Graham Cunningham

Senior Lighting & Compositing Artist (Aug 2025-Jan 2026): Overwatch Animated Short | “Reign of Talon” opening morgue sequence (minus 3 overhead shots), using Katana, Redshift, Nuke. On-set data capture, facial reference photography and HDRI creation for asset look-dev, Unannounced Project. Published light-rig allowing look-dev artists to render their assets matching directly to reference photography in the same lighting, elevating quality & realism.

Senior Lighting/Compositing & Layout Artist at Blizzard Entertainment (2025-08 – 2026-08)

• Senior Lighting & Compositing Artist (Aug 2025-Jan 2026):
• Overwatch Animated Short | “Reign of Talon” opening morgue sequence (minus 3 overhead shots), using Katana, Redshift, Nuke.
• On-set data capture, facial reference photography and HDRI creation for asset look-dev, Unannounced Project. Published light-rig allowing look-dev artists to render their assets matching directly to reference photography in the same lighting, elevating quality & realism.
• “In-Game Cinematics” for World of Warcraft 12, using Katana, Redshift and Nuke. Partnered with Lighting Lead to light and render entire sequences in a dynamic and fast-paced schedule, working independently and tracking notes in Flow.
• Layout & QC Artist (Feb 2026 – Aug 2026):
• Built a new “Preview” light-rig used in all upstream rendering across the department (anim, layout, sim, etc.), enabling artists to better evaluate their work, easing QC and saving artist time and render cycles.
• Performed environment layout tasks, asset management and scene optimization in Renderman and Redshift render pipelines.
• Final frame QC for lighting/compositing delivery, as well as upstream department renders, helping ensure highest quality studio output.
• Ported lighting setups to USD and tested new tools & workflows.

Part-time Instructor at Chapman University (2023-08 – Present)

• Teach and mentor VFX and animation students at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University. Evenings, 2 courses/semester.
• AVE242: Compositing for Visual Effects (introduction to Nuke)
• AVE402: Advanced CG for Visual Effects (lighting and look-dev using Maya, Arnold, Nuke, and Substance Painter)
• AVE469: On-set & Postproduction VFX Supervision
• AVE498: Animation & VFX Senior Thesis Film Projects (provide lighting & compositing feedback & technical guidance)

Online Course Creator at Self-employed (2024 – Present)

• Foundry: Learn - Practical Lighting with Katana and Arnold
• The Gnomon Workshop: Practical Lighting for Production | The Gnomon Workshop
• The Gnomon Workshop: Cinematic Lighting Shot Production | The Gnomon Workshop

Senior/Lead Lighting/Compositing & Look Development Artist at Blizzard Entertainment (2007 – 2024)

• Senior/Lead Lighting & Compositing Artist (Jan 2007 – Feb 2022):
• Lead Lighting and Compositing Artist for multiple award-winning cinematics. Guided teams of artists from pre-production through to final delivery, managing tight deadlines, maintaining overall look and color balance, and achieving quota targets. Overwatch, Overwatch 2, Diablo III, StarCraft II, and Heroes of the Storm.
• Senior Lighting and Compositing Artist, elevating visual quality across major franchises including World of Warcraft expansions, Overwatch, Overwatch 2, Diablo III, Diablo Immortal, and StarCraft II.
• Collaborated with directors, art directors, and cross-functional teams to develop key shot lighting solutions and support asset and FX deliveries.
• Look Development Artist (Mar 2022 – Mar 2024):
• Primary artist responsible for location HDRI capture, facial and object reference photography, and map processing & calibration to create turntable light-rigs, allowing direct CG to reference photography comparison, and ensuring quality and consistency for the look-development & surfacing team.
• Built custom shading networks, prototyped materials, migrated assets between projects, and provided technical support to texturing artists.
• Texturing and surfacing work in Mari and Katana for assets in World of Warcraft expansions, Diablo IV, and Overwatch 2.

Lead 3D Artist / Generalist at Rocket Science VFX and other boutique VFX facilities (1997 – 2007)

• 3D VFX shot production and asset creation for various feature film, television, and commercial projects in small fast-paced production environments.
• Led teams of 3D artists to deliver high quality visuals within time and budget constraints.
• Generalist tasks: 3D modeling, pre-visualization, animation, camera tracking, camera projection, FX, look-dev, lighting and compositing.

Diploma in Computer Graphics Imagery – Seneca Polytechnic, Toronto