Toby Newell

I've spent my whole life entranced with art. It started simple enough, as with all kids, with crayons and markers. Recognition from teachers, family, and friends eventually led me to spending more and more time drawing. The more time I spent, the more classes I took, the more lessons and tricks I learned. Even after years of school and countless classes. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my career but I knew that my time would be far better spent on job sites than in classrooms.

My first major job out of college was as a Flash animator designing e-greeting cards. Realizing there wasn't much room for growth in the company. I followed a coworker and took a job working on one of the first animated online comic books. Months later, the dotcom bubble burst and the company shuttered. I packed my bags and left the Silicone Valley. I dropped my reel off at a Visual FX company called Computer Cafe. I got called in to do some rotoscoping on a small feature. A little while later, work increased and I became staff, spending the next five years with the company. Eventually, I started a family and left the industry for awhile to spend time with my newborn son. A few months later I started freelancing for VFX houses, working in Television. I'd started to branch out, working on and off site as a compositor, matte painter, storyboardist, concept artist and supervisor. I took on more and more freelance work outside of the industry, focusing on design and illustration. I put in time on personal projects as well, working on things I was interested in. One of the projects involved illustrating mixed martial artists and jiu-jitsu players. These illustrations drew quite a bit of attention from the MMA/BJJ community. A young company came calling and I spent the next year and a half designing for them and their clients behind the scenes. I created designs for sublimated and screen printed apparel, mainly for jiu-jitsu schools. I dealt with manufacturer issues, quality control, advertising imagery, while handling a lot of their social media and helping edit their photography. My designs helped the company grow from 8,000 to 31,000 followers. I loved the work and the clients I was designing for but I needed more than to be a faceless designer. I chose to step away from them so that I could work directly with clients. It's allowed me to help them personally bring their ideas to life, and it's been incredibly fulfilling so far. No matter the project, if you've got a concept you want to bring to life, I'd love to help you. I have the years of experience and proven ability to make it happen.

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California, United States