John Cummins

Academic

• Professor of foundation studies, August 2021–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA

• Online instructor, July 2018–July 2021, Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ
  Taught Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, principles of animation, digital compositing, basic animation theory, drawing techniques, story development, character design, storyboarding, animatic skills, color theory, digital painting techniques, kinetic typography, and industry vocabulary.

• Instructor of animation, December 2011–December 2020
  Taught traditional animation skills, principles of animation, digital animation, industry vocabulary, concept development, preproduction, animation history, Adobe After Effects, kinetic typography, digital compositing, digital filmmaking concepts, camera skills, storytelling, visual composition, film analysis, editing skills (Final Cut Pro), historic research of animation history, storyboarding skills, research/development, preproduction bible creation, color theory, character creation, maquette creation, and model sheet creation. Taught general education courses such as: Professional Development, Voice & Vision (Speech class), Native and South American Art History, and 20th Century Art & Cinema. Developed curriculum in the form of lectures, exercises, activities, and assignments. Provided mentoring to students who needed extra assistance. Revised the syllabus/curricula to meet accreditation standards. Students won regional and national ADDY awards utilizing class projects. Coordinated class project with nonprofit organization to create commercials for client.

  Instructor of visual arts, January 2006–December 2011, Southwest University of Visual Arts, Tucson, AZ
  Taught Adobe Illustrator, Adobe In Design, Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXPress, digital prepress, Mac OS X skills, and Industry vocabulary. Developed curriculum in the form of lectures, exercises/activities, and assignments. Revised the syllabus/curriculum to meet accreditation/industry standards. Provided mentoring and tutoring to students who needed extra assistance. Students won regional and national ADDY awards utilizing class projects.

Professional

• Lead animator/voiceover actor, 2010–15 Words Become Pictures, Tucson, AZ
  Designed characters for a four-minute independent animation. Animated main characters utilizing digital tools. Assisted director in plot development and timing/editing. Utilized voice acting talent for various projects.

• Freelance art instructor, 2005, Heroes & Villains Comic Book and Game Store, Tucson, AZ
  Educated kids on the basics of structure and drawing techniques. Simplified a popular drawing style in order for children to emulate. Designed lesson plan for adults to learn how to draw for comic books. 

• Freelance graphic designer/motion graphics artist, 2005, Epic Productions LLC, Tucson, AZ
  Collaborated with owners for a new project. Communicated ideas on how to bring their vision to life. Illustrated storyboards to convey vision to new potential client.
• Freelance visual effects artist, 2004, Ring of Fire, Hollywood, CA
  Created and composited effects for commercials. Utilized rotoscoping and digital compositing techniques to achieve goals. Communicated one-on-one with clients to determine daily expectations.

• Freelance visual effects and storyboard artist, 2003–04, Technicolor Creative, Hollywood, CA
  Communicated and collaborated one-on-one with clients pertaining progress of project. Managed night crew of artists and tape operatives. Created 2D visual effects by compositing and rotoscoping skills using Discreet Logic Software. Illustrated storyboards for cable television.

• Visual effects artist, 1997–2003, Modern Videofilm, Burbank, CA
  Digitally composited hundreds of 2D visual effects for broadcast television. Applied artistic skills to fix film defect on top primetime television show. Utilized compositing skills on major motion picture with top postproduction facility