Kiel Figgins (Jan 1, 1970)

Biography

Kiel Figgins is an Animation Supervisor based in London, working with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Originally from the United States and now holding dual U.S.–U.K. citizenship, he began his career in the gaming industry, gaining technical proficiency that later enriched his approach to animation and visual effects. After entering the professional animation world, Figgins contributed to a variety of projects across major visual-effects studios. His early work includes serving in character animation roles at Digital Domain in Los Angeles, where he worked on notable films such as X-Men: First Class (2011), Oblivion (2013), Into the Storm (2013), and Maleficent (2014). He then transitioned to freelance roles in London, animating for Double Negative on high-profile features like Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Terminator: Genisys (2015), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), and Geostorm (2017). Soon after, he joined Framestore as a senior animator, working on Doctor Strange (2016) and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). Since joining ILM in London in the fall of 2016, Figgins has steadily taken on leadership roles. He served as senior animator on Ready Player One (2018), moved into lead animator roles for Aladdin (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (2019), Eternals (2021), Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), and as supervisor on Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). In addition to his feature work, Figgins has engaged in the production of immersive and other media projects at ILM, including ABBA Voyage (2022). Beyond his studio film work, Figgins has remained active in education and mentorship. He has offered one-on-one animation mentoring through Vertex School since 2021, covering topics ranging from foundational animation principles to production workflow and demo reel development. His academic background includes graduating as Valedictorian with an Associate of Science in Computer Animation from Full Sail Real World Education in 2004, as well as earlier studies in fine art, art history, and new media at the University of Maine and a short figure-drawing course at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco.