Faculty and Staff

Cheryl Briggs, M.F.A.

• Associate Professor
• Cheryl.Briggs@ucf.edu
• 407-235-3611
• Office Hours: Spring 2019 Office Hours: T 2:30-4pm; W,R, 12-1pm
• Campus Location: CEM301H
• View personal website

Cheryl Briggs (formerly Cabrera) is an award winning animated short film director and has advised and guided aspiring animators, game artists, and visual effects artists for 17 years. Since 2009, Cheryl has been teaching all aspects of production in the Character Animation specialization in the School of Visual Arts and Design at the University of Central Florida.  She also taught as Professor of Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2001 to 2009. Cheryl is currently on the Board of Directors for the Animation Hall of Fame is a member of SIGGRAPH, ASIFA-Hollywood, Women in Animation, Women in Film and Television, and the Society for Animation Studies.

Cheryl is also an Autodesk Certified Professional and an Autodesk Certified Instructor in Maya; Author of An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging (2008, Focal Press) and Reel Success: Creating Demo Reels and Animation Portfolios (2013, Focal Press).

Cheryl holds a B.A. and M.Ed. in Education and an M.F.A. in Computer Art with a specialization in 3D Animation. She is a digital artist and animator that blends the lines between digital imagery and the traditional painting medium. She has participated is numerous group and solo exhibitions in the US and her works are featured is several private collections. Her award-winning students have been featured in animation festivals worldwide, and many have gone on to work within the entertainment industry.

Education

• M.F.A. in Computer Art : 3D Animation from Savannah College of Art and Design (2001)

Research Interests

• animation
• rigging for animation
• character animation
• animation production 
• animation filmmaking
• animation history
• narrative storytelling
• visual storytelling
• digital storytelling

Recent Research Activities

The Animator's Oral History Project 

Selected Publications

Books

• Cabrera, C. (2013). Reel Success: Creating Demo Reels and Animation Portfolios. Burlington: Focal Press.  224 pgs. ISBN: 978-024082102 www.reelsuccess.com

• Cabrera, C. (2008). An Essential introduction to Maya Character Rigging.  Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

  408 pgs. ISBN: 978-0240520827 www.mayacharacterrigging.com

Awards

2018 Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award 

2017 TIP Award

Activities

Faculty Advisor for the UCF Art & Drawing Club

Courses

• Spring 2019
• Fall 2018
• Summer 2018