Hi, I'm Alejandro Cabrera
3D Technical Artist
I bridge the gap between art and engineering in VFX and feature animation. Modeling, rigging, CFX, lighting, procedural workflows, and the tools that make them all work.
A bit about me
I'm a 3D Technical Artist based in Ontario, Canada, with over 10 years of experience across VFX and feature animation.
I've worked on hero characters for films like Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Rumble, and Fireheart. My work sits at the intersection of art and code: cloth and hair simulation, character rigging, procedural modeling, and the custom tools that make complex 3D production possible.
I'm equally comfortable sculpting a rig as I am writing a PySide2 tool. That hybrid skill set lets me solve problems other artists can't, and build tools other developers wouldn't think to make.
Skills & Technologies
Feature films
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Mill-Film CFX / Technical AnimatorCloth and hair simulation for hero characters using proprietary tools and Nucleus solver. Built feather simulation setups and character skin-fix solutions for VFX shots.
Rumble
Reel FX Studios Character FX ArtistCloth, hair, and muscle simulation for monster wrestler characters using Ziva Dynamics and Nucleus. Built PySide/Qt tools for the CFX team. XGen grooming on hero characters.
Fireheart
L'Atelier Animation Rigging TDDeveloped rigging tools using the Maya API including space switchers, rig validation, and batch processing. Managed the rigging repository, enforced code practices.
Where I've worked
Pipeline TD
GHOST VFX- Tool development for Maya and Houdini artist workflows
- Built USD/Solaris tooling and custom animation exporters
- ShotGrid development and farm optimization
- R&D new methods and optimization workflows
CG Tools TD
MARZ VFX- Maya and Houdini tool development for CG workflows
- Refactoring and optimization of pipeline in Python, C++
- ShotGrid database development and Deadline farm plugins
Assets TD
MRX FX- Asset repository maintainer and developer
- Tool development, bash scripting, rigging team support
- ShotGrid development and Maya tools
Rigging TD
L'Atelier Animation- Rigging repository maintainer and developer
- Built rigging tools with Maya API: space switchers, rig validation, batch processing
- Feature film: Fireheart
Character FX Artist
Reel FX Studios- Cloth, hair, and muscle simulation with Ziva Dynamics and Nucleus
- XGen grooming on hero characters
- Built PySide/Qt tools for CFX team automation
- Feature film: Rumble
CFX / Technical Animator
Mill-Film- Cloth and hair simulation for hero VFX shots
- Built feather sim setups and character skin-fix solutions
- Feature film: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Technical art & tools
Let's create something
Looking for a 3D Technical Artist who can build, rig, simulate, and write the tools to do it all? Let's talk.