Featured Artist: Marcella Brown, LA, USA
Marcella Brown 2024
Marcella Brown, CEO of The VFX Club and Sr. Effects TD at ILM, is a Gnomon alumna and VES member with deep expertise in FX animation. With a passion for growth and creativity, she thrives in innovative teams.
This summer, she worked intensively on Moana 2 while pushing boundaries in game and film effects.
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Marcella Brown, CEO/Founder of The VFX Club, Senior Effects TD @ ILM SF
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What inspired your journey into becoming an artist?
From the start, video games were my first love! We didn’t have the latest and greatest, most of our consoles came from thrift stores or were hand-me-downs from our uncles. But that didn’t matter. The N64 ruled our world, with Golden Eye, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and Zelda in constant rotation. We were on it hardcore!
Even now gaming is still a huge part of my life, fueling my creativity and passion as an artist.
Then, of course, there were the Disney classics: The Lion King, Aladdin, and my all-time faves The Princes and the Frog and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. By the time I hit high school graduation, there was no question—I was going to be an artist.
The only question was how.
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What sparked your shift from gaming to VFX effects?
After highschool I joined the army to help pay for school. I knew that I wanted to go art school but I couldn't afford it so my path took me to the army. When I left the military, I took my love for creativity and tech to Atlanta, GA. Games had always been my thing, so I enrolled in college, earned my bachelor’s degree, and got my start working with small studios in the city. But the allure of effects had really taken hold by the time I finished school. The more I looked into it, the more I realized effects were my true calling.
So, in 2015, I took a leap, applied to Gnomon, and set my sights on a career in VFX.
Switching from environment art to effects wasn’t easy. I had no idea just how technical effects work would be, but I live for a challenge, so there was no turning back. Gnomon was intense—demanding long hours and sky-high expectations, but every student there knows what they signed up for. That drive and rigor are exactly why Gnomon is the best school in the world.
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What inspired your journey into becoming an artist?
After graduating from Gnomon, I jumped straight into the deep end with Godzilla: King of Monsters at MPC Montreal. Shortly after, I got to be part of the team for Dumbo (2019), which was an absolute thrill. For a young artist stepping into her first major studio, these early projects felt monumental, setting a powerful trajectory for my career.
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They paved the way for some unforgettable experiences at Scanline VFX on Midway, Godzilla vs. Kong, Justice League (Snyder Cut), and The Suicide Squad (Gunn). Those years in Montreal from 2017 to 2020 were truly formative. I made plenty of mistakes (seriously, a ton!), but every misstep was a masterclass in growth. I owe so much to those cold, challenging years and the teams who pushed me to elevate my craft. Honestly, I wouldn’t be here without that city and those projects. Grateful doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Now that I'm back in Los Angeles, I've been all over the creative map, diving into some incredible projects and studios that have genuinely changed my life.
It all kicked off in 2021 at Disney Animation, where I joined the team for Encanto. Meeting the effects animators in Burbank, although over Zoom working from home was such a blast! That project was a game changer, opening doors and igniting even more passion for this work. Fast forward, and we’ve just wrapped on Moana 2, where I finally got to experience the magic of Disney’s building in person. The energy there is like nowhere else it’s inspiring in ways you just can’t imagine until you step inside.
And while settling back home in LA, I've also had the absolute privilege of working with Weta on Avatar 2 and Pixar on Elemental.
Right now, I'm with ILM, which feels every bit as legendary as I’d imagined. The talent here is unmatched, and I genuinely feel like I’m learning from the best of the best every day. The support, the constant growth it’s exactly where I want to be. And let’s be real, as a Star Wars fan, this place has my heart in more ways than one!
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And what continues to inspire your passion?
Nature has always been my greatest muse. Growing up glued to animal documentaries, my fascination only deepened with time. Today, with the advent of streaming platforms and cutting-edge camera technology, we can witness the natural world in unparalleled detail—from the mesmerizing dance of volcanic eruptions and the hypnotic rhythm of ocean waves to the intricate choreography of dust particles and explosions. It's pure magic.
Equally inspiring are the brilliant minds I’m fortunate to work with. Collaborating with my peers at the world’s top studios has been a masterclass in creativity and innovation, teaching me something new every day. I’m constantly grateful for these shared experiences and the endless inspiration they bring.
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What drives your passion for giving back to the VFX community?
I’m proud to say that giving back to my community and the industry I hold dear has become a cornerstone of my career.
At The VFX Club, we’re all about sparking creativity and inspiring young minds in middle and high school to chase their dreams relentlessly. Our afterschool program equips these budding artists with essential skills to jumpstart their journeys into post-secondary education and beyond. Starting with foundational lessons in modeling and texturing, we help students build both their technical abilities and self-confidence—not just in their artwork but in themselves.
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​​Currently, we’re igniting imaginations in Chicago and Los Angeles, but we’re driven to expand to even more cities. This mission is not just work; it’s my passion and purpose, rooted deeply in my love for the craft.
For more details or to support our mission, visit our website or feel free to reach out—I’m always excited to connect with fellow visionaries and potential partners!
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