Staff
Directors
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Alex Alvarez
CEO/President
Alex is the director of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood, as well as The Gnomon Workshop, The Gnomon Gallery, Sketchtheatre, Gnomon Studios and CGchannel. Having dedicated the last decade to educating students and professional artists around the world, Alex has helped change the face of computer graphics and design education.
He has been published in industry magazines, websites and books - plus he has taught courses at several major trade conferences. He continues to work on personal and professional projects, recently as a creature development artist on the James Cameron film Avatar, JJ Abram’s Star Trek and the DC Comics film adaptation of Green Lantern. Other clients include Neville Page and the Aaron Sims Company.
Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias|Wavefront as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex is an alumnus of the Art Center College of Design and the University of Pennsylvania.
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Darrin Krumweide
CAO/Director
Darrin is an alumni of the Art Center College of Design, where he studied Transportation and Industrial Design. After graduating, Darrin was employed as an Applications Engineer for Alias|Wavefront for three years where he received numerous awards including Outstanding Technical Support in 1994 and 1995.
Darrin then moved to the entertainment industry as a Senior Animator/Modeler with Kronos Digital Entertainment, Inc. for two years. After leaving Kronos, he began teaching at the Art Center College of Design while simultaneously working as an independent artist/consultant with entertainment companies such as Warner Bros., Honda, Sega and MCA/Universal.
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Brian Bradford
Director of Administrative Operations
Prior to joining Gnomon, Brian studied illustration, graphic design and 3D at various schools across his native Southern California including Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Brian has dabbled in various art forms here and there, including freelance illustration and a brief stint in the Hollywood music scene.
Brian began his career in the Visual Effects industry at Gnomon in 2005 and subsequently grew his experience in the areas of art counseling, recruitment outreach and program development. As Director of Admissions, Brian oversees a team of school representatives and works closely with the marketing and administrative departments in serving prospective students while maintaining Gnomon’s high admissions standards.
Outside of Gnomon, Brian remains active in community youth programs focusing on art education. Brian spends his free time watching strange films, visiting art galleries and listening to records.
Max Dayan
Associate Director of Education
Max Dayan is a passionate visual effects artist with a thirst for knowledge. He is constantly learning new techniques and tools, always seeking to stay on top of the current trends in the industry. Originally a graphic designer, Max moved to Hollywood to attend the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. He has since worked for such companies as Gentle Giant Studios, Technicolor and Free Range 3D, with a focus on digital sculpting, hard surface modeling, texturing and on-set photography.
He has worked on countless projects for the film, television, and games industries, most notably Toy Story 3, Land of the Lost, 2012, Watchmen, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, A Christmas Carol, High School Musical 3, Bedtime Stories, multiple UFC and WWE games, Mass Animation’s "Live Music" short film and Fast & Furious (Fast 4). Max recently joined Gnomon as the Associate Director of Education, working on curriculum development, teaching, and helping students develop their skills and portfolios.
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Michelle McDaniels
Director of Compliance and Financial Aid
Michelle earned her BS in Information Science from Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. She put her attention to detail to work in computer programming, niche/minority marketing and national consumer expositions before becoming affiliated with education in Southern California.
As the Assistant Director for an educational consulting firm, she helped school administrators achieve and maintain compliance with state and local government, national accrediting and federal agencies. As a consultant, she guided Gnomon through accreditation, immigration (student visas) and Title IV (financial aid) approval. Michelle recently accepted the opportunity to coordinate Gnomon's Financial Aid and Compliance requirements. She joins us with almost 10 years of experience in proprietary vocational school administration.
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Eric Miller
Director of Technology/Gnomon Online
Eric is an alumnus of Gnomon School of Visual Effects Certificate Program. Prior to his transition into 3D, Eric studied fine art and computer design at the Academy of Art University. He also worked as a Production/Project Specialist for Bank of America, where he served as technical consultant on many nationwide network and software migrations.
After graduating, Eric began working as Gnomon’s System Administrator, managing the Gnomon network and all hardware/software issues in the facility. Eric has also worked as a freelance Maya Character setup artist, FX artist, and Texture Painter. He also works as a 3D systems/network consultant for studios in the Hollywood area.
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Shannon Wiggins
Director of Placement and Alumni Relations
Shannon brings 15 years of entertainment industry experience and more than a decade of experience as a visual effects artist on 30 feature films plus commercials and gaming. After vfx positions in production and team supervision for studios such as ILM, Digital Domain, Sony Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues, Shannon turned her focus to vfx recruiting/placement and making sure great artists are matched with great projects. Having worked for many different studios ranging from very small to very large – in capacities ranging from freelance to staff – she has the experience to help students and graduates navigate the world of visual effects to find their own growth opportunities.
Shannon’s educational background includes MFA graduate studies in TV/Film at Loyola Marymount, and a BA in Mass Communications (TV/Film Production) at the University of Denver. She has also immersed herself in the industry through organizations such as Siggraph and the Visual Effects Society.
