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Melissa Howell

Illustration professor

Education

  • M.F.A., animation, Academy of Art University
  • B.S., human development, Cornell University

Credentials

  • Professor of illustration, 2020–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA
    Teach creature design, production pipeline, film production, leadership, concept development, and art direction.
  • Concept artist/illustrator and sole proprietor, 2014–present, Art of Melissa Howell/Howell for Joy Designs
    Creating concept art and illustration for clients.
  • 2D artist, 2011–14, Disney Interactive
    Asset creator for "Sorority Life." Promoted to a more senior role focused on designing and launching new prop and character design standards for a Star Wars mobile RPG. Collaborated with animators and technical artists to develop and implement new processes to streamline and improve production pipeline.
  • Concept artist and product design, 2010–11, Westland Giftware
    Generated countless concepts for product lines of both licensed and in-house giftware products. "Enterprise and Shuttle" magnetic salt and pepper shakers were featured on StarTrek.com.
  • Concept artist and storyboard artist, 2010–11, Snipple Animation Studios
    Spearheaded the visual development for their animated short film, The Frog Who Knew Too Little. Designed all characters, props, and sets. Created color comps of the designs as well as full rendered paintings of characters. Provided character turnarounds for each character as well as set elevations and model packets for their 3-D modelers. Created storyboards based on the script and provided them with a rough animatic using Toon Boom software. Demonstrated excellence in aligning graphic design with film scripts, and also in the usage of Toon Boom software for storyboard development.

Publications and presentations

Projects

  • Logo design, Mission Valley SELPA CAC, 2018
    Created logo design for Special Education Local Plan Area Community Advisory Committee.
  • Character redesign, Skrownge, 2015
    Effectively interpreted market dynamics and design requirements to enliven mobile trivia game main character avatar to entice more female consumers aged 21-45 to leverage the app that drove physical traffic through prizes at major brand stores.
  • Visual development/storyboard artist, Snipple Animation, 2010
    Developed alluring characters, props, and set designs supporting the launch of 3D short. Expertly managed the entire visual development pipeline including storyboards and animatic that brought script to life.

Publications

  • Illustrator (as Melissa Koch), Four is a Little, Four is a Lot, written by Chaska Komissar