Hello!
I'm Michelle Chen, an artist based in the Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
I'm a colour enthusiast and love dabbling with environments and backgrounds. I specialize in colour and paint for animation and have also done colour design for characters and props. I'm experienced in the 2D and hybrid pipelines and always bring a strong eye for detail and organization to any studio I work with. When I'm not hunched over my Cintiq, you can usually find me cooking (and eating), watching movies, or snuggling with all my animals.
Thanks for stopping by!
Open For Work!
- Experience -
Matte Painter - IoM Media (March 2024 - June 2025)
Painted mattes, colour keys, and reuse assets for the upcoming hybrid 2D/3D show, Weather Hunters, by Al Roker.
Background Designer (Jan 2024 - May 2024)
Designed backgrounds and explored styling for bg-related elements for the indie project, Tóraíocht: A Conceptual Trailer.
Instructor - APW (Sep 2023 - Jan 2024)
Delivering structured demos and lessons on life drawing and drawing for animation.
Background Painter - Nelvana (Jun - Aug 2023)
Painted backgrounds for Nickelodeon + Nelvana's Zokie of Planet Ruby.
Background Painter (Jan - Apr 2023)
Responsible for colour design and establishing keys for the student short film, Ali's Chase.
Background Paint Intern - Nelvana (May - Aug 2022)
Painted backgrounds and bg-related assets for Nickelodeon + Nelvana's Zokie of Planet Ruby.
Teaching Assistant - APW (Aug 2020 - Feb 2023)
Supervised and led demos for students in life drawing, character design and layout.
Background Paint Lead (Sep 2021 - Apr 2022)
Organized deliverables and designed colour scripts and scene mockups for the student short film, Solstice.
Children's Book Illustrator (Feb - May 2017)
Illustrated scenes in ink and watercolour pencil for the book, Water Only, Please! by Camilla Aviss.
- Education -
Sheridan College - Oakville, ON (Grad. 2023)
Honours Bachelor of Animation - GPA 3.9