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Travis Bourbeau
Director of Industry Relations
After a decade of experience in concept art and modeling for games and film, Travis moved from Massive Black to The Gnomon Workshop. Now he lends his talents to CG Channel and The Gnomon School of Visual Effects. When he isnt working on industry artist relations he still finds time to produce DVDs and events for the Gnomon Workshop and The Gnomon School.
Staff
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Anthony Almanzor
System Administrator
Anthony Almanzor is a graduate of UCLA where he obtained his bachelors in Materials Science and Engineering. He worked in the semiconductor industry for 6 years as a process engineer, overseeing several areas of semiconductor manufacturing. He is now part of the Gnomon family as the System Administrator, hoping to take digital and traditional courses in the near future to uncover his hidden artistic talents.
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Mark Bertuldo
Bursar
Mark graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Computing in the Arts (music emphasis). He worked in accounting support at Smashbox Studios in West Hollywood and at the Quixote Studio Store in Hollywood before going across the street—literally—and joining the Gnomon School staff. He plays and writes for the band Hot TV.
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Eric Carl
Designer
Eric Carl is a web designer, graphic designer and illustrator residing in Los Angeles, CA. He works full-time at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects as a web designer in addition to teaching the Graphic Design and Career Realities/Portfolio Design courses. From 2003—2008 he worked at TaigMarks. Inc, an advertising agency producing an array of web and print design. His passion for computer graphics and design began early in his high school years when involved in various video game mod communities and digital art websites.
Eric's personal work covers illustration, digital collage and poster design. In his free time he experiments with electronic music production.
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Alegria Castro
Registrar
Shannon Keller
Admissions Coordinator
Shannon holds an MFA in New Genres from San Francisco Art Institute and a BFA in Drawing from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She remains an active ‘maker’ and shows in and around Los Angeles regularly. She is also a proud mother of two and enjoys puzzle games, red wine and the films of Stanley Kubrick.
Jason Mendoza
Admissions Outreach Representative
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Jason is a Venice local. He attended Gnomon where he studied 3D and specialized in Effects Animation. During school he worked on a student project as an Effects Animator and Compositor on the opening animation for Steven Spielberg’s Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Visual Effects Society during the 2008 VES Awards Show.
Since then he has worked on various music videos and feature films. With his extensive background in 3D and Computer Graphics he lends his skills in the Admissions team. Jason also represents Gnomon at various Industry trade shows such as Siggraph, Game Developer’s Conference and Comi-Con just to name a few.
Crystal Mora
Office Manager/Events
Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Crystal graduated with a BA in Animation from the Southwest University of Visual Arts. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked at Nickelodeon on their live-action television shows iCarly and Victorious. Crystal is an avid gamer, and enjoys keeping up on the latest news and artwork from within the industry.
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Bob Ward
Creative Advertising Administrator
Bob Ward is a graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design where he obtained his Bachelors Degree of Fine Art in Illustration. He spent 3 years designing coffee and tea packaging for national grocery franchises, along with making freelance flash animation, print design, and illustrations for businesses in the retail industry. Bob has won 3 silver Addy Awards for his work in design and animation. He is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, but was hired by Gnomon School of Visual Effects to lend his talents on the advertising team.
Paullina Weeks
Associate Registrar
Paulli for short, is a Cleveland, Ohio native. (Cleveland rocks!) She attended Cleveland State and The Paul Mitchell Academy. Prior to Gnomon, she has lived in Ohio, Florida and now California. Paulli enjoys being up on the latest and greatest films, music, and fashion.
Clark Torres
Admissions Assistant
A native Southern Californian, Clark received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Animation from Cal State Northridge. Before joining the Admissions department, Clark worked as an intern at Gnomon and has taken several individual courses focusing on traditional art, 3D and motion graphics. Clark's passions include martial arts, motorcycle riding, playing ice hockey, and coaching a youth ice hockey team.
Nick Wesley
Financial Aid Coordinator
Nick received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Illustration from the Herron School of Art at Indiana University. Before joining Gnomon, Nick has worked at such studios as Stereo D, Rhythm & Hues and DreamWorks Animation. As Financial Aid Coordinator, Nick provides financial aid counseling and support to students and parents regarding all aspects of the financial aid process. Nick stays active with Gnomon by taking classes and furthering his education in College Consoling.
Mark Dedecker
Resident Artist
Mark Dedecker has worked as the lead character artist at Gentle Giant Studios and Ignition Entertainment, specializing in high and low resolution modeling and texturing for film and game characters. Mark is currently a resident artist and instructor at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and a freelance character artist, having worked on numerous films, games and collectibles. Some of Mark's work can be seen in Golden Axe, Tony Hawk Shred, Reich, Iron Man the film and game, Species: The Awakening; and his digital double work can be seen in such films such as The Hulk, 10,000 BC and The Watchmen. He has also been featured in Imagine FX, 3D World and 3D Artist. Mark graduated from the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in 2006.
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Tom Heyerman
Lab Tech
