Derek Esparza
Principle Animation Designer
Respawn Entertainment
Derek Esparza has been a professional animator since 2009 and is currently Principal Animation Designer at Respawn Entertainment, known for the video game Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Before this, Derek was a Supervising Animator for the Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He was also nominated for the prestigious Annie Award for Outstanding Character Animation for his work in The Amazing Spider-Man. Derek currently teaches Introduction to Acting and Advanced Acting at Animation Mentor.
Derek’s Credits
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
The Angry Birds Movie
Hotel Transylvania 2
The Book of Life
Animation Films
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Smurfs: The Lost Village
- The Angry Birds Movie
- Hotel Transylvania 2
- Hotel Transylvania: Puppy!
- The Book of Life
- The Smurfs 2
- The Book of Life
Live-Action Films
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- G-Force
- Alice in Wonderland
- Green Lantern
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Oz the Great and Powerful
TELEVISION
- Rolie Polie Olie: The Great Defender of Fun
- William Joyce’s Rolie Polie Olie: The Baby Bot Case
What Derek’s Students are Saying
I Highly Recommend Him
I really enjoy the way Derek runs his classes by going over our student work by jumping into someone’s shot and physically adjusting the things he talks about right in front of us. The knowledge he shares is extremely useful, and I appreciate all of the notes he has given me that I’ve been able to use to improve my work! I highly recommend him to any future students!
Everything Has Been Great
Honestly everything has been great. I’ve liked how clear you are with the critiques and how relaxed the Q&As are. The relaxed atmosphere in the Q&As really make it easy to ask questions, and that carries over to the critiques themselves. If I do have a question about them, I don’t feel intimidated sending an email asking for clarification.
Best Mentor I've Had so Far
Best Mentor I’ve had so far. His strong points are motivating his students and giving great feedback.
Q&As are Informative, Useful, and Helpul
Derek is always a willing and able mentor. His Q&As are informative, useful and helpful. Class always moves along quickly and seems to finish too soon. He is more than willing to extend time if necessary. His work is inspirational and he explains the technical side of not only the application but interaction he dealt with in creating his work.
Terrific Guidance
I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Derek is very down to earth making communication easy. Terrific guidance.
Critiques are Thorough and On Point
Derek is great and his e-critiques are thorough and on point. He’s always got tonnes of stuff to go through in the Q&A while at the same time opening the floor for questions and even ideas for lectures. I love that he shows WIP and final shots of projects he has worked on.
I Highly Recommend Him
I really enjoy the way Derek runs his classes by going over our student work by jumping into someone’s shot and physically adjusting the things he talks about right in front of us. The knowledge he shares is extremely useful, and I appreciate all of the notes he has given me that I’ve been able to use to improve my work! I highly recommend him to any future students!
Everything Has Been Great
Honestly everything has been great. I’ve liked how clear you are with the critiques and how relaxed the Q&As are. The relaxed atmosphere in the Q&As really make it easy to ask questions, and that carries over to the critiques themselves. If I do have a question about them, I don’t feel intimidated sending an email asking for clarification.
Best Mentor I've Had so Far
Best Mentor I’ve had so far. His strong points are motivating his students and giving great feedback.
Q&As are Informative, Useful, and Helpul
Derek is always a willing and able mentor. His Q&As are informative, useful and helpful. Class always moves along quickly and seems to finish too soon. He is more than willing to extend time if necessary. His work is inspirational and he explains the technical side of not only the application but interaction he dealt with in creating his work.
Terrific Guidance
I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Derek is very down to earth making communication easy. Terrific guidance.
Critiques are Thorough and On Point
Derek is great and his e-critiques are thorough and on point. He’s always got tonnes of stuff to go through in the Q&A while at the same time opening the floor for questions and even ideas for lectures. I love that he shows WIP and final shots of projects he has worked on.
Courses Taught By Derek
Courses may vary from term to term.