Hi there! My name is Jonathan Symmonds. I was born in Durban, South Africa, and moved to Zimbabwe in 1987. In 2001, I decided to pursue my passion for animation and drawing in the media industry.

I moved to England in 2002 and attended the University of Hertfordshire, graduating shortly after. From there, I started working at the Oscar-winning visual effects company, Framestore, in central London. After my contract ended, I freelanced for a while and worked with Passion Pictures on a few commercials, then was selected to work on the feature film “The Nutcracker.”

Since then, I’ve worked on some major projects, including James Cameron’s “Avatar,” Spike Jones’ “Where the Wild Things Are,” pre-visualization on “Prince of Persia,” “Your Highness,” and “Nanny McPhee.” I also went to Norway to work as the lead on a film called “Trollhunter,” where I developed a new rigging system that I’ve adapted to future animated projects.

I’ve worked as an online instructor and have taught over 3000 students. I was nominated three times for a VES award for my work on the animation of the dragons on season 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Game of Thrones, and worked as the Lead Animator during the show’s season at Pixomondo in Germany.

Now, I’m proud to say that I run my own VFX studio, SOPHORIA, and we have our own online academy. If you’re interested, be sure to check them out!

Thank you for taking the time to read my portfolio. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jonathan Symmonds