Chicago's Leviathan Expands VFX Department, Adds Senior FX Designer Nathan Davies

The principals of design-focused production studio Leviathan have announced the expansion of the company's visual effects (VFX) department, as well as the addition of senior FX designer Nathan Davies to their full-time staff.

 

Effective immediately, under the leadership of Leviathan chief scientist Matt Daly, the studio is promoting former design director Tim Sepulveda into the position of VFX director, and recently added producer Lauren Shawe and senior FX designer Nathan Davies provide even greater depth, experience and capabilities.

 

Since leaving his post as a designer, animator and 3D lead for Shilo in 2009, Davies has been freelancing for top shops including Shilo, Digital Kitchen, Radar, Sol, Leviathan and others. Over the course of his two years as a full-time member of Shilo's staff, Nathan contributed to numerous high-profile projects, including many award-winning spots for Scion, EA, and Syfy, to name but a few. He landed with Shilo in 2007 after several years of freelance work, which followed two years as a designer/animator for Outsider, a year with Sock Puppet Studios as lead animator, and two years with FLUX Group as a junior designer and animator. 

 

Nathan earned his A.A. degree from Colorado Institute of Art (CIA) in 1999 and went on to complete his B.A. in Media Arts and Animation at Illinois Institute of Art in 2002.  The winner of CIA's Best Portfolio Award in 1999, projects in Nathan's portfolio have also won two PromaxBDA Gold Awards and seven San Diego Creative Show Addy Awards, including five Gold Awards and one Best of Show.

 

"What attracted me to Leviathan initially was their quality of work, and diversity of mediums," Davies explained. "They have a New York fine art quality that is executed with a veteran West Coast polish. They have successfully attracted amazing artists from the hotbeds of animation and design, and I believe they will emerge as the leader in raising Chicago's global profile in a bi-coastally dominated industry.

 

"When I returned to Chicago after my four year west coast tour," Davies continued, "Leviathan was first on my list of studios to work for. I am very blessed to have that come true, and I am very excited to see how I can be an asset to an already phenomenal team."

 

Further information on Leviathan is available at www.lvthn.com.