Digital Artist
11205 N. 26th Way - Phoenix - AZ - 85028 - 602-750-7407
---EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Contract Work
Current
Frank Vitale - Digital Artist
Digital illustration, animation, game development, visual effects, and motion graphics are my main areas of production. I also write, lecture and demo on occasion. Some recent clients include: Sprite, Corona, Burton Snowboards and Smirnoff.
Instructor
Spring 2003
Phoenix College - Modeling for 3d Animation
Instructor at Phoenix College for the spring semester. Using LightWave 3d animation software I instructed both 1st and 2nd year students on the operation of the software from understanding the interface and work flow through proper modeling and lighting techniques.
Interactive Sites
May 1999 - October 2000
Partner - "Interactive Film and Music"
The idea for IFM was to develop a full service effects house and DVD authoring studio. While the studio was active I developed 3d animations and illustrations for various clients as well as designed and produced independent DVD titles.
Mastering 3d Graphics
February 99 - May 99
Editor
Editor of Mastering 3d Graphics magazine. M3G is an internet based tutorial magazine for 3d designers from beginner to expert.
Banned From The Ranch Entertainment
August 97 to December 97
Visual Effects Artist
Responsibilities included: Developing visual effects shots for film and television spots, including working with a team of visual effects artists to determine the most efficient method of achieving the desired look  required by the director or visual effects supervisor of a given project.
Presto Studios
August 94 to August 97
Art Director
Responsibilities included: Working with the production team on the most efficient and effective means of creating the 3D adventure game environment. Working with the creative director to finalize all environments. Development, creation and control of the visual identity of Presto Studios. Maintaining role as lead texture artist responsible for all textures and management of texture development team.
The Image Makers
April 93 to April 94
Designer
Responsibilities included: Concept and development of 3D graphics for use in print, animation and multimedia. Additional responsibilities included concept and development for all types of design projects as well as in-house training on the Macintosh, Photoshop and 3D  applications.
---MISSION STATEMENT
To promote, maintain and teach a cutting edge level in computer graphic design, constantly improving upon my knowledge of concept and production.
---EDUCATION HISTORY
Received Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communications from NAU (Northern Arizona University) in the Fall of 1990 with an emphasis in Graphic Design. Maintained an Activity Scholarship for Photography from Fall 87 through Fall 90. Achieved Dean's List Spring 88, Fall 88, Spring 89 and Fall 89. I attended school for 5.5 years.... for my first two years I majored in physics with an astronomy emphasis.
---TOOLS OF THE TRADE
I generally work on Macintosh and PC workstations but also have several years experience on SGI machines running Alias Power Animator and Amazon. Applications include Max, Cinema 4D, Electric Image, Strata Studio Pro, Form Z,Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects,  Elastic Reality and QuarkXpress to name a few.
---PERSONAL BIO
Education:
Upon entering college I was torn between pursuing a career in Architecture, attending Taliesin West or studying Graphic Design. I chose the latter and decided to attend Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. Prior to entering the school of creative and communication artist I decided to study physics with an emphasis in Astronomy. I had 2 years of electives to use up and astronomy was a passion of mine. After my first 2 years I switched my major to graphic design as planned, and moved over to the school of creative and communication arts. I enjoyed the program but found that it lacked in the area of computer graphics. I decided to take it upon myself to develop a curriculum in computer graphics and set up a series of independent study courses. Working with Craig Caldwell, the head of the department at the time, now at UofA in Tucson, I set up independent study for 4 years, including setting up and running a computer graphics lab. Since that time the computer graphics program at NAU has continued to grow. Throughout my stay at NAU I maintained a scholarship through my photography, which included maintaining and running the darkroom for the school of Creative and Communication Arts.
Professional:
After school I moved back down to the Phoenix area and began working in my chosen field of Graphic Design. Between December 1990 and April 1994 I worked for several different companies including: SmartzVideo Publishing, Studio Optix, Consumer Marketing Network and The Image Makers. My job duties varied from Designer responsible for meeting with clients developing ideas for printed materials and seeing the project through completion to Animator, developing 4 to 10 second animated title sequences for broadcast television and point of purchase displays.

In 1994 I moved to San Diego to work for Presto Studios famous for their work on The Journeyman Project. I was brought on to help primarily with texture and surface development on the sequel Buried In Time. Buried In Time went on to win many awards in the gaming industry just as its predecessor. Additionally I designed a great deal of the advertising material for the title.  Following BIT we went on to develop Gundam 0079 Presto's first outside contract job with Bandai Entertainment. I was the lead texture and interface artist for Gundam, it too went on to win many awards. I also helped with developing the title's promotional materials. Before Gundam was finished we needed to have our web site up and running. I designed and produced the first iteration of the Presto web site which also turned out to be an award winner. Before Gundam was complete we started production on the 3rd in the "Journeyman" series, Journeyman Project 3, The Legacy of Time." This time around I was given the duty of Art Director which included lead texture and interface artist. More recently, in 2000, I completely redesigned the presto web site which is still in use today.

In July of 97 I left Presto Studios for a position in the film industry at a company called Banned From The Ranch. BFTR has an interesting story as it is made of x-ILM employees, hence the name. Unfortunately the time I spent at BFTR was brief, less than a year due to a rut in the effects business. When BFTR was forced to close the doors I had to decide whether to stay in LA or move back to Phoenix, my home town. I had my sights set on purchasing a home and did not have an extra $800,000 so buying a home in LA was out of the question. I moved back to Phoenix and set up a home studio. In April of 2000 I finally bought that home (not the $800,000 one). While at BFTR I worked on Titanic, Deep Rising, Jungle Book II, Dr. Dolittle, a Nissan Commercial and several full page ads for Cinefex magazine. I also designed and built the BFTR web site. After moving back to Phoenix I contracted with BFTR on several projects including MTV and Metal Fighter.

While still at Presto on several occasions I had opportunities to present at trade shows and conferences on the type of work we did. Additionally I've taught for Strata Inc.. at their users conference in 97 and 98 at Red Rock, teaching techniques on texture development and application as well as general software methodology. Over the years I've done a great deal of writing for various trade magazines internationally. As well, I've contributed to several books including the Photoshop Wow! book series. Writing and teaching continues to be a passion of mine. Please visit my Ink and Teachings section for a complete breakdown.