Rate My Professor Ruth Daly

Ruth Daly is an Assistant Professor and Artistic Faculty member in Film and Media Arts at Chapman University's Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, serving as Director of Animation and Visual Effects. Holding a Diploma in Classical Animation from Ballyfermot Senior College in Dublin, Ireland, she possesses extensive expertise as a veteran of both traditional and computer-generated animation, with over 25 years of professional experience. Daly advises undergraduate students in animation and VFX and imparts practical industry knowledge to prepare them for careers in film production.

Her career began in 1996 as a traditional animator at Warner Bros. Feature Animation, where she contributed to Brad Bird's The Iron Giant (1998). In 2001, she joined Rhythm and Hues Studios, transitioning to CG animation and advancing to supervisory roles over a 12-year period. During this tenure, she worked on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Night at the Museum (2006), and The Golden Compass (2007), the latter receiving the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 2008. Daly played a central role in expanding Rhythm and Hues' animation teams in India and Malaysia, training animators for projects including Life of Pi (2012) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Subsequently, she trained top graduates from U.S. animation schools at The Third Floor for previsualization on blockbuster VFX projects for Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. More recently, at Tau Films, she supervised feature VFX animation teams for Crazy Alien (2019) and The Yin Yang Master (2021), in addition to commercials and theme park rides.