Senior Vfx Artist
Resume:
MIR ZAFAR ALI
**** * ***** **. *** Angeles, CA - 90064
********@*****.***
SKILLS & ABILITIES
Graphics/Mathematics:
. Procedural animation and geometry generation.
. Particles, simulations, volumes, geometry manipulation and shading.
. Realtime graphics.
. Linear algebra, trigonometry and vector calculus.
. Particle mechanics.
. Mathematical fundamentals of audio.
Software Skills:
. Houdini, Maya, Blender, Touch Designer and Renderman.
. Unreal Engine, Niagara, Blueprints, PCG and Material Editor.
. Nuke, After FX, Adobe Premier and Photoshop.
. SparkAR Studio.
. Ableton Live, Reaktor, Maschine and Max msp for audio production and sound engineering.
. Good working knowledge of ComfyUI (stable diffusion), Substance Painter, Unity3d and Lens Studio. Programming Skills:
. C, C++, VEX, P5.js and Python.
. Reactive Javascript.
. Spark SL, glsl, hlsl.
. Renderman shading language
Operating systems:
. Comfortable developing and scripting on Linux,Mac OS and Windows platforms. Publications:
. DD::Fluid::SolverFire. SIGGRAPH 2004: Sketches and Applications. August 2004. Nafees Bin Zafar, Mir Z Ali, Henrik Falt, Chamberlain Fong. Qualifications:
2003 Bachelor of Fine Arts (3d-Animation and Visual FX). Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah G.A.
1997 Bachelor of Computer Science.
University of Karachi, Pakistan.
EXPERIENCE
VFX Artist, Nvidia April 2025 - present
Remote, Los Angeles - CA
. Working on special projects using Houdini andOpenUSD. Senior VFX Artist, Survios Games October 2024- April 2025 Marina Del Ray, CA
. “Alien : Rogue Incursion” - VR game.
Working on optimizing and adding more vfx and chaos elements. Deep dive into Niagara optimization, Niagara debugger, vfx shaders, textures, profiling and Blue Prints for vfx game logic. Also worked on the flat screen version of the same game. Principal Technical Artist, Lightspeed LA March2023 - August 2024 Irvine, CA
. “The Last Sentinel” - upcoming AAA game.
Developed a Houdini/Unreal based road system.
Developed Unreal Engine PCG setups for foliage/vine growth and scaffolding generation around buildings. Helped the VFX department in setting up houdini based simulation systems for in game blood splatters, water splashes and smoke.
Senior VFX Artist, Imagendary Studios July 2022- January 2023 Irvine, CA
. Worked on a number of vfx shots for a AAA gamecinematic using Unreal game engine. Technical Artist, Meta April 2021 - June 2022
Los Angeles, CA
. Worked on an AR project involving customizable 3d avatars.
.Worked with the audio engineering team to developmultiple audio/visual based templates for Spark AR Studio, including an Audio Reactive template that generates various reactive visuals based upon the incoming audio. I also developed a Virtual Piano template which utilizes hand-tracked gestures to play the virtual instrument. Incorporated new synth and sample based tech to generate a piano roll from one single audio clip or use a synth audio oscillator.
.Worked with the Portal team on a project that willbring 3d avatars to the Portal and also helping with transitioning older shaders from glsl to SparkSl for a number of Portal apps. Senior FX Artist, Dreamworks Animation June 2018- January 2021 Glendale, CA
. “How To Train Your Dragon 3”
. “Abominable”
. “Croods 2”
. “Boss Baby 2”
Senior FX Artist, Walt Disney Animation June 2013-May 2018 Burbank, CA
. “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure”
Shot work.
. “Moana”
Developed a setup for sand fx. Worked on a number of shots.
. “Zootopia”
Worked on rain, fur water interaction and foliage interaction.
. “Frozen - Short film”
Working on fx crowd shots.
. ”Big Hero 6”
I was part of the development team for the microbot fx. I also worked on a number of microbot shots.
. ”Frozen”
Developed and executed the young Elsa magic fx. Worked on a number of frost growth shots. Lead FX Technical Director, Rhythm & Hues Studios June 2007 – May 2013 El Segundo, CA
. “Percy Jackson : Sea of monsters”
Supervisor for three sequences.
Look dev and development for fire, interactive debris, smoke and destruction.
. “Life of Pi”
Developed setups for wetmaps, dripping fur and geometry deformation. Fluid simulations.
. “Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 : Chipwrecked”
Shot TD.
. “X-Men:First Class”
Development, lookdev and comp setup for the Banshee fx.
. “Hop”
Shot TD.
. “The Cabin in the Woods”
Volumetric fx.
. “Yogi Bear”
Water / white water look development. Shot TD.
. “Aliens in the Attic”
Developed looks for plasma and tesla coils. ShotTD.
. “Land of the Lost”
Developed setups for swarms, waterfall and ice growth patterns. Shot TD.
. “The Mummy 3”
Shot TD on the plane crashing sequence.
. “The Incredible Hulk”
Developed and supported pipelines for impact craters, breaking glass, interactive grass, debris and shock wave. Assisted in setting up pipelines for thunder clap and the sonic cannon.
. “The Golden Compass”
Developed and supported pipelines for footprints, interactive debris and snow. FX Technical Director, SONY Pictures Imageworks March2005 – June 2007 Culver City, CA
. “Surfs Up”
Shot TD. Footprints, snow and wood shavings fx.
. “Spiderman3”
Developed and supported the pipeline for Venom's web. Developed part of the pipeline for Venom Goo.
. “Monster House”
Shot TD. Smoke, cinders/embers shots, grass deformation and debris animation.
. “Open Season”
Developed C++/HDK tools for simulations, dynamics, noise patterns and deep shadow scene generation. Worked on a number of water and foam simulation shots. Particle effects like bubbles, debris, rocks etc.
. Developed an HDK tool to view scalar and vector fields. This tool was used extensively on “Ghost Rider”. FX Artist, Digital Domain February 2003 – March2005 Venice, CA
. "Stealth"
Worked on particle effects like snow, smoke, debris, sparks, fire and heat signature.
. "The Day After Tomorrow"
Ran water simulations using Digital Domain's proprietary fluid simulation Houdini plugin. Particle animation, texturing and rendering of the storm tide and flood water.
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