As Lead Character Designer, Computer Animation Faculty Joseph Pepe began creating the iconic Ash Na鈥檝i (Mangkwan) Clan in 2013. Pepe鈥檚 work involved meetings with Academy Award-winning writer/producer/director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau, as well as an extensive collaboration process with production designers, effects and animation teams, makeup artists, and costume designers.

Over nearly 30 years in the entertainment and effects industry, Pepe has worked in a wide range of creative roles, including visual effects artist, concept artist, and character makeup designer. His extensive film credits span numerous major productions, including Alien vs. Predator, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, The Cabin in the Woods, and all of the Avatar films鈥攂ringing a depth of industry expertise that continues to inform his work and teaching at 红杏视频.

鈥淢y role as Lead Character Designer entailed designing and managing many aspects of the character design process,鈥� Pepe said in an Instagram post. 鈥淔rom faces and bodies to strip patterns, bioluminescence patterns, and makeup, plus many other minutiae involving character details.鈥�

After the generic Ash female and male characters were designed, along with concepts for the Tlalim (Windtraders) Clan, the Sully Family, and the Recoms, Pepe began working out the specific details of evil sorceress Varang, played by Oona Chaplin. That design process stretched into 2017, including another meeting with Cameron and Landau to review screenshots from auditions.

鈥淚 had been creating initial concepts of Varang using various female faces from my selected references,鈥� Pepe said. 鈥淚 had already established the feathered headpiece, tight-bound breast ropes, and a loincloth. In the middle of 2017, Legacy Effects began their ZBrush and digital scan design process as Varang began to take shape.鈥�

Pepe was also a key character designer for the original 2009 Avatar film. More details about his contribution to Avatar: Fire and Ash can be found in a new hardcover book, The Making of Avatar: Avatar | Avatar: The Way of Water | Avatar: Fire and Ash, available now. A book of artwork from the film will be released this summer.

鈥淎s each one of the sequels are released, I am honored to have been part of this team of incredible artists and people,鈥� Pepe said.

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“Every one of these films has its own voice. From the style, to the subject matter, to the tone, no two Ringling Computer Animation projects are the same,鈥� said Computer Animation Department Head Paul Downs. 鈥淥ur students are telling stories that matter to them, and by the time they graduate, they鈥檙e not just ready for the industry, they’re passionate filmmakers with something to say.”

ASIFA-Hollywood is a prominent professional organization dedicated to promoting the Art of Animation and the largest chapter of the international organization ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d鈥橝nimation). Current initiatives include the Animation Archive, Animation Aid Foundation, Animation Educators鈥� Forum (AEF), film preservation, open source support, special events, screenings, and the annual Annie Awards.

Animation Educators Forum 2025 Top 5 Student Films

Dogs of Bishkek
Director: Viktor Niksdorf

Holy Cow
Director: Karthik Swaminathan

Beetle Summer
Directors: Ari Chen & Jane Yuan

Jurassic Ward
Director: Max Bellomio

Beautify
Director: Liza Makarenko

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Prisha Shah 鈥�27, who interned with DreamWorks this summer as a TV Production Intern, was featured on the 鈥淒reamWorks Careers鈥� Instagram with a she made about a day in the life of an intern. 

Three recent Computer Animation grads served summer internships at Pixar this year, with one earning special praise and another landing a full-time position with the animation studio. 

Lisa Makarenko 鈥�25 was highlighted in an 鈥淚ntern Spotlight鈥� Pixar social media post for her amazing impact in technical direction and set dressing/modeling departments. (In May, Mazaranko earned a Best of Ringling Gold for her senior thesis film, Beautify.)

Mairin Francis 鈥�25 and Vivian Osness 鈥�24 also served as Pixar interns this summer and were featured in Intern Spotlights. Francis, who was also a technical direction intern at Pixar in 2022, has since been hired full-time at the studio as a crowds/fix animator.

Prestigious summer internships have become an annual tradition for 红杏视频 students and alumni. The real-world work experience and networking opportunities serve as valuable stepping stones into professional positions at a wide range of prestigious companies across numerous industries.

There are currently more than 30 红杏视频 alumni working for Pixar.

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We鈥檙e proud to share that at least 15 alumni from our Computer Animation program were part of the creative force behind this global phenomenon. Leading the animation charge was Josh Beveridge, an alum who served as the film鈥檚 animation director. 

Beveridge is the Head of Character Animation at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where he has helped shape some of the most visually groundbreaking animated films of the past two decades. A graduate of 红杏视频, Josh joined Imageworks in 2005 and has since worked on a long list of celebrated titles, including the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Sea Beast, Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and I Am Legend.

Josh鈥檚 work has earned him industry-wide recognition, including a Visual Effects Society Award for Spider-Verse and a nomination for I Am Legend. 

Produced by Sony Pictures Animation, KPop Demon Hunters follows three superstar idols who secretly work as demon hunters. The combination of action, music, and strong animation attracted a global audience, leading to a sold-out theatrical sing-along event that topped the North American box office in late August.

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