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Hi, I’m Lahela Schoessler—an animator, creative lead, and illustrator who still thinks animation is one of the best jobs in the world. What is not to love about playing with dolls all day?! There’s nothing quite like the moment when a character suddenly clicks and starts to feel alive.

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For nearly two decades, I've spent my career in animation and game development, growing quickly from animator to leadership roles, building animation pipelines, mentoring artists, and collaborating across disciplines to bring characters and stories to life.​ As an illustrator, the purpose of my art is to make people feel happy, safe, and seen, because being a little different is often the very thing that makes us special.

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When I’m not animating or drawing, I’m usually doing messy art projects or wacky experiments with my kids.

 

Creativity is kind of a full-time lifestyle around here.

LAHELA SCHOESSLER 

Kirkland, Washington 

lahela.schoessler@gmail.com | lahelaschoessler.com​

 

Artist & Animator 

Lead/Senior Animator and Artist with nearly two decades of experience in animation and game development, including 13 years leading teams. Experienced in shaping creative vision, delivering polished animation, and building scalable animation pipelines that support efficient, high-quality production. Proven mentor with a strong game development background and a pragmatic, resource-savvy approach to team leadership and delivery.

Outsource + Internal Management Relations | Animation Pipeline | Art | Game Development â€‹

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TECHNICAL SKILLS 

Maya; 3dsMax; Unity 3d; Unreal Engine 5; Photoshop; Procreate; Blender; Premiere; SyncSketch;  Cascadeur; Blender; Jira; Illustration; Concept Art; Leadership; Mentorship; MarComms 

​PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 

Series Entertainment
Animation Lead 2025 - March 2026

  • Serves as the sole 3D animator across multiple projects, delivering quality gameplay animation.

  • Building the studio’s 3D animation pipeline by advising on improved workflow, cross-team collaboration, rig requirements, and implementation.

  • Collaborates with directors, designers, engineers, and production to prototype, troubleshoot, and elevate animation across productions.

 

Wicked Fox Games
Creative Lead 2024 - 2025

  • Facilitated creative and leads meetings to ensure alignment with studio vision and quality.

  • Collaborated with the CEO and CTO to support communications with advisors and investors.

  • Art direction of two successful Kickstarter campaigns: The Dragon King & Rise of Elements 

  • Key role in marketing and communication, creation of social media assets and marketing art.

  • Actively contributed to development of pitching materials and presentations, enhancing the studio's outreach and fundraising efforts.

  • Oversaw the creation of art assets, advising on quality improvements, facilitating necessary discussions to complete assets, and filling in gaps such as VFX, concept sketches, and Spine animation when needed.

  • Partnered with narrative and tech design teams to create rich worlds for Wicked Fox projects.

  • Spearheaded the development of pipeline and process, optimizing workflow and collaboration.

 

Probably Monsters | Battle Barge, Bellevue
Art Lead 2024

  • Lead character art and animation development for character assets.

  • Manages the combat experience strike team, focusing on enemy and weapon clarity.

  • Collaborated with directors and publisher to maintain animation and combat quality.

  • Planned effective key results and managed schedules to ensure project deadlines were met.

  • Facilitated clear communication among team members to align with project objectives.

  • Mentored and developed the character art and animation teams. Facilitated asset reviews.

 

Senior Animator 2021 - 2024

  • Created animations for player abilities and AI enemy characters.

  • Developed animation pipeline and quality review processes.

  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality assets.

  • Implemented new character meshes to facilitate rapid prototyping.

  • Maintained and created animation blueprints and montages.

 

Final Strike Games, Bellevue
Lead Animator 2017 - 2021

  • Managed a team of character and technical animators while creating animation assets.

  • Developed animation pipeline and quality review processes.

  • Worked closely with various teams to ensure seamless character creation and implementation.

  • Collaborated with EA Marketing to help promote game launch and live service.

  • Successfully shipped: Rocket Arena.

 

Disney Interactive Studios, Bellevue
Lead Animator 2013 - 2016

  • Managed in-house and outsourced animation teams for social and mobile games.

  • Developed animation pipelines alongside the technical animator.

  • Implemented character animations using Unity and proprietary tools.

  • Successfully shipped: Marvel Avengers Alliance Tactics, Marvel Avengers Alliance 2.

 

Disney Interactive | Junction Point Studios, Austin
Animator 2009 - 2013

  • Created animation assets for AI and NPC characters.

  • Supported major event promotions (PAX, E3, Gamescom).

  • Collaborated with outsourcing studios and directors to produce 2D cinematics.

  • Developed initial concept design for Animatronic Daisy and Animatronic Donald. 

  • Successfully shipped: Disney’s Epic Mickey, Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two.

 

Laika House
Junior Animator 2008 - 2009

  • Worked on animation, lighting, and texture painting for commercial spots and game cinematics.

  • Collaborated with notable clients including M&Ms, Mini Wheats, and Ubisoft.

 

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Fine Arts – Computer Animation
Ringling College of Art and Design

Associate's Degree – Computer Animation
Art Institute of Seattle

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • Active participant in industry events and workshops.

  • Passionate about mentoring and knowledge sharing within the animation community.

  • Worked with nonprofits like Treehouse, providing mentorship to youth in foster care.

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