YOUR MENTOR
Angie Jones is a character animator, Animation director, and educator with over three decades of professional experience across feature films, video games, and commercials. She has taught Animation since 2003 through trade schools, university programs, professional workshops, and one-on-one mentorship. She has taught Animation since 2003 through trade schools, university programs, professional workshops, and one-on-one mentorship.
Teaching & Mentorship
Angie has taught and mentored thousands of students worldwide through professional training programs, higher education, and studio-based instruction. She is currently an instructor at iAnimate and has previously taught at institutions including the University of Southern California, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, BRASSARTS (France), and CG Spectrum.
Her teaching focuses on performance clarity, decision-making, and professional standards. Students are guided to understand not only how to animate, but why specific creative and technical choices matter in production environments.
Teaching Philosophy
Angie’s mentorship style is grounded in direct feedback, clear expectations, and accountability. She supports individual learning styles while maintaining consistent professional benchmarks informed by real production experience.
Revision and iteration are central to the process. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their work, develop critical thinking skills, and build confidence in their creative decisions.
Professional Background
Her experience spans studio leadership, hands-on animation, and cross-team collaboration. Her expertise lies in crafting both photorealistic and stylized animation performances across character and creature work, with credits including 18 feature films, over 75 commercials, and more than 25 AAA video game titles.
She currently serves in a senior Animation leadership role across Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation Studios, bridging creative and technical teams on long-form animated productions.
Selected experience includes:
Character Animation: Stuart Little 2, The Smurfs, Garfield, Scooby-Doo 2
Creature Animation: X-Men 2, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Cave, The Hitcher, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Animation direction and supervision for VALORANT: UNITED and multiple Fortnite cinematic trailers
Animation leadership across major game franchises, including Red Dead Redemption, God of War III, Assassin's Creed II, and Army of Two
Her work has contributed to Academy Award–winning films and has been recognized with industry honors, including a Clio Award and a Visual Effects Society Award.
Thought Leadership & Publications
Angie is a co-author of the book Thinking Animation: Bridging the Gap Between 2D and CG. She also maintains the Thinking Animation resource site, initially established in 2006, which supports animators with practical tools, analysis, and performance-focused guidance.
Education
Angie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Arts from the Atlanta College of Art and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Laguna College of Art + Design. She served as a full-time professor at the University of Southern California for seven years and has authored multiple books on Animation and performance.
Contact & Additional Work
For questions related to workshops or mentorship, please refer to iAnimate admissions.
To explore additional creative work:
For further communication, please email me here.
