Dan Sollis : Digital Distortion : Graphic Design, Animation and Compositing

Profile : Dan Sollis

After graduating in 1996 in Graphic Design at Bristol, I enjoyed working in many different sectors of the Broadcast and New Media industry. I was lead designer for a Soho-based media agency until June 2002, at which point I decided to take the big leap and go freelance. From 2002-2007 I worked as a visual effects artist and CGI Designer on numerous Music Videos, TV Idents, Shorts and Features. In 2007 I found myself a perrmanent base in Soho - firstly with Pulse Films, then later with Grid24. I now operate in effect as a small boutique visual effects company. For much of the time I work solely by myself, but for larger jobs I bring in other freelancers and have a good relationship with a number of talented people in different fields. I prefer working this way as it gives me a much greater sense of independence - and allows me to have a hardware and software setup that I know and trust to get jobs done quickly and smoothly.

Outside work, my interests include computer hardware/software design, creative writing, music, illustration, photography and film. Which dovetails nicely with my day job, as it happens!

Application Usage

Primary design & VFX applications

After Effects, Lightwave, Mocha, Shake, Modo, ZBrush, Final Cut Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop, Motion, PFHoe

Also worth mentioning - Highend AE Plugin Experience: Trapcode Particular, Form, 3D Stroke, Magic Bullet.

Additional applications

DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Flash, Dreamweaver, iWork (Pages, Numbers & Keynote), Indesign, Quark Xpress, Powerpoint, Excel, Word. (please note: I am liable to erupt in a wild uncontrolled fury if anyone asks me to do ANYTHING in powerpoint)

Skills

Visual Effects

Tracking, Compositing, Keying, Roto, Scripting (for After Effects and Flash), 3D CGI design (inc. Modelling, texturing, lighting, animation and rendering), Motion Graphic design (inc. Title design)

Other areas of expertise

Cocoa Development for iPhone and OSX desktop, Web design (Flash & HTML), Design for Print, Brand Identity design, Typeface design, illustration and storyboarding

Education / Training

BATS - British assisting in Animation Training Scheme
A one-year traditional animation course sponsored by the British animation industry, hosted by the NFT and MOMI.

BTEC HND in Computer Graphics (South Bristol College)
Passed with Merit - Date of completion: July 1996

NSCFEAD Art & Design Foundation Course (Amersham & Wycombe College)
Date of completion: July 1994

A-Level Art, Chemistry, Government & Politics.
GCSE (Grade C and Above) Art, English Lit., English Lang., Combined Science (Double), History, Maths