Lifelike and Believable Animation Design offers creative and technical consulting services for companies bringing emotionally engaging, character-driven games and experiences to Console, PC and Mobile platforms.

Prior to forming Lifelike & Believable, I spent several years working for some of the biggest names in interactive entertainment, including THQ, where I was the Technical Animation Director on Relic's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine; Microsoft Studios, where I served on a central content advisory group and developed new animation tools and runtime technologies for Xbox One; and Electronic Arts, where, as Director of Animation and Simulation Technologies, I oversaw the development of ANT, EA’s internal animation solution, currently in use across the majority of EA’s studios and franchises, including Battlefield, Dragon Age, FIFA, NHL and Madden, among others. I have been involved in all aspects of animation production for games, and have worked with a variety of game engines, tools and middle-ware, including Frostbite 2, Unreal Engine 3 & 4, Unity, HumanIK, Ikinema, Havok Physics and Behavior, as well as Maya, Motion Builder and 3DS Max, along with a host of proprietary tools and technologies. Over the past year, I've expanded this work to include AR/VR, virtual production and live digital performance using real-time motion capture.

With Lifelike & Believable, my goal is to bring this knowledge, experience and dedication to creative expression through interactive character performance to a wide variety of developers and games across a broad range of platforms, from consoles and PCs to tablets and mobile devices.

Whether you are an established AAA studio or newly-formed independent, if you are looking to bring emotionally engaging, believable characters to life, I can help with:

• Creative
  • Character Development
  • Motion & Gameplay Design
  • Feature Pre-Vis and Prototyping
• Technology
  • Game Engine, Middleware and Internal Technology Evaluation
  • Animation Runtime, Pipeline, Tools & Workflow Design and Planning
• Production
  • Project Scope and Budget Planning
  • Animation Direction, Scheduling and Supervision
  • Mo-Cap Planning and Direction
• Organization
  • Candidate screening, interviews and review
  • Mentor-ship and Training for Animators, Designers, Technical Artists and Engineers
  • Multi-Studio technology planning, sharing & communication

A more detailed history of my work can be found at:

For more information, email me at: athomas@lifelikeandbelievable.com