My name is Ashley. I’m a Washington-based rigger and programmer. How I found my way to being a rigger was fueled by my childhood dream and my love for technology. When I was younger, I loved to play Japanese RPG games, particularly Final Fantasy, and I remember being completely enamored by their beautiful CG images and gorgeous character that had been translated into 3D representations. After playing Final Fantasy X in particular, I decided that I wanted to work in some form of 3D animation, whether in games or film. However, it wasn’t an easy dream. I had initially wanted to be a character concept artist, but my art wasn’t spectacular and my parents always wanted me to pursue something that gave me a skill in the workforce. I ended up majoring in Computer Science and in the process of taking my coursework, I found the UW’s Animation Capstone program, which focused on 3D film projects. This was my first real introduction into the animation pipeline (minus a short course I took in high school) and was where I discovered rigging and technical art. It gave me a way to combine art and science and allowed me to use both my love for making things and my aesthetic eye. It became a way that I could mix the two things I loved and it made me happy.

I still have a lot to learn, and I’m relatively new to a lot of the more advanced rigging techniques, but I’m always willing to learn, and to teach others that are interested, but are afraid that rigging it too technical for them. I love to see people learn about rigging and coding, topics that would generally scare away some because anyone can do them with a bit of practice and an open mind. You don’t have to be a genius! Just persistent!

Aside from my day job as a rigger, I participate in running a fan community for a music group that I like, helping the other moderators of the community in technical things, like making webpages, to other things that are more for fun, like drawing little pieces of art for challenges that we pose to our fan community members. It’s a nice way for me to use my knowledge for fun while combining it with something that I’m interested in. Some day, I hope to combine my rigging talents with my interest in this particular music group to create something fun for the community! But that’s more of a long term project that I’m still only in the planning stages for.

My passion for 3D animation is what keeps me going everyday and urges me to do better, and to learn more. This passion is what makes learning fun and I hope to never stop learning!