The Aaron Sims

To industry insiders and peers, he is revered for his pioneering techniques and aesthetic of creature development and design. To audiences around the world, he the visionary artist behind some of this generation's most iconic cinema creatures (Gremlins, IT, I Am Legend, Planet of the Apes, Stranger Things). At his flagship design, Aaron Sims Creati... ve a cutting-edge digital design approach that develops cutting-edge characters, creatures and original IP from 'Sketch-to-Screen'. Sim's youth in Arlington, Texas was filled with animation and highly detailed pencil renderings inspired by his passion for horror and science fiction. As a teenager, he began working for the renowned illustrator Don Ivan Punchatz. In the mid-80s, Simms moved to Los Angeles to begin his career as a special effects makeup artist in the film industry. His work quickly attracted the attention of legendary Academy Award winner Rick Baker, with whom Sims collaborated for the next twelve years. During that time, Sims served as a leading special effects artist on some of the most popular, defining movies of the decade: Evil Dead, Gremlins 2, Batman Forever, Mighty Joe Young, Nutty Professor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Men in Black. A pivotal event in defining Sims' career evolution came when he witnessed the emerging digital effects technologies on display in 1993's Jurassic Park. From there, Aaron fully immersed himself in the 3D capabilities of Softimage, entirely self-taught and able apply his foundational skills and experience of modeling and sculpting to groundbreaking effect. Sim's was one of the first designers to make this quantum leap in to the digital world, adapting traditional techniques with modern-day technologies, long before it became an industry staple. In 2000, working alongside Stan Winston at the renown Stand Winston Studio as their resident Art Director, Sims pioneering techniques came to fruition when he introduced his visionary process to Steven Spielberg, and became the lead character designer for Artificial ...Read More