Animation Careers: David Bleich

Learn how the New Orleans-based digital artist ended up working on some of the biggest and most ambitious animated films ever made.

Digital artists need to be flexible, collaborative, and willing to continually learn and frequently update their tools to be at the top of their game. That's how you grow from designing with Photoshop 2.0 to leading the visual development and art direction for the likes of Sony Pictures, DreamWorks and Digital Domain. Dave Bleich shares his journey from art student to matte painter to colourist for some of the biggest and most ambitious animated films ever made.

About Dave Bleich

Dave Bleich has worked in the Visual FX & Animation industry for over 20 years. During that time he has lent his talents to such films as The Fifth Element, Titanic, O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Cast Away, The Polar Express, Surf’s Up, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 1 & 2, Hotel Transylvania 3, The Missing Link, and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Specialising in lighting design and colour scripting, Dave has served as Director of Digital Photography, Visual Development Artist, Matte Painter, and Art Director.

Originally from New York, Dave moved to from New York to Los Angeles in 1996 to start his career at Digital Domain working on The Fifth Element and Titanic as a Matte Painter. Ten years into his career, he decided to follow his true passion which was Animation, spending 14 years at Sony. Dave now freelances, he just finished as Color and Lighting Designer for Sony’s latest animated feature Connected and is slated to begin work on Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse 2 in August 2020.