Jan Maas

Character Animator - Animation Director - Storyboard artist

Skills:

• Excellent character-animation skills, with superb sense of timing, weight, balance and natural motion - specializing in feature quality Stop-Motion animation, but comfortable in any other animated medium.

• Good drawing, sculpting and graphic design skills, with a thorough knowledge of human anatomy, proportions, weight and balance.

• Special focus and experience in Quadruped animation (see Horse animation in “Missing Link”).

Awards:

• 2024 Winner of an EMMY Award for “Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation in a Television Series”

• 2016 Winner of the ANNIE Award for “Outstanding Individual Achievement for Character Animation”

Software:

• Dragon Stop-Motion, Maya (Animation intermediate), Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Fusion360.

Feature Film Experience:

• Lead Animator on “In The Know", high-end Stop-Motion Series for Peacock,  Shadowmachine, Portland  Oregon (2023) | Winner of an EMMY Award for Character Animation

• Lead Animator on Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pinocchio”, Stop-Motion Feature,  Wooden Boy Productions, Portland  Oregon, USA (2019 - 2022)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature “Missing Link",  LAIKA Studios, Portland  Oregon, USA (2017 - 2018)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature “Kubo and the Two Strings",  LAIKA Studios, Portland  Oregon, USA (2015 - 2016) | Winner of the ANNIE Award for Character Animation

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "The Boxtrolls",  LAIKA Studios, Portland  Oregon, USA (2013 - 2014)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "Jul i Flåklypa",  Qvisten Animation, Oslo, Norway (Dec. – Feb. 2013)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "The Shadow King",  Shademaker/CInderbiter Studios, San Francisco CA, USA (June – Sep. 2012)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "ParaNorman",  LAIKA Studios, Portland  Oregon, USA (Sep. – March. 2012)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "Pirates",  Aardman Animation, UK  (March – Aug. 2011)

• Lead - Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "The Magic Piano",  Breakthru Films, Poland/UK  (Jan. – Sep. 2010)

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "Sandmann und der verlorene Traumsand",  Scopas Median AG, Berlin , Germany   (June – Sep. 2009 )

• Animator on the Stop-Motion feature "Coraline", directed by Henry Selick, at LAIKA Studios in Portland, Oregon, USA  (Dec. 2007 – Oct. 2008)

• Animator on Stop-Motion feature "$9.99", directed by Tatia Rosenthal, in Sydney, Australia (May – Nov. 2007)

• Stop-Motion animator on "Max & Co", a stop-Motion feature film in Switzerland (July – Dec. 2006)

Commercials:

• “Nissan Rogue - Toys for Tots” 2016

Short Film:

• Stop-Motion Animator on 2007 Oscar wining short "Peter and the Wolf", directed by Susie Templeton in Poland (April - June 2006)

Animation Director for TV Animation:

• Animation Director on "PINGU" series, Stop-Motion Animator on "Bob the Builder" series and specials, and "Rubberdubbers" series, HOT-Animation, UK, (2002 - 2005) 

Education:

• Attended the Richard Williams Animation Master Class, in Denmark, summer 2002

• Animation degree from Volda-College in Norway, (2002)

Languages spoken: 

fluent: German, English, Norwegian

experienced: Spanish, French

US/EU Citizenship