Faculty

Nicolás Villarreal

Executive Director of Visual Development, 2D Animation and Art Direction / Schools of Visual Development and Animation & Visual Effects

Villarreal graduated with honors from the Master’s program at Academy of Art University in 2002. He has worked as a traditional animator, character designer, sculptor, and Visual Development artist for film and video game companies, including Walt Disney Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, Jim Henson Studios, Sega, Digital Domain, Reel FX, and Amazon Studios.

He has given presentations and screened his films at Pixar Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Blue Sky Studios, the Sydney Opera House and several universities in South America and Europe.

Nicolás Villarreal's Work

Nicolás Villarreal

Visual Development Director's Film Wins Best Short

Nicolás Villarreal

Nicolas Villarreal: A Creative Visionary

Nicolás Villarreal

Our Faculty

Christopher Carman

Associate Director School of Visual Development

Alessandro Squitti

Visual Content Editor School of Visual Development

Spring 2024 Part-Time Faculty

Faculty Member	Educational Background
Brandon Pike	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration)
Carlos Vazquez Santiago	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Master of Fine Arts, Visual Development)
Jeremy Saliba	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration)
Marco Kunardi	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Master of Fine Arts, Animation & Visual Effects)
Michael Shinde	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Development)
Steve Galgas	Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Media Studies Time-Based)
Tan Bi	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Animation Modeling)
Vincenzo Barkasy	Academy of Art University, San Francisco, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Visual Development)
Wilbur Liang	San Jose State University, San Jose, California (Bachelor of Fine Arts, Animation and Illustration)
William Kloepfer	University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California (Bachelor of Arts, Visual Arts (Studio))