Lee Lanier

Who is Lee Lanier?

Lee Lanier is an American 3D computer animator and the author of two books for the 3D modeling software package Maya—Advanced Maya Texturing and Lighting and Maya Professional Tips and Tricks—both published by Sybex. In 2002, Lanier gave an ACM SIGGRAPH-sponsored lecture on creating a short animated film on a desktop PC; he also teaches 3D texturing and lighting effects at the Art Institute of Las Vegas. Early in his teaching career, Lanier developed the De Anza College 3-D computer animation curriculum using Maya. He was an instructor for animation for Westwood College Online from 2007-2011. As of 2012, he is an Online Instructor with Media Arts Academy Cologne, Germany.

After working for Buena Vista Visual Effects at Walt Disney Studios in Los Angeles, Lanier worked at PDI/DreamWorks in the San Francisco bay area—where he created digital special effects for the movies Shrek and Antz. Next, he moved to Boulder City, Nevada where Lee formed his own company, BeezleBug Bit LLC.

Lanier's computer animated short films have played at over 200 film festivals, galleries, and museums worldwide. Millennium Bug won the Mike Gribble Peel of Laughter Award at the 1998 Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Silver Jury Award at the 1999 Chicago Underground Film Festival.