about me

I'm an Animation Director and Animator with over 18 years of industry experience. As proven leader in animation, I’ve led teams and delivered high-quality work on major productions. I thrive in collaborative environments as filmmaking is a team effort. I also produce my own animated comedies using Unreal Engine and AI tools, with more projects on the way. Outside of work, I enjoy photography, tinkering with classic cars, and pursuing personal creative ventures. My approach combines technical expertise with narrative instinct to craft compelling, character-driven visual stories.

Projects

A selection of standout projects I've had the privilege to contribute to. Click to explore

Animation Director

Animation Director

Writer | Director | Animator

Writer | Director | Animator

Unreal Previs Animator & Generalist

Unreal Previs Animator & Generalist

Animation Supervisor

Animation Supervisor

Facial & Mocap Animator

Facial & Mocap Animator

Animation Supervisor

Animation Supervisor

Animation Lead

Animation Lead

Animation Lead

Animation Lead

Facial & Mocap Animator

Facial & Mocap Animator

CG Visual Development

CG Visual Development

Previs Artist

Previs Artist

Previs Artist

Previs Artist

Facial & Mocap Animator

Facial & Mocap Animator

Facial & Mocap Animator

Facial & Mocap Animator

2025-06-05 12_21_11-co7mz2.webp (1620×2160).png
Writer | Director | Animator

Writer | Director | Animator

Animation Director

Animation Director

Mark Villagracia

Animation Director | Previs Artist | Character Animator | Unreal Engine Specialist


EXPERIENCE 

Writer, Director & Unreal Animator – Villagracia Bros | September 2022 – Present

  • Wrote, directed, and animated an award-winning short film from concept through final delivery.

  • Led all aspects of production, including story development, cinematography, editing, and sound design.

  • Official selection at multiple international comedy festivals, with screenings in both the U.S. and abroad.

Unreal Animator – Unit 9 Films | April 2025 – May 2025

  • Animated intricate object interactions and expressive facial performances to faithfully realize the artist’s creative vision.

  • Configured and prepared Oculus headsets with AR51 for real-time playback, ensuring seamless user experience.

Unreal Previs Animator & Generalist – Nickelodeon Animation  | January 2024 – November 2024

  • Enhanced storytelling impact by producing cinematic previsualization sequences in Unreal Engine, expanding creatively beyond rough boards and scripts to elevate narrative clarity and visual engagement.

  • Applied dynamic, real-world camera techniques and compositions to elevate and reinforce the show’s grounded visual style.

  • Developed previs-optimized props, sets, and lighting rigs, sharing them with fellow artists to streamline production workflows and improve efficiency.

Senior Animator – Kevin VFX | August 2023 – September 2023

  • Created high-quality previs and realistic creature performances for cinematic television commercials.

Animation Director – DreamWorks Animation | January 2021 – August 2023

  • Directed large animation teams across flagship franchises, delivering on-time, high-quality cinematic content.

  • Visited partner studios to provide hands-on training on the show’s visual style and foster strong collaborative relationships.

  • Led workflow optimizations across the animation pipeline, eliminating bottlenecks and significantly improving production speed and delivery reliability.

  • Mentored junior animators, resulting in multiple team promotions and skill advancements.

  • Collaborated with story, lighting, compositing, and rendering departments to troubleshoot rough animatics and resolve visual and technical challenges.

  • Managed animation retake budgets and partnered with VFX and editorial teams to finalize production-ready episodes.

Animation Supervisor  – DreamWorks Animation | October 2018 – January 2021

  • Supported the Animation Director by reviewing animation shots and providing detailed creative and technical feedback.

  • Developed new previs workflows that effectively bridged storyboard concepts with 3D animation layouts.

  • Developed and shared custom acting reference materials through drawings and video demonstrations to enhance character performances.

  • Worked closely with story, lighting, compositing, and rendering teams to refine rough animatics and to address visual and technical issues.

Animation Lead – DreamWorks Animation | May 2014 – September 2018

  • Created animation cycles and crafted character pose and expression sheets to establish clear performance guidelines.

  • Supported the Animation Supervisor by reviewing animation shots and providing detailed creative and technical feedback.

  • Created comprehensive camera placement and character staging guides, enabling partner studios to efficiently construct high-quality shots and sequences.

Traverse Gameplay & Cinematics Lead – Nifty Island Computer Games  | April 2021 – February 2022

  • Developed a robust in-game traversal animation library featuring realistic humanoid movement, with animations designed for seamless blending across various character states

  • Created previs and final animation for promotional cinematics and marketing materials

Previous Studio Collaborations

Brand New School | Psyop | Duck Soup Studios | The Famous Group | Frame Machine | Frantic Films | Technicolor Interactive

EDUCATION

BFA Animation & Art – California State University Fullerton | Graduated May 2005

Epic Games Unreal Engine Certification – CG Pro  | Certified October 2022

CORE COMPETENCIES 

- Unreal Engine Previs & Cinematics
- Animation Direction & Narrative Storytelling
- Character & Creature Animation
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Workflow & Pipeline Optimization
- Motion Capture Animation

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Unreal Engine | Autodesk Maya | 3DsMax | Golaem Crowd | Plastic SCM | GitHub | Flow/Shotgrid | Adobe Premiere Pro | Photoshop | Procreate | AR51 | ChatGPT | Pinokio Ai | Kling Ai|  Wan Ai


Endorsements

Hear what others have to say


Mio Markovic 

SVP of Production, TV – DreamWorks Animation

Mark worked on multiple complex projects for DreamWorks Animation from 2013-2023. In his leadership animation positions he provided expertise both technically and creatively. Mark is able to find the balance to achieve a high animation quality threshold while delivering shots on schedule. He is excellent at managing his priorities and workload while at the same time often exceeding the expectations of his show runners and creative executives He is an excellent mentor to our in-house teams as well as a knowledgeable resource and leader for our outsource vendor studios around the world. Mark also quickly picked up working with crowds specific software as well as game engine exploration during his time at DreamWorks. I highly recommend Mark for a position on any CG/Animation team and look forward to working with him again in the future.

Chris Belcher

Line Producer, TV – DreamWorks Animation

I have had the privilege of working directly with Mark on several TV series during his tenure at DreamWorks Animation. His attention to detail and efficient solutions to solving complex production challenges makes him a highly sought after supervisor for any project. He is a talented animator, mentor, and leader and he is always sure to keep communication between his department, partner studios, and others at a high level. He maintains a calm composure with the high demands of production and pushes to get the absolute best animation for his shows. I highly recommend his expertise to anyone who may be hiring a position with his qualifications.

Monica Martinez

Production Manager, TV – DreamWorks Animation

Mark really knows his stuff! Having worked with him on a couple very complex animated series, he knows how to look out for future complexity issues and work around unforeseen problems. I highly recommend Mark and hope to work with him again soon!