GregoryYepes
UE4 | GAMES | ANIMATION | VISUAL EFFECTS | METAVERSE
GAMESI’m currently leading the Technical Art team at Industrial Toys @ EA Pasadena, working on an unannounced mobile title in UE4. Previously, I had the honor of working on some of the biggest game franchises for Activision as a Senior VFX Artist on Destiny 2 Forsaken, and Call of Duty
ANIMATIONI held various creative and technical roles while at DreamWorks Animation with credits including Puss In Boots, Megamind, How To Train Your Dragon 2, and How to Train Your Dragon DVD.
VISUAL EFFECTSI’ve had the privilege of working at award winning visual effects studios such as Industrial Light & Magic, Rising Sun Pictures and Rhythm & Hues Studios. Past projects have included some of the most successful feature film franchises in history including Harry Potter and X-Men.
About
Creative Media Professional
Passionate technical artist and creative leader who enjoys working in a collaborative atmosphere creating cutting edge immersive experiences in games.
Artist
Authored digital content for Destiny 2®, Call of Duty®, and major Hollywood blockbusters, including live-action and feature animated films. I bring new ideas to life using various commercial and proprietary tools, and I am highly adaptable to different processes and workflows.
Leader
I’ve had the privilege of leading artistic and technical teams ranging from small to multi-site international teams. Inclusiveness, transparency, engagement and coaching are some of the principles which continue to shape my leadership style.
Innovator
Won DreamWorks Animation Technical Achievement award for creating vision/roadmap for the lighting application, Torch, deployed on How to Train Your Dragon 2. I’m constantly driven to find ways to shape technology and workflows to better support the creative process.
Technical Art DirectorSenior VFX ArtistCreative DirectorVFX SupervisorCG SupervisorLighting SupervisorSenior Software Engineer
UE4 | GAMES | ANIMATION | VISUAL EFFECTS | METAVERSE | TECHNOLOGY
Projects
Some Recent Projects
AllVisual EffectsGamesAnimation
Destiny 2® Forsaken
Senior VFX Artist: High Moon Studios / Activision (2018)
Destiny 2® Forsaken
Project
Description
Authored environment FX as well as the death FX for various characters including the Scorn Barons.
Call of Duty® Modern Warfare Remastered
Senior VFX Artist: Raven Software / Activision (2016)
Call of Duty® Modern Warfare Remastered
Project
Description
Authored environment FX for various multi-player maps including Pipeline shown here.
Call of Duty® Online
Senior VFX Artist: Raven Software / Activision (2016)
Call of Duty® Online
Project
Description
Authored a wide variety of FX for areas such as weapons, characters, and environments for Call of Duty® Online:
Exotic & Legendary Weapon FX
Zombie Coliseum: custom environment fx, attack fx, stage fx, impact fx, death fx
Zombie Island: custom environment fx, attack fx, stage fx, impact fx, death fx
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Product Owner – Torch: DreamWorks Animation (2015)
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Project
Description
Partnering with Technology and Production to design DWA’s next-generation lighting application, TORCH. Scope included setting vision, managing tool’s release lifecycle, formulation/design of production workflows, and collaborating closely with UX design and engineering teams on short/long-term strategy. Reporting to Production Technology Executive, led team of 12 direct/50 indirect reports including Production Testers.
Puss in Boots
CG Supervisor: DreamWorks Animation (2011)
Puss in Boots
Project
Description
Directed by Chris Miller and with the artistic vision of Production Designer, Guillaume Aretos, we travel to a variety of different locations — all incredibly rich in detail and color. My team had the opportunity to work on a colorful sequence in particular, the cat cantina, which was featured in the book “The Art of Puss in Boots”. This video shows a progression of a few hero shots from concept art, through to final lighting.
Megamind
CG Supervisor: DreamWorks Animation (2010)
Megamind
Project
Description
The supervillain Megamind finally defeats his nemesis, the superhero Metro Man. But without a hero, he loses all purpose and must find new meaning to his life. I had the opportunity to collaborate on this new property for DreamWorks Animation, directed by Tom McGrath. My team focused on the grand finale dance sequence featuring all the main characters, a city environment, and the largest set of crowds in the film.
The Last Airbender
VFX Artist: Industrial Light & Magic – Lucasfilm (2010)
The Last Airbender
Project
Description
The story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. In this first collaboration with Industrial Light & Magic, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with ILM VFX Supervisor, Pablo Helman, and Associate VFX Supervisor, Craig Hammack. During my time at ILM, I had the opportunity to work on lighting and FX in the proprietary package, Zeno, as well as to aid in the introduction of Side Effects’ Houdini into the studio workflow.
Terminator Salvation
VFX Supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures (2009)
Terminator Salvation
Project
Description
The sequences awarded to RSP, that our team in Sydney carried out, included full CG stormy ocean shots with the Osprey helicopter which included several different layers of rain, atmospherics as well as very complex water fx all done in Side Effects’ Houdini and rendered in Mantra. We had a sequence with the flying Aerostat chasing our heroes driving a jeep, done with Autodesk’s Maya and rendered in 3Delight. And last but not least, we had to digitally recreate Marcus’ terminator hand, played by Sam Worthington, which is revealed as his flesh is burned away by molten metal, these shots were also done using Side Effects’ Houdini for the lighting and fx.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
VFX Supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures (2009)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Project
Description
It’s sometimes a bitter-sweet experience when a long project wraps up, and that is certainly the case with Hp6 @ RSP. 297 shots adding up to approx. 22mins of the film, almost a full year in the making, and a crew of about 90 artists. This award had a breathtaking variety of work including shots with hundreds of CG props, fluid simulations, volumetrics, particle effects, character animation, cloth sims, CG environments, CG set extensions, loads of concept artwork, and some of the most challenging compositing work I’ve come across. We used Maya for modeling and animation, all fx work was done in SideEffects’ Houdini, and the rendering was done in 3Delight. Compositing was done using Shake.
Superman Returns
Lighting Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues Studios (2006)
Superman Returns
Project
Description
Our team focused on the Ship Rescue sequence of the movie where crystal structures grow from the sea floor out in the open ocean. Several of the shots in this sequence were full CG encompassing ocean and water effects, crystals and a crystal island, digital doubles of the actors, a yacht, a helicopter, a seaplane and dozens of props. Due to the complexity of the water fx, we made use of Side Effects’ Houdini which we used for animation, lighting, fx, and rendering. The artist team was small which made it easier to adapt to changes in creative direction.
In order to achieve a high level of realism in our shots, we complemented CG water effects and simulations with real footage of splashes and white water captured in Tasmania. While the use of water footage gave the look a nice edge, it demanded extra work for selection, cleanup, modification and final balance. The resulting composites for this sequence where some of the most complex you can encounter in visual effects.
R&H was awarded an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the development of fluid dynamics tools used in Superman Returns.
XMen-2
CG Sequence Supervisor: Rhythm & Hues Studios (2003)
XMen-2
Project
Description
In the Plastic Prison sequence of the film, the leader of the “mutant brotherhood” Magneto is being held captive and we focus on his escape. This demanded the creation of a large part of the CG prison itself and the surrounding CG environment. Our other major sequence, the Augmentation Room, covers a fight between Wolverine armed with his metal claws against Yuriko armed with her metal fingernails. We created the CG claws and CG fingernails as well as supporting effects such as scratches and dust.
Contact
Please download my resume or visit my LinkedIn profile for further details on my professional history and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or feedback.