David Hixon

David Hixon

In 2006, David earned a BA in Digital Art from George Mason University (GMU). He used his freshly learned skills in Photoshop to earn a place as an Imaging Specialist at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. While there, he edited, restored, and archived a host of photographs and documents, including the first magazine they ever made. However, he was best at restoring damaged photographs and making highly accurate reproductions of original works as giclee prints. After a few years, he left the company and moved to Atlanta to study Animation. In 2014, David graduated magna cum laude from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) at the Atlanta campus with a BFA in Animation and a minor in Technical Direction. Afterward, he worked as a freelance artist and animator until he ran into ECG Productions while working on a 48-hour film project. He was instantly impressed with the company and began a back and forth with them. Soon after he started doing freelance animation work for them, and it wasn't long before he officially joined the ranks in 2016. As a generalist animator, he often wears many hats and regularly works on 2D and 3D animation, camera tracking, motion capture, motion media, and visual effects. He's even worked on-set for several projects as a Production Assistant (PA) and a Visual Effects Supervisor. However, his true passion and specialty lies in 3D animation, 3D modeling, digital lighting, and look development. David uses a variety of different software including Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects, RealFlow, Renderman, and SynthEyes, and he is always learning something new. David's blogs tend to focus on animation, visual effects, color, or topical news. But he doesn't just animate, he also does yoga (DDPY), plays and streams video games, and watches movies. His Blu-ray collection is over 500 titles now, and he's been known to collect figurines and toys from my favorite franchises, many of which currently decorate his office. David also has an identical twin brother; just don't ask which is which, he'll never tell.

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Lego Movie - A lego man construction worker and a lego woman archer share a moment.
Opinion

Top 10 Non-Disney Animated Films

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A motion capture of Andy Serkis showing how to animate Gollum.
Animation and Graphic Design

There is No Animate Button

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Coco vs The Book of Life poster, a comparison by animator David Hixon.
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Coco vs The Book of Life

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Kevin Spacey in a black suit and tie
Opinion

The Curious Case of Kevin Spacey

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Citizen Kane Lighting Contrast
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Make the Most of Mood Lighting

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Sunset has intense colors and the longest shadows at this time of day
Production Industry Insight

The Where and When of Lighting

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Harry Potter with warm, contrasty, bright colors.
Production Tutorials

Why Light?

In video production, everyone knows lighting a live-action scene is essential, but people forget to do the same in animation. We’ve got tips for digital lighting in 2D and 3D.

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