Jessica Hogan is an assistant professor of digital art in the LSU School of Art, specializing in lighting, compositing, texturing, rendering, and look development for animation and visual effects. She holds a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a focus in animation. She has almost 20 years of professional experience in feature animation, video games, and themed entertainment.
Before joining LSU, she served as Look Development Lead at Brazen Animation and Lighting Supervisor at ReelFX, where she led global teams of artists on CG animated feature films and contributed to major projects for Universal Studios, Epic Games, Fox, and Marvel. Jessica’s work has earned recognition including a Clio Award for Magic: The Gathering’s “Bloomburrow” short film and a Visual Effects Society Award for the ride Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. She brings her years of industry experience and collaborative approach into the classroom, preparing students to excel in creative, technical, and team-based production environments in a rapidly evolving industry.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in New Orleans! After college in Georgia at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), my husband and I moved to Detroit for a few years then settled in Dallas, TX, where we lived for over 15 years raising our two kids.
Which courses will you teach?
This semester I’ll be teaching Moving Image, which is a hands-on class introducing students to the wonderful world of 2D animation. I’ll also be teaching Digital Art II, which is a class that will show students the ins-and-outs of Nuke, the industry standard software for compositing. Much of my career in the animation industry centered around compositing, so I’m especially excited to share what I know with students!
What are you looking forward to about teaching at LSU?
The faculty and students I’ve met in the School of Art are so passionate about their craft that it’s hard not to feel inspired around everyone here! I’m looking forward to diving in with students as they experiment, make discoveries, and surprise themselves. LSU’s School of Art has such a great mix of talent and energy, and I can’t wait to be part of the process – helping students push their work in new directions and seeing where their ideas take them.
How will you bring your career experience to the classroom?
I’m really looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned from decades on the production side of animation and visual effects. Along with teaching the tools and helping students grow their skills, I want to give them perspective on how those skills translate to real-world projects and how to carve out their own path after graduation.
Any particular past projects that you’re proud of?
Every project is so unique in its challenges and wins, but one I was particularly proud of was the film “The Book of Life.” The director had the most contagious positive energy and poured his heart and soul into the film. Everyone working on it was truly invested in making it the best it could be – that’s so rare to find! Every corner of the studio was covered in the most gorgeous concept art and hand-made maquettes of each character. It was such an inspiring project to be a part of and is always the first project that comes to mind when I think back on my career.
Another project I was really proud of was the ride visuals for Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios. I’m a massive fan of theme parks, so making something I could actually step into and ride was a really cool experience. Working with a theme park ride is so different from what I was used to! The warping the video required to properly project back on the ride screen while also working in stereoscopic (3D), and even just working with such beloved characters like the Minions all made this a really unique project. I had an absolute blast when I finally got to ride it years later with my kids.
What was your first impression of LSU?
Growing up in Louisiana, it was hard not to know and love LSU. My dad went to LSU Shreveport and my mom graduated from LSU Medical School in New Orleans, so purple and gold have always been part of my life. Since I attended SCAD, I missed out on that traditional campus experience – and LSU definitely has it in spades. The campus is massive and beautiful, and I can’t wait to experience my first LSU football game with my family in Tiger Stadium!
Any fun facts about you?
I’ve hidden my kids’ names in every major project I’ve worked on. Some are really hard to spot!
I worked in a renowned wedding cake shop in college and am kind of a whiz at cake decorating and baking now. I volunteered to make wrap party cakes for just about every project I’ve worked on! I try to work what I can do on the computer into cakes where I can too – the last big cake I made I used a laser cutter to cut out precise illustrations out of sugar to go around a cake!
My husband and I let our kids draw a tattoo of whatever they want for us every 5 years. It’s a fun memory of them at a certain age we get to keep forever (and makes for an interesting conversation starter when people spot them!)
Jessica Hogan is an assistant professor of digital art in the LSU School of Art, specializing in lighting, compositing, texturing, rendering, and look development for animation and visual effects. She holds a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design with a focus in animation. She has almost 20 years of professional experience in feature animation, video games, and themed entertainment.