James Crossley

Animation professor

Professor of Animation, 2013–present, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA

Senior Animation Supervisor, 2010–12, Imageworks
On Hotel Transylvania, worked closely with Director Genndy Tartakovsky to establish the animation style for the film. Worked with the CG supervisors and the rigging department to build characters and animation tools. Overseeing a crew of six supervisors and 97 animators, I was responsible for the animation in this film.

Animation Supervisor, Imageworks
For The Smurfs, supervised a team of 17 animators, animated previz, and supervised the “Smurf village dance” sequence. For Alice in Wonderland, worked with Tim Burton to develop and animate the “tea party” sequence. Animated Absolum and the March Hare, and supervised a team of six animators. For Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, was character lead for “Baby Brent” and “Steve” the monkey. Animated performance tests and built animation libraries, working with the rigging department to build these characters. Animated shots during production, supervising five sequences and a crew of 13 animators.

Animation Lead, 2005, 2008, Imageworks
For Prince Caspian, supervised a team of 20 animators to produce 3D character animation. For The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, animated shots and supervised two animators.

Senior Animator, 2004–08, Imageworks
Responsible for animating characters on Open Season 2, Beowulf, Surf’s Up, Open Season, Superman Returns, Robota video game demo, and The Polar Express.

CG Animator, 1998–2004, Disney
For My Peoples, responsibilities included preproduction animation tests, character rigging. and animation tool development. For Brother Bear, responsible for all the caribou animation for the film. For Lilo and Stitch, animated 3D characters and vehicles for this 2D/3D integrated film. For Winnie the Pooh ride, animated a 3D character called a “Heffabee” for this theme park ride at Tokyo Disney. For Dinosaur, animated shots of “Aladar,” “Eema,” and other dinosaurs on this film.

CG Assistant Animator, 1995–97, Disney
For Mulan, responsible for animating crowd characters and for secondary animation.

Video Game Animator, 1994, Gray Matter Video Games
For MTV Sports Extreme, animated characters and creatures for this video game.

VES (Visual Effects Society) Nomination for Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture, Hotel Transylvania.
VES (Visual Effects Society) Nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture, Surf’s Up.

Publications

"James Crossley was the Senior Animation Supervisor for 'Hotel Transylvania.'" Computer Graphics World 35, no. 5, Aug./Sept. 2012.

Presentations

"Checking in at Hotel Transylvania." Sony Pictures Animation presentation at SIGGRAPH 2012, Los Angeles Convention Center Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 2012.