Tim McLaughlin
Most Recent Affiliation(s):
- Industrial Light & Magic
Other / Past Affiliation(s):
- Lucasfilm, Department of Visualization
- Texas A&M University
Location:
- College Station, Texas, United States of America
Bio:
Tim McLaughlin joined the faculty of Texas A&M in Fall 2007 and became the Department of Visualization’s first Department Head in January 2008. Prior to coming to Texas A&M Tim worked in the movie industry at Industrial Light & Magic, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd. in San Francisco, California where he led teams of artists and engineers developing computer graphics techniques for digital creatures in groundbreaking award winning visual effects for films. His credit list includes 15 theatrically released feature film projects including Mars Attacks! (1996) Star Wars: Episode I (1999), Van Helsing (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005). The work of Tim’s technical artists contributed directly to Science & Technology Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences being given to teams of ILM researchers in 1998, 2001, and 2013. These awards represent the highest film industry recognition for technical excellence.
At Texas A&M, Tim’s undergraduate teaching area involves collaborative student projects that include computer animation production techniques and visual storytelling. His graduate teaching and research work focuses on developing animation systems for character articulation and deformation. As Head of the Department of Visualization he has overseen the creation of the Bachelor of Science and the Master of Fine Arts in Visualization degree programs. He is active in a variety of research and outreach activities that involve blending art and science in STEM education. Tim grew up in East Texas. He earned the Associate of Arts degree from Kilgore College, and both the Bachelor of Environmental Design (1990) and the Master of Science in Visualization Sciences (1994) degrees from Texas A&M University.
Course Organizer:
- SIGGRAPH 2005, "Taxonomy of Digital Creatures: Interpreting Character Designs as Computer Graphics Techniques"
- SIGGRAPH 2006, "Taxonomy of Digital Creatures: Defining Character Development Techniques Based Upon Scope of Use"
- SIGGRAPH 2007, "The Morphology of Digital Creatures"
- SIGGRAPH 2011, "Character Rigging, Deformations, and Simulations in Film and Game Production"
- SIGGRAPH 2012, "Character Rigging and Creature Wrangling in Game, Feature Animation, and Visual Effects Production"
Learning Category: Presentation(s):
Type: [Educator’s Forum and Diversity]
Educator's Forum Talk - Identity-Centered User-Generated Content to Create Occupational Identity With Visual Computing Organizer(s): [Cays]
Presenter(s): [McLaughlin] [Moore] [Thibault] [Wright] [Roberts] [Seo] [Orsatti]
[SIGGRAPH 2023]
Type: [Educator’s Forum]
Approaches for Immersive Media Curriculum Implementation Presenter(s): [Duchowski] [Jushchyshyn] [McLaughlin] [Woolverton]
[SIGGRAPH 2019]
Type: [Posters]
InNervate Immersion: Case Study of Dynamic Simulations in AR/VR Environments for Learning Muscular Innervation Presenter(s): [Ackley] [Payne] [Cook] [Seo] [Gonzalez] [Kicklighter] [Pine] [McLaughlin]
Entry No.: [29]
[SIGGRAPH 2019]
Type: [Panels]
From Production Artist to Educator: Preparing for the Change Presenter(s): [Kramer] [Berton] [Quattro] [Leckman] [Masson] [McLaughlin]
Entry No.: [04]
[SIGGRAPH 2014]
Type: [Courses]
Character Rigging and Creature Wrangling in Game, Feature Animation, and Visual Effects Production Organizer(s): [McLaughlin]
Presenter(s): [McLaughlin] [Tooley] [Cloward]
Entry No.: [16]
[SIGGRAPH 2012]
Type: [Courses]
Character Rigging, Deformations, and Simulations in Film and Game Production Organizer(s): [McLaughlin]
Presenter(s): [McLaughlin] [Cutler] [Coleman]
Entry No.: [18]
[SIGGRAPH 2011]
Type: [Panels]
Successful Creative Collaboration Across Time and Space Presenter(s): [McLaughlin] [Fields] [Gibbs] [Parrish] [Sullivan]
Entry No.: [01]
[SIGGRAPH 2011]
Type: [Panels]
The Need for Standardization Within Global Visual Effects Productions Through Open Source and Open Standards Presenter(s): [Riewer] [Burnett] [Haegele] [McCampbell] [McLaughlin] [Friedman] [Rivera-Emster]
Entry No.: [02]
[SIGGRAPH 2011]
Type: [Posters]
Lions and tigers and bears: investigating cues for expressive creature motion Presenter(s): [McLendon] [McNamara] [McLaughlin] [Dwivedi]
Entry No.: [10]
[SIGGRAPH 2010]
Type: [Talks (Sketches)]
Connecting the dots: discovering what's important for creature motion Presenter(s): [McLendon] [McNamara] [McLaughlin] [Dwivedi]
[SIGGRAPH 2009]
Type: [Courses]
Taxonomy of Digital Creatures: Defining Character Development Techniques Based Upon Scope of Use Organizer(s): [McLaughlin]
Presenter(s): [McLaughlin]
Entry No.: [21]
[SIGGRAPH 2006]
Type: [Courses]
Taxonomy of Digital Creatures: Interpreting Character Designs as Computer Graphics Techniques Organizer(s): [McLaughlin]
Presenter(s): [McLaughlin]
Entry No.: [23]
[SIGGRAPH 2005]
Role(s):
- Course Organizer
- Course Presenter
- Educator's Forum Presenter
- Panel Presenter
- Poster Presenter
- Talk (Sketch) Presenter
