kaitlin yu
3d animator
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i’m a 3d animator.
☆ yukaitlin@gmail.com
☆ resume
VFX ANIMATION REEL
SHOT BREAKDOWN
1. FREE RANGE VFX ANIMATION — an animation test I did while completing a mentorship at Free Range VFX. The audio is pulled from an existing Ngena advertisement, and the rig is Free Range VFX's. I grew so much as an animator from this experience!
2. FRAMESTORE — GEICO "LEO THE LIZARD" — I animated the Geico Gecko character ONLY. Leo's animation is courtesy of Animal Logic. I learned a lot about Framestore's pipeline and adapted my animation workflow to the Geico Gecko's very particular, gentlemanly style.
3. HIFI 3D — BRIGHTSPEED "RELIABLE" AND "SNOWBALL" — Ray is such a charming character to work with! His big tusks make lipsync a challenge, but as an animator, it's always fun to troubleshoot complex rigs and character designs.
4. HIFI 3D — BRIGHTSPEED "EVERGREENS" — For the Evergreen walk animation, I took an existing cycle and created a non-looping reaction animation that the client can use however they want — like Ray reacting to a great sales price or logo dropping down. For the Evergreen typing animation, I took an existing animation and turned it into a cycle, and added an extra animation flair in the middle.
STYLIZED ANIMATION REEL
SHOT BREAKDOWN
1. "TWIN SPARKS" — I animated a shot for the senior thesis, Twin Sparks (2023), created by Ollie Yao and Heather Yun.
2. HORNET — KROGER "CUISINE EXCHANGE" — I contributed modeling, shading, and animation work on this spot! Enjoy my animations, scuffed-up suitcases, and fridge spread — I contributed character posing and photo layout.
3. HORNET — KROGER "STORELESS HOLIDAY" — Animated these shots and worked with the other animator to make sure the shots hooked up!
4. SHATTERED GLASS FILM — CRICKET WIRELESS "SAUNA" and "NUDE MODEL" — One of the funniest spots I've worked on so far. I worked closely with the other animators to ensure performance continuity was maintained from shot to shot.
5. HORNET — MCDONALD'S "HAPPY MEAL UNO" — I animated four shots in the second half of this fun spot!
6. HOPR — GOOGLE "FLIP I/O" — I was responsible for previs and animation for this spot which promotes the launch of Google's online card game, Flip I/O.
more 3D work
UNREAL ENGINE PREVIS/CINEMATIC FOR
LIGHTWORQ
I created this previs/cinematic project entirely in Unreal Engine for Lightworq. This was my first time working in Unreal Engine.
Typically, I focus on character animation, but this time, I wanted to focus on storytelling through cinematography, layout, and lighting/environment — with minimal character animation.
I rigged props, created shaders, animated Metahumans using the Sequencer, created environments with Kitbash3D, lit shots using Lumen, and familiarized myself with the in-engine post-processing tools.
I had a lot of fun playing with camera angles, lenses, animation, and editing directly in Unreal. I made an animatic ahead of the previs, but I also used sequence nesting in Unreal to experiment with shot pacing in real time.
I wanted to capture the feeling of navigating through New York City – witnessing moments in time and vignettes of human connection. 🛹
“SHATTERED” —
SENIOR THESIS
“Shattered” is a 3D-animated short film directed by Kaitlin Yu, Nelson Mai, and Tiantian Zhang.
It was produced at the School of Visual Arts in the 3D Animation and Visual Effects program and completed in May 2022.
Awards include:
- NYC ACM SIGGRAPH MetroCAF 2022 Selection
- ASIFA-East Film Festival Selection
- Aakruti-My Creation International Film Festival Quarter-Finalist
- ASIFA-Hollywood AEF Student Animation Showcase Selection
- SVA Student Choice Award
- SVA Alumni Scholarship Award
- ASIFA-Hollywood AEF Student Scholarship Recipient
- Ma-Yi Theater Grant Recipient
See more behind-the-scenes details here.
BLENDER GREASEPENCIL IN 3D SPACE EXPLORATION
I've always been inspired by 2D animated movies and TV shows, so I used my first project in Blender to push myself to consider how I can merge 2D and 3D techniques.
The first project is a candy tin of Sakuma drops from the Studio Ghibli movie "Grave of the Fireflies.” The second project is inspired by Fruit Chan's "Made in Hong Kong."