3D WORKS
NATÁLIA FREITAS
Director | 3D Artist | 2D Animator

I'm Natália Freitas, Director, 3D Artist and 2D Animator.
I LOVE Animation with all my heart and I am dedicating my life to it!
From 2005 to 2009, I did a Bachelor degree in Traditional 2D Animation at the ESCOLA DE BELAS ARTES - UFMG). There, I directed and animated my first short film (LIGHT FLIGHT). After graduating, I started working full time as a 2D Animator for multiple studios in Brazil. In 2010, I had the opportunity to work on my first Feature film as a 2D animator (Ate que a Sbornia nos separe). By the end of that year, I began to teach myself 3D using online tutorials. In 2011, CAFEKA, my second short film, was released and won a few awards.
Thanks to my new knowledge in 3D, all the short films and artworks I did in my country, I won a scholarship from the German government in 2011 (DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst / Postgraduate Studies in the Field of the Performing Arts ). In 2012 I moved to Germany, did an intensive German language course in Cologne and then started as a Quereinsteiger at the FILMAKADEMIE BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG (Animationsinstitut) in Ludwigsburg. After directing and animating my third short film ELECTROFLY, I finished my German Diploma in VFX & Animation in March 2015. I then worked for some studios in Germany as a freelance 3D Artist. By October of that year, I was one of three artists selected by the WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS for their "Talent Development" program. I moved from Germany to the USA, where I worked as Look Development Artist on the amazing animated Film MOANA (2016). I was the only Brazilian woman working on this Film and also the first Filmakademie Alumna to work at Walt Disney.
In 2017 I moved to Canada to work as a Texture Artist at SONY Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver (Hotel Transylvania 3 and Smallfoot). In 2018 I moved from Vancouver to Montreal to work as Lead Texture Artist at MILL FILM and as a Texture Artist at MIKROS on The Spongebob Movie 3. In 2020, I've worked as a remote freelance 3D artist on some amazing projects for NICKELODEON (Star Trek: Prodigy) and PASSION PICTURES (Edgar's Christmas). In November 2020, I started working as a Surfacing Artist (texturing, shading and grooming) at DNEG ANIMATION (Montreal & Vancouver) and contributed to 3 projects (ENTERGALACTIC, GARFIELD and THAT CHRISTMAS). In 2024, I directed the second season of the animated TV series TAINA AND THE AMAZON'S GUARDIANS.
By the end of 2024, I've moved to the UK (Warwick) and I'm currently working again for DNEG ANIMATION.
If you would like to know more about me, please let's get in touch!
Cheers,
Nat
SKILLS:
3D Modeling / UV Mapping / Texturing / Shading / Grooming / 3D & 2D Animation / traditional drawing & sculpting / Lighting
TOOLS:
Maya, Zbrush, UV Layout, Mari, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Katana, Photoshop, XGen, Renderman, Redshift, Arnold, Nuke, After Effects, Premiere, TVPaint