Dan Gies

Dan Gies grew up in Alberta, Canada, in the Kananaskis Valley at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. His strong passion for drawing catapulted him into traditional animation at a young age when his dad, an inventor, put him in front of a computer and introduced him to Autodesk Animator. His mom, a painter, shared with him everything she knows about design, form, color theory and composition. He spent a number of years at the Banff Centre as the Film & Television Post Production & Editor Work Study, and then as the Animation Work Study, but otherwise is an independent learner, developing his digital puppeteering and illustration skills with the aid of online tutorials, workshops and forums. His creative process explores the balance between fast-evolving digital tools and meticulously hand-crafted aesthetic and movement. Dan's animated film and video work has toured festival circuits internationally, and has won over twenty-five accolades and awards, most notably a Webby Award for Best Animation in 2011 and Webby nomination for Best Animation the following year. In 2012, he co-founded e.d.Films, a full-service production studio based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.