— About
David Kersey is an Arkansas native and graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. He is a leader, educator, and artist.
For the past 20 years, he has focused on digital art and animation. David has worked for The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Dreamworks on films such as The Polar Express, The Chronicles of Narnia, Tangled, Wreck-it Ralph, Frozen, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. During David’s time at Disney Feature Animation, he worked on two Academy Award winning production teams –Frozen and the animated short film Feast.
SONY
From 2003 - 2009, 2021-2023 - In David’s recent venture at Sony, David was the Hair Lead on the acclaimed film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The Hair team is tasked with the creation, rigging, and motion for all hair or fur characters. David began his 20-year career with Sony and his first major movie was The Polar Express; his first assignment was Tom Hank's mustache.
DREAMWORKS
In 2023 David joined the Dreamworks Character FX team to help the completion of Trolls Band Together and Kung Fu Panda 4.
DISNEY
Between 2009 and 2015, David joined Disney Feature Animation as a look development and simulation artist. The “Look” team was in charge of crafting the textures and materials for film elements, giving them their distinctive appearances – from skin and hair to fabric and stone. During David’s tenure at Disney Feature Animation, he contributed to two Academy Award-winning production teams: "Frozen" and the animated short film "Feast". His expertise extended to animation, particularly with the simulation team on "Tangled", where he played a pivotal role in designing Rapunzel's hair movement. He also developed various hairstyles and materials for both characters and environments. Throughout his time at Disney, David was privileged to collaborate with some of the industry's most talented artists on a range of outstanding animated features.
PIXEL
A School for Media Arts
Between 2016 and 2020, David transitioned from the glitz of Disney to the heartland of education in Arkansas. Driven by a vision to inspire children in small towns like his own, he wanted to show that it's entirely possible to hail from a humble Arkansan town and still contribute to cinematic giants like "Frozen" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." At the core of his mission was to imbue these young minds with the belief that their dreams have no geographical limits. In pursuit of this, David collaborated with The New Design School in Fayetteville, Arkansas, crafting programs at the intersection of art and technology for children, teenagers, and adults alike. Under his leadership, the school transformed into PIXEL: A School for Media Arts, which featured a special initiative for kids named NERDIES, offering summer camps in game development, filmmaking, animation, and more. He also forged ties with local schools, ensuring a sustained learning trajectory for NERDIES participants. As David was poised to introduce advanced digital art courses to Northwest Arkansas, the advent of COVID-19 led to an unfortunate halt in PIXEL's operations. Nevertheless, David's fervor for melding art and technology in education remains undiminished, and he aspires to rejuvenate PIXEL in the future.