel Scripting
- Linux & unix w.proprietary software
- Muscle System
- Control Rig Setup and Implementation
- Simple and Complex Character Skeletal Setup
- Prop Rigs
- Blendshapes on Cloth
- Blendshapes on Faces
- Cloth
- Fur
- Hair
Software
- Maya
- Adobe Suite CS4: PhotoShop, After Effects
- Shotgun
Recommendations
Amy Gohal is a creature/character TD full of ambition and creativity. She currently lives in San Francisco and has worked at the Academy of Art University where she has taught Visual Effects, CFX , Rigging as well as a variety of other courses. Amy is proud of the recent release of "La Casa De Colores" a short film where she worked with Nicolas Villareal. Prior she finished projects at WhiskyTree as a Character TD and Intel in the Research and Development Department as a Lead VFX Artist. Prior to this she has worked at an array of animation and film houses in LA, Oregon and in Canada. Amy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Animation and Visual Effects from the Academy of Art University where she studied hard and focused on rigging. Regardless that Amy received her BFA from the Academy, she has been called back off and on to teach MFA students as well. She enjoys working closely with animators, modelers and concept artists to make sure everything fits together to their liking. Amy works well with others and loves being involved with group projects. She has a great willingness to learn everything and anything new and due to this she often finds herself in the center of something amazing.
While Amy is teaching she is also working on her Masters Degree in Visual Development. She wants to round out her production and post production degree by adding a pre production aspect to it. Since she loves comics and cosplay her cats are named after supervillains but are very friendly. Amy loves getting lost in story. She has an addiction to watching movies and reading mystery novels. She is an open person up for any challenge placed in front of her.
To contact Amy Gohal please email her at:
amygohal@gmail.com
To contact her via phone please call and leave a message at:
+1 503 869 5890
She looks forward to hearing from you <(^.^)>
amygohal@gmail.com
To contact her via phone please call and leave a message at:
+1 503 869 5890
She looks forward to hearing from you <(^.^)>
Amy's Art
In her spare time, when she is not working on Character/Creature Rigs, Amy loves doing conceptual drawings and paintings. She keeps art flowing through her veins by painting things that pop into her imagination. She loves sharing her work with the world, and you can find her on the networks below. Please "like" and "follow", and you might just catch her at an artist convention near you.