Animation director & Oscar nominee Rob Coleman joins Animal Logic as head of animation

Zareh Nalbandian, CEO of Animal Logic announced today that Rob Coleman has been named the studio’s head of animation.

Coleman’s appointment further strengthens Animal Logic’s ongoing commitment to its Sydney and Los Angeles based visual effects and animation studios.

Coleman is a two time Oscar nominee for his animation work on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Stars Wars: Attack of the Clones. He has also been nominated for two BAFTA Awards for his work on Men In Black and The Phantom Menace.

Coleman spent 14 years at Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm Animation working closely with George Lucas. He was chosen as one of the most creative people in the entertainment industry when he was added to Entertainment Weekly’s “It List” in 2002 as their “It CG-Creature Crafter” for his work on the digital Yoda. He most recently was the Animation Director on Happy Feet Two.

Coleman has lived in Australia for the last three years.

Says Coleman: “I am thrilled to be joining Animal Logic, the technical and artistic talents there are world class. I have been a fan of their work for years, so it is exciting to be teaming up with such an immensely creative team.”

Says Nalbandian: “Rob is one of the industry’s most highly regarded animation directors, with a great track record of building teams and pipelines. We are very fortunate to have him join our already exceptionally talented team of artists to further develop our visual effects and feature animation slate, animation talent and feature animation pipeline. We plan to launch one new animated feature a year, Rob will be instrumental in building our leadership teams and developing creative talent to support that goal.”