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Shannon Gilley

Freelance 3D Artist MarketScale

Over the past 20+ years I've had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, from leading the 3D modeling effort of a Disney TV series, to helping bring Target's global product visualization pipeline into the virtual realm, to directing commercial animation for Mattel, to creating expert testimony graphics in multi million-dollar litigation.
Through experiences like these, coupled with many years of teaching animation at the Baccalaureate level, I've learned the importance of communicating with clients, supporting your teammates, and honing an interdisciplinary craft to be able to tell an engaging visual story. 
Whether taking a project from start to finish or collaborating with a team, I enjoy wearing various hats of the production pipeline including modeling, look development (surfacing), animation, UV layout, lighting, and other creative tasks. Leveraging the unique power of animation to motivate, entertain, or inform an audience is what drives my creative impulses.

BS Computer Science, Art, and Film study 1991-1997
Master of Fine Arts, Visual Studies 2010-2013
image-14 Modeling
Look Development (Surfacing)
Animation
UV layout
Lighting

Recent Posts

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Dual Anchor Spreader explainer

Shannon Willey - November 26, 2022

This animation explains the usefulness and basic function of a Dual Anchor Spreader machine, and how a broken hydraulic cylinder would impede its operation.

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Ammco brake shoe grinder

Shannon Willey - January 4, 2022

Product visualization of a mechanic's device for "re-truing" automobile brake shoes. The model was carefully built by hand since no CAD model was available.

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Slurry Wall Failure explainer

Shannon Willey - November 27, 2019

This animated explainer translates an expert report into easy-to-understand visuals, showing how an underground concrete wall panel became contaminated during the construction process.

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Shannon Gilley Animation Demo Reel

Shannon Willey - June 27, 2015

Demo reel of projects created as Animation Director and Lead Digital Artist.

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Geothermal Energy: Enhancing Our Future

Shannon Willey - December 12, 2013

This video aims to educate policymakers and the public on a University of Minnesota-led research project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while expanding the capabilities of geothermal energy production.

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Emerald Ash Borer “Cycle of Destruction”

Shannon Willey - September 17, 2010

This :30 commercial, produced for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, uses photorealistic computer animation to warn of the destructive nature of the Emerald Ash Borer and how moving firewood spreads the pest.

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