About Michael Cawood

Hi, I'm Mike

I'm a Lead Character Animator, Animation Supervisor, Character Designer, Animation Writer, Video Editor, Character Rigger, Storyboard Artist, Previs Animator, Games Designer, Talent Recruiter and Animation Mentor... phew, that's a long list so I'll just settle for Animated Filmmaker, that seems to encompass most of it. I picked up a Diploma with Distinction in Art and Design at Alton College then headed out to the Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology for three years where I got a First Class Degree in Animation, and polished off three awards for my films in GCADT's excellent industry awards ceremony. I was an animator for Rare for seven and a half years where my first game, Starfox Adventures was a respectable success. That was when the company worked exclusively with Nintendo. After Starfox I became the Lead Animator on Kameo: Elements of Power which was released under the new management of Microsoft since Rare was made a first party studio in 2002. I took a sabbatical and spent four months living in Sydney working on the animated feature film, 'Happy Feet'. I returned to Rare for a few months and presented at one more festival before moving up to Scotland to work on a new CG feature film as the Animation Supervisor. Later I moved to Sheffield where I joined Ark VFX as their Senior Animator, heading up their animation related interests. I polished off a few small projects there before starting at The Moving Picture Company in London. I worked on a couple of adverts before starting on Prince Caspian. Then I moved to Passion Pictures to do some very interesting Game Cinematic & Commercial work. Since then I've been working on my short film, and doing some other adverts in London.

My Pet Projects

I'm big on story and character, so I'm always working on an idea at work or at home. During my traditional 2D years I always had to develop ideas that I could bring to the screen in an achievable fashion. This usually meant that they had to feature characters I could draw efficiently and stories that could be told in a few minutes of screen time. Despite these limits I always pushed myself to try things that I hadn't done before. I tried to push the limits of the technology and techniques we were taught whenever possible. Not that you can tell now, some of these techniques are a little over used these days. I guess you realize, after a while, that you don't live in a vacuum and everyone else is inspired by the same things you are, and the chances of you doing something first are slim to nil. Still, I keep trying.

One of my first pet projects, after my Degree, I started with the intension of freeing myself from those limits, since I was just doing it for fun with no intension of ever necessarily making it... and eventually it grew to the size of a feature film! With that in mind I've started working on something smaller and more personal in it's initial scope just to make sure it's achievable. It's beginning to take form here. The goal is to keep it to 90 seconds of screen time, with the internet as it's primary target audience.

That's not been my only personal venture, and as a short film can take a long time I've been adding to my animation portfolio by doing individual shots with specific original challenges. First there were two dogs on a seesaw, which required an enormous amount of variable juggling to make it convincing. Then there was the acrobatic piece that was something I'd wanted to do in 2D since I was at university and I finally decided that I'd found a rigging method strong enough to carryout my wishes in CG.

Of course I dabble from time to time in the same performance style pieces you see more commonly on showreels, including an 11 Second Club entry that did quite well. I'd like to have a go at that again some day, when I have a clear one month run at it again.

Me on the Net and at Festivals

You can read an interview with me on Kameo.com. If you know me already you might like to get back in touch through LinkedIn to become one of my professional contacts.

I've also been to a few Animation Festivals over the years putting on presentations, getting involved in panel discussions and speaking on my passion as an animator. In recent years I've been lucky enough to present my work twice at the Bradford Animation Festival.

My Qualifications

Richard William's Animation Masterclass
1997

Higher Education: (Equivalent to International University Degree)

1996 – 1999	Glamorgan Centre for Art and Design Technology, South Wales
BA Degree in Animation	Qualification: First Class with Honours
Awarded for:	‘Best Second Year Film’ ‘Best Third Year Film’ ‘Best Traditional Animation’

Further Education: (Equivalent to International College Diploma)

1994 – 1996	Alton College, England
Advanced GNVQ Diploma in Art & Design	Qualification: Distinction

High School Education: (Equivilent to International High School Diploma)

1989 – 1994	Eggars School, England
9 x GSCEs	Qualifications: all A* to B grades

My Gaming Credentials

Don't laugh!