Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Languages
Timeline
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Sridhar Velpula

Hyderabad

Summary

Creative and technically skilled CG Lead and Lighting Artist with over 7 years of experience delivering high-quality visuals for feature films, commercials, and fully CG animated series. Specializing in artistic lighting, look development, rendering, and compositing, with a strong eye for cinematic storytelling; also skilled in modeling and texturing. Experienced in leading teams, mentoring artists, and managing pipelines to ensure seamless production from asset creation to final delivery. Adept at balancing creative vision with technical efficiency, collaborating with directors, supervisors, and global studios to produce impactful, photorealistic, and stylized content.

Overview

8
8
years of professional experience

Work History

CG LEAD

Cygnesia Animation PVT LTD
Hyderabad
04.2024 - Current
  • Led CG departments for feature films and commercials, ensuring creation of high-quality CG assets and sequences.
  • Supervised modeling, texturing, shading, lookdev, lighting, FX, and rendering to uphold artistic standards.
  • Acted as liaison between VFX supervisors, producers, and compositors to meet creative objectives.
  • Established tailored pipeline workflows to enhance rendering and asset-sharing efficiency.
  • Provided artistic and technical feedback to align deliveries with director’s vision and production benchmarks.
  • Mentored junior and mid-level artists, promoting a collaborative and growth-focused culture.
  • Resolved pipeline issues promptly to maintain effective inter-department communication.
  • Managed shot planning, bidding, and resource allocation to adhere to schedules and budgets.

Senior Lighting Artist

Phantom FX
Chennai
08.2023 - 02.2024
  • Created visually stunning lighting setups for various 3D scenes using Maya and Arnold, achieving a photorealistic look for characters and environments.
  • Specialized in HDR lighting techniques to enhance the realism and atmosphere of scenes.
  • Created and implemented FX interaction lighting setups using Houdini. Collaborated closely with modelers and texturing artists to ensure seamless integration of lighting into assets, resulting in a consistent and cohesive style.
  • Worked hand-in-hand with compositors to fine-tune lighting passes, achieving a polished final product.
  • Developed custom lighting tools and scripts to streamline the lighting workflow, enhancing efficiency and consistency across projects.

Lead Lighting Artist

Philm CGI
Pune
05.2023 - 07.2023
  • Designed and implemented complex lighting rigs to support diverse 3D environments and production needs.
  • Developed and applied photorealistic rendering techniques, ensuring cinematic quality across shots.
  • Created and optimized custom shaders, textures, and materials to enhance the visual fidelity of scenes.
  • Collaborated with VFX supervisors and CG leads in dailies and reviews, incorporating feedback to refine creative direction.
  • Researched and integrated emerging technologies to improve studio pipeline efficiency and quality standards.
  • Monitored and optimized render times and resource usage, balancing performance with visual excellence.
  • Built and maintained material and lighting libraries, enabling consistent look development across projects.

Lighting Artist

MPC
Benguluru
11.2022 - 03.2023
  • Designed and executed lighting setups to match live-action plate photography, and contribute to the overall look and feel of the film.
  • Worked with 3D artists to create and integrate 3D elements into live-action scenes.
  • Utilized Katana, RenderMan, and Nuke to create and adjust lighting, color grading, and compositing.
  • Troubleshot technical issues and provided solutions in a timely manner. Worked with the VFX supervisor to ensure that the lighting met project specifications and deadlines.

Lighting Artist

Philm CGI
Pune
12.2021 - 10.2022
  • Set up HDRI lighting and render passes, supervise renders, and create pre-comps of final textured and animated CG elements to integrate them into the approved live-action plates.
  • Shot lighting, pre-compositing, and image finalizing. Determine lighting direction, look and feel, and master light characters, props, and sets for various scenarios.
  • Creation of Maya Render templates. Created and implemented a lighting setup for the Jubilee web series using Unreal Engine.

Lighting Artist

Studio 51
Beijing
10.2021 - 12.2021
  • Contributed to the lighting and rendering of high-end VFX shots for films and commercial projects.
  • Assisted in building lighting rigs tailored to project-specific environments and creative requirements.
  • Collaborated with lookdev and compositing teams to ensure the seamless integration of CG assets into live-action plates.
  • Optimized render settings and workflows to achieve photorealistic results within production deadlines.
  • Gained strong exposure to international production pipelines and cross-cultural teamwork in a fast-paced studio environment.

Lighting and Compositing Artist

xentrix studios
Benguluru
06.2017 - 11.2021
  • Collaborated on the production of fully CG animated movies and series, contributing to internationally distributed projects.
  • Designed and implemented stylized and realistic lighting setups to enhance mood, storytelling, and continuity across sequences.
  • Handled shot compositing for CG layers, ensuring seamless integration, balanced color grading, and consistent visual quality.
  • Executed mastering and final output processes, preparing episodes and films for global broadcast and distribution.
  • Collaborated with directors, sequence leads, and production teams to maintain the creative vision, and deliver polished, high-quality content.
  • Optimized render passes, color pipeline, and delivery workflows, ensuring efficiency and adherence to studio standards.

Education

Bachelor of Arts - Art Education

Element School Of Visual Arts
Vijayawada
04-2017

Skills

  • Creative lighting design
  • Photoreal and stylized rendering
  • Look development and shading
  • Artistic eye for cinematography
  • Team leadership and collaboration
  • Compositing and final mastering
  • Visual storytelling through light
  • Pipeline and workflow management
  • Problem solving and innovation
  • Film, commercial, and animation experience
  • Cinematography and color theory
  • International production experience
  • Software proficiency: Maya, Houdini, Blender, Katana, Nuke
  • Renderer expertise: Arnold, Redshift, V-Ray, RenderMan
  • Tools: Substance, Mari, Photoshop, Shotgun, and ShotGrid

Languages

Telugu
First Language
Hindi
Proficient (C2)
C2
English
Proficient (C2)
C2

Timeline

CG LEAD

Cygnesia Animation PVT LTD
04.2024 - Current

Senior Lighting Artist

Phantom FX
08.2023 - 02.2024

Lead Lighting Artist

Philm CGI
05.2023 - 07.2023

Lighting Artist

MPC
11.2022 - 03.2023

Lighting Artist

Philm CGI
12.2021 - 10.2022

Lighting Artist

Studio 51
10.2021 - 12.2021

Lighting and Compositing Artist

xentrix studios
06.2017 - 11.2021

Bachelor of Arts - Art Education

Element School Of Visual Arts

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Sridhar Velpula