Aaron Sims(I)

Aaron Sims is one of the most innovative and versatile concept artists working in films today. To industry insiders, he is revered for his multi-faceted approach to creature development and design. To audiences, he is the genius behind many of today's most memorable movie monsters.

Sims' youth in Arlington, Texas was filled with animation and highly detailed pencil renderings of nature that his father produced professionally, motivating Sims to follow his interests in art and animation. As a teenager he began working for the renowned illustrator Don Ivan Punchatz. In the mid-80s, Sims moved to Los Angeles to begin his career as a special effects makeup artist for the film industry. His work quickly attracted the attention of legendary Academy Award winner Rick Baker, with whom Sims collaborated for the next twelve years. During that time, Sims served as a leading special effects artist on some of the most popular, defining movies of the 1990s: Gremlins 2, Batman Forever, Mighty Joe Young, Nutty Professor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Men in Black.

A pivotal event in defining Sims' future occurred when Baker introduced him to a new digital imaging program called Adobe Photoshop. Sims embraced computer technology with enthusiasm and began to combine Softimage 3D animation software, Photoshop's painting capabilities and his knowledge and experience as a special effects artist.

In the late 1990s, Sims started working for another Academy Award winner, Stan Winston, who encouraged Sims' pioneering methods. With advanced computers and cutting-edge software, Sims altered forever the industry's process of design and development. In 2000, working through the Stan Winston Studio, Sims introduced his visionary design process to Steven Spielberg, and became the lead character designer for Artificial Intelligence: A.I. Sims created unprecedented designs for all of Spielberg's robot characters and, in doing so, validated his groundbreaking approach to character creation. Having thus raised the bar in the concept design industry, Sims took the Stan Winston Studio to the forefront of innovative film design. During this exciting time, Sims co-founded Stan Winston Digital and led the studio, as art director and head concept artist, on such films as Constantine, Fantastic Four, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Eight Below, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Spielberg's War of the Worlds, and Tim Burton's Big Fish.

Sims' creative approach to concept design using digital technology has had significant affects on the film industry. Softimage development teams have advanced aspects of their software from Sims creative use of their product. Sims has also inspired many of the current techniques used by top artists and designers in the entertainment industries. The demand for training in his methods has led to an ongoing partnership with Alex Alvarez and the Gnomon School of Visual Effects on a series of instructional DVDs.

With the same adventurous spirit that fueled his willingness to embrace digital technology, Sims decided to leave the Stan Winston Studio to work as an independent concept artist on 30 Days of Night, The Golden Compass, I Am Legend, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In 2007, he co-founded White Rock Lake Productions with business partner and long-time friend John Norris while also opening his own fully capable design studio, The Aaron Sims Company.