ABOUT ME
Gianluca Fratellini was born in 1980 in Modugno, a small town in the province of Bari in Puglia, Italy. He is one of the most important 3D animators internationally and currently holds the role of 3D Character and Creature Animation Supervisor and Director, recognized as an Italian excellence in the field of digital animation and cinematic visual effects.
His extraordinary career in 3D animation began at the tender age of 14 during his high school years, at a time when access to technology was limited and he did not have privileged access to a personal computer.
Entirely self-taught, he began by studying the first books ever published on 3D software such as AutoCAD and Lightwave, frequenting his father's office, where AutoCAD was used for industrial design in construction.
During breaks, he would use their powerful computers, thus gaining practical experience in the operation of 3D software.
After graduating, he embarked on University studies in computer science in the hope of meeting people who shared his passion. His first personal computer, a very slow AMD-K6, arrived only after some time, and in the following years he explored various software as a generalist, performing various animation tests and starting his first short film, “A Bug's Story” (5 minutes), inspired by the characters from the Pixar film “A Bug's Life”.
Oniria Pictures - Luxembourg
The turning point came when a small company in Luxembourg, Oniria Pictures, interested in the skills listed in his resume, sent him an email asking for a “demo reel” and if he would be interested in working on the 3D animated film “Tristan & Isolde”. Initially frightened by the news, not even knowing what a demo reel was, he sent all his tests and materials, including his first short film, which was still in progress. He decided to leave university and flew to Luxembourg, where he spent three months of internship at Oniria Pictures, eventually signing his first three-year contract, initially as a 3D Junior Animator on the American TV series “Bob's Beach,” consisting of 52 11-minute episodes and after as 3D Mid Animator on two feature animated movies "Tristan & Isolde" and "Renart the Fox"
He then became Senior 3D Animator on the first film “Tristan and Isolde” and later on the second feature film “Renart the Fox.” During these three years at Oniria Pictures, he was the only self-taught animator, while his colleagues came from prestigious international animation schools such as Gobelins and Supinfocom.
Life in Smoke - Una Vita in fumo
During the same period, he decided to create another short film, “Life in Smoke – Una Vita in Fumo,” lasting about 8 minutes, working for three years almost every night after work and on weekends. Thanks to his constant commitment and the emotional support of those close to him, he successfully completed his short film “Life in Smoke – Una Vita in Fumo,” which still receives numerous important awards at Italian, European, and International film festivals.
UBISOFT - CANADA
He then worked in Montreal, Canada, as a 3D Senior Animator and Layout Supervisor, as well as assistant director in the cinematics department of major Ubisoft video games such as “Splinter Cell”, “Prince of Persia”, “Assassin’s Creed”, “Rainbow Six”, “Far Cry”, “AND 1”, and “Surf’s Up”. At the same time, he also taught 3D animation for level 2 university programs at the Campus Ubisoft organized by Cegep de Matane in Quebec, continuing to improve his French and English skills.
Animal Logic - Australia
His international career continued with Animal Logic in Sydney, Australia, where he worked on Warner Bros film “Happy Feet” as a 3D character animator on the main character “Mumble,” gaining valuable experience working with director George Miller.
“Happy Feet” proved to be a truly beautiful film, winning the team the Oscar for “Best Animated Feature” in 2006.
Ilion Animation Studios - SPAIN
He then moved to Spain, where he worked at Ilion Animation Studios in Madrid as a 3D character animator on the film “Planet 51”.
He had the opportunity to learn Spanish as it was difficult for the director to speak English, so he was offered Spanish lessons during lunch.
He then worked on a commercial for “Actimel Danone” and on a TV series “Glumpers” as a 3D Lead Animator.
Climax - Double Negative - UK
He then decided to move to the UK to work as a 3D Senior Animator at Climax, working on the Konami games “Silent Hill Origins”, “Elveon” and “Overlord” before moving to Double Negative in London as a 3D Character Animator on several live-action films— “Paul” directed by Greg Mottola, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for Universal Pictures, and the Disney/Pixar film “John Carter” directed by Pixar director Andrew Stanton (Wall-e and A Bug’s Life), fulfilling his dream of working with the same director who inspired him to start his career as a 3D animator many years ago.
sony pictures animation imageworks
While waiting for his US visa, he moved to Canada, where he worked at Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver as a 3D Senior Animator on the animated film “Hotel Transylvania” directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.
