Mehran Davoodi
Master of Arts in 3D Animation
Sessional instructor (Not teaching Summer 2025)
My journey into animation and filmmaking didn’t follow a straight path. It started in computer engineering, where I expected to spend my career designing software and building programs. But I kept finding myself drawn to the arts, fascinated by the way light, composition, and storytelling come together to create emotion. Eventually, that pull became impossible to ignore.
With a mix of curiosity, persistence, and a lot of late nights learning on my own, I transitioned into animation and visual effects, earning an MA in 3D Animation and working as a lighting artist for studios like Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Over the years, I’ve helped bring characters and worlds to life across feature animations, visual effects, and game cinematics, using lighting to set the mood, guide the eye, and shape the emotional core of a scene.
Teaching has become just as important to me as creating. I love helping students bridge the gap between technical skills and artistic expression, whether through scripting in VFX or the fundamentals of 3D Arts. Seeing students grow into their own creative voices is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.
Courses taught
Areas of Interest
My journey into animation and filmmaking didn’t follow a straight path. It started in computer engineering, where I expected to spend my career designing software and building programs. But I kept finding myself drawn to the arts, fascinated by the way light, composition, and storytelling come together to create emotion. Eventually, that pull became impossible to ignore.
With a mix of curiosity, persistence, and a lot of late nights learning on my own, I transitioned into animation and visual effects, earning an MA in 3D Animation and working as a lighting artist for studios like Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks, and Sony Pictures Imageworks. Over the years, I’ve helped bring characters and worlds to life across feature animations, visual effects, and game cinematics, using lighting to set the mood, guide the eye, and shape the emotional core of a scene.
Teaching has become just as important to me as creating. I love helping students bridge the gap between technical skills and artistic expression, whether through scripting in VFX or the fundamentals of 3D Arts. Seeing students grow into their own creative voices is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.