About

Hi! My name is Deanna and I’m a 3D Technical Artist specializing in rigging. I earned an MFA in 3D Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2025, and graduated from Brown University with a combined degree in Visual Art and Computer Science in 2021. I’ve completed three independent films, all rendered in Unreal Engine, and worn many different hats on projects ranging from multimedia educational shorts to Augmented Reality mobile experiences. I relocated to Los Angeles in 2026 to join Walt Disney Animation Studios as a rigging intern, and am always on the lookout for more cool work with cool people.

I love to learn, innovate, and work with a team. I’m constantly teaching myself softwares and techniques in the pursuit of a goal, and more often than not am quickly turning that information around to help others. My dream job is intellectually challenging and surrounded by passionate individuals in art and science. If your project has problems that need solving, my inbox is open!

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Skills

3D Rigging in Maya, Presto, and UE Control Rig, Character Animation, Simulation

Python scripting tools

Optimizing 3D assets for game engines

Proficient in the entire 3D pipeline — 3D Modeling, Texturing, Animation, Lighting, and Rendering

Working with artists to build custom pipelines

Softwares & Languages

Maya, Presto, Unreal Engine, 3ds Max, Houdini, Blender, the Adobe Suite, Python, MEL, VEX, Java

Experience

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Burbank, CA — Character Technical Director Intern - Rigging

JUN 2026 - AUG 2026

  • Rigged a human character from the Frozen franchise using Disney’s custom tools in Presto and Maya 

  • Achieved anatomical accuracy and appeal via sculpted shapes, adhering to the show style and concept art

  • Met with modeling and animation departments to further understand the feature rigging pipeline

  • Practiced hair and cloth simulation workflows on training scenes from Frozen 3

Awaceb, Remote — Technical Animation Contractor on unreleased game

MAR 2026 - MAY 2026

  • Rigged characters and props in Maya to be compatible with animation sharing in UE

  • Used UE Blueprints and Control Rig to prototype new character abilities and improve existing features

  • Communicated between the animation and game dev teams to coordinate asset production and implementation

Rigging in UE 5.7 Workshop, Epic Games, Remote — Workshop Participant

FEB 2026

  • Earned a certification for completing the latest Control Rig and Modular Rig 2-week training program with Epic 

  • Rigged, skinned, and animated a modular crab in-engine as the personal project output for the course

Independent Projects, Remote — Rigging Artist, Freelance

SEP 2023 - PRESENT

  • Rigging a range of characters and props for short films 

  • Addressing different pipeline challenges for each director’s vision, adhering rigs to art direction specifications and animator preferences for ease-of-use

MG Lomb Interactive, Fairport, NY — 3d Generalist, Contract Position

SEP 2025 - NOV 2025

  • Interfacing directly with clients to realize their marketing and trade show animated projects

  • Increasing our capacity for more complex, character-driven projects by rigging, scripting, and refining pipelines within 3ds Max

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Character Mosaic - Rigging Artist                                                       

MAY 2024 - PRESENT

  • Learning and executing a variety of rigging techniques on previously-modeled characters to create easy-to-use, well-deforming, diverse character rigs for student use

  • Writing adaptable Python tools to expedite and refine the rigging process

  • Implementing feedback from a test animator working with the rigs

3D Research Assistant         

MAY 2024 - DEC 2024

  • Supporting faculty on grant research producing 3D scans of historical buildings suitable for remote academic reference in history- and architecture-related fields

  • Developing best practices for scanning, processing, and exporting scans to Unreal Engine

Graduate Teaching Assistant         

AUG 2023 - MAY 2025

  • Led a semiannual student workshop on rendering films with Unreal Engine

  • Assisted faculty running multiple undergrad- and graduate-level courses including: 3D Animation II, 3D Animation III, Sophomore Workshop, and Particles and Dynamics

Finger Lakes Virtual Museum, Rochester, NY – 3D Generalist         

SEP 2024 - MAY 2025

  • Modeling, texturing, rigging, and animating 3D assets to be implemented as part of an AR experience for various historical sites across the Finger Lakes Region

ScienceLore, MAGIC Spell Studios, Rochester, NY – 3D Team Lead     

MAY 2023 - AUG 2023

  • Led a small team of 3D artists to complete the 3D portion of a 2D/3D-hybrid educational short

  • Rigged the lead character: a talking jack-o-lantern, and integrated and lit all assets in Unreal

Education

Rochester Institute of technology

MFA Film and Animation, 3D Animation

Named the College of Art and Design’s “Outstanding Graduate Student” in 2025

Brown University

B.A. Computer Science and Visual Art, with Honors

Roberta Joslin Award, 2021: Awarded by Department of Visual Art for innovative thesis work