Blue Sky Studios - USA
Shortly thereafter, he finally received his O1-visa to work at Blue Sky Studios in New York as a 3D Character Animator on films such as “Epic”, directed by Chris Wedge, “Rio 2”, directed by Carlos Saldanha, “Peanuts”, directed by Steve Martino, “Ice Age 5: Collision Course“ directed by Mike Thurmeier and Galen Chu, and two short films with Scrat, ”No Time for Nuts“ and ”Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe”.
GLassworks VFX - SPAIN
After three years in the US on his O-1 visa, Alien decided to leave the snow behind and return to Europe, working as a 3D Animation Supervisor on a commercial for “Budweiser – We Will Rock You” in Barcelona, Spain, and as a 3D Lead Animator and Animation Supervisor on the Russian blockbuster “Viking”.
Framestore - UK
He moved to London to work at Framestore, where he worked on the Walt Disney film “Beauty and the Beast” directed by Bill Condon, as 3D Senior Character Animator, and on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” directed by James Gunn.
mikros animation / technicolor - UK - FRANCE
He then worked on the new Paramount animated film “Sherlock Gnomes” as 3D Lead Animator at Mikros Animation/Technicolor in London, directed by John Stevenson.
MPC FILM - UK
At MPC FILM London, he works as 3D Lead Animator for the Walt Disney films “Dumbo” directed by Tim Burton, “The Lion King” directed by Jon Favreau, and the Disney sequel “Maleficent 2” directed by Joachim Rønning.
LIGHTCUT FILM - ITALY
He also works for Italy, including for the 76th Venice International Film Festival, where he was responsible for the entire animation and 3D Animation Supervisor of the commercial featuring a realistic CG lion.
DNEG ANIMATION / LOCKSMITH - UK
He continues to work in London as Animation Supervisor at DNEG Animation (Locksmith) on their first animated feature film “Ron’s Gone Wrong” directed by Jean-Philippe Vine and Octavio Rodriguez, working partly in the studio and partly remotely during Covid-19.
ILM - Industrial light & magic - UK
After working on Netflix’s “Lost Ollie” he had the working as 3D Lead Animator at the famous ILM – Industrial Light & Magic, directed by Peter Ramsey of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”.
MPC ADVERT - UK
He was hired by MPC Advert as 3D Lead Animator for a series of O2 commercials featuring the new robot mascot, which he enjoyed giving personality to for their commercials: “O2 – You & Me”, “O2 – Don’t Miss Out” and “O2 – Unwrap the magic of Christmas” also working on previz.
MPC FILM - UK
Subsequently worked as 3D Lead Animator at MPC Film on the new Walt Disney feature film “Pinocchio” directed by the legendary Robert Zemeckis.
HYBRIDE UBISOFt - disney + CANADA
FILM DIRECTION VFX - RUSSIA
LOLA STUDIOS - SAVAGE - UK
SWISS - PASOZEBRA - UNTOLD STUDIOS - THE LINE - TMRW - TERRITORY STUDIOS
Throughout his career, he has worked on numerous commercials for major Italian and international brands, including “Mulino Bianco”, “Coca-Cola”, “Nike”, “Actimel Danone”, “Budweiser”, “O2”, “Ricola”, “AT&T”, “NBA”, “Swiss”, “Nothing”, “Telia”, “Bonduelle”, “Banco de Chile”, “Free Now”, “Argos” and many others, demonstrating his versatility in the field of advertising and marketing.
Fratellini specializes in 3D character animation, 3D creature animation, animation supervision, VFX direction, and CGI integration.
His professional portfolio ranges from professional showreels, cartoons, and children’s animation to VFX for live-action films, commercials, artistic short films, conferences, and educational projects, making-ofs, and technical documentaries, as well as personal and experimental projects.
In addition to his professional work in the film industry, Gianluca Fratellini is also a renowned speaker and trainer in the animation field. He has spoken at TEDx in Polignano a Mare in Italy and given animation talks at Campus Party Recife in Brazil and Campus Party in Valencia at the City of Arts and Sciences in Spain, sharing his experience and knowledge with the international community of animators and enthusiasts.
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