David Bentley, illustrator, modeler, animator, and 3D visualization artist, graduated with a BFA in Industrial Design from the Brigham Young University in 1997. He then worked as a Creative Designer at General Motors Design. Three years later, David left GM to consult for Alias|wavefront at Chrysler Design where he worked with designers to enhance workflows and solve problems. He left DCX to work at Lear as a Senior designer on the GT40 Ford production program as well as the advanced design studio. In 2003, he joined Alias as an Application Engineer for design and entertainment software, and was a part of Autodesk following their acquisition of Alias, for 2 years as the Solutions Engineer for Global Accounts, specializing in Conceptual Design from 2D to 3D to Visualization, using Sketchbook Pro, Mudbox, Alias Studio, and Maya. David is currently a
freelance illustrator, designer, and trainer at Bentley Design, living in Michigan with his wife and three children. David’s portfolio is online.

Michelle Ouellette studied illustration, character design, and 2D/3D animation at renowned Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. She worked as a Motion Graphics Artist, Editor, and Compositor at Mackevision, using a broad spectrum of tools such as AfterEffects, Nuke, Maya, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Michelle has worked for MGM Casino, Fuse Communication, TallTree Studios, Next Idea, and Campbell Ewald as graphic designer, motion designer, style- and story-board artist, illustrator, editor, and web designer. A bright soul with bright ideas, she makes “beautiful” look easy. Michelle’s portfolio is online.

Mike Weiss studied animation at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and is currently a Technical Director at Mackevision, a leading 3D visualization company based in Stuttgart, Munich, and Detroit. Mike’s illustration and 3D skills, combined with his scripting abilities, make him essential to any group needing a high-performance production pipeline. He has worked as a Consultant, Application Engineer, Visual Effects Artist and Director at various companies, including Autodesk, Alias, GTN, Fisher-Unitech, and Creative Reign Studios. Mike’s work can be seen online.

Will Brake is a composer, instrumentalist, recording engineer and electronics repairman who loves making sounds that pull you into a special place. As proprietor of Soul Fruit Productions, Will has composed music and contributed sound designs for games and bands, including local technology haven, Vectorform, creative workshop Artist house! and local bands One World Orchestra and the Acrophobic Sherpas. He has performed in many area bands, playing blues, funk, jazz, and pop music. His work as a stage manager and technician for Alexander Zonjic has taken him to many festivals and events, including the Detroit Jazz Festival, Birmingham Jazz Festival, River Raisin Festival, and the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. Will has a solid reputation for his repair and modifications to sound gear for many local and national music heroes. His combined affinity for knob tweaking and fine art has led him naturally to become an outstanding textural sound sculptor. He has an acute eye and ear for undiscovered treasures, and he loves to show others how to find them.

Przemek Lodej is more than your common household poly-nator. He loves pulling and pushing verts, edges and faces, pushing software to its limits, finding its weak spots and breaking it. Specializing in low & high poly/subD modeling and game level & game play design (UnrealEd), Przemek has taught Maya at Chrysler and Macomb Community College. Przemek has contributed his extensive skills in character design, data conversion, modeling, and visualization to Graphic Promotions, Quintek, Alias Systems, and then at Autodesk two years, before joining Mackevision. Przemek received his BA at Oakland University, in Marketing and Management. Przemek’s portfolio is online.

Comedian and writer Dora Badger is a senior member of All Writers Group and editor of Detroit Stand Up, a monthly online magazine written entirely by Detroit-area comedians and people in the business of comedy.  Dora is also a freelance web designer and writer/editor through elance.com; you can find more information on her web design services at Web Badger. A ridiculous drooling fan of animation, Dora has seen almost as many animated films as live-action ones.  Some of her comic and not-so-comic writing and work can be seen online.

Illustrator, writer, animator, and musician Chris Carden is a Creative Director and Producer at Mackevision, a leading 3D visualization company based in Stuttgart, Munich, and Detroit. Chris has enjoyed writing and illustrating stories, comics, and articles since childhood. He graduated from Central Michigan University in 1989 with a B Sc. in English and a strong minor in Computer Science. He joined Alias|wavefront in 1999, a leading developer of 3D software, where, among other duties, he taught Maya to artists at GM, Ford, Chrysler, Sony Games, and college instructors from across the country. He remained through two acquisitions with Alias and then Autodesk, and since 2005 has been an adjunct instructor at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, teaching 3D. Chris spends what there is left of his free time with his wife and three children in Southeast Michigan, illustrating children’s books, repairing cars, and renovating the house, one dollar at a time.