June 4, 2009 - Steambot Studios (Montreal, CAN) announced the formation of Steambot Studios Austin today. "We chose Austin not only because we love the city, but because we feel that there is a unique combination of talent and educational resources here that will allow our studio to attract top talent and continue to grow our business with clients like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Disney" said David Levy, Steambot Studios CEO & Founder. "As a studio, we,re also committed to sharing our knowledge with future artists. In Austin, we have a rare opportunity to work with Roger Barcilon and the Gemini School of Visual Arts to train the entertainment artists of the future. It's a win-win for us and the industry."

Manny Carrasco, whose feature animation credits include Space Jam, Anastasia and Prince of Egypt will lead the Austin studio as Managing Partner. A 16 -year veteran of the videogame and feature animation industries, Carrasco's career includes working with studios including Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Fox and Richard Rich. "Our entire team is excited to be working with the Steambot Studios founders (CEO David Levy, R&D Director Thierry Doizon, Visual Director Joel Dos Reis Viegas and Creative Director Sebastien Larroude). They are incredible artists and innovators. We're ready to deliver the same world class visual content to our clients in Austin." The Austin studio will specialize in high end digital art creation including conceptual design, matte painting, illustration, and 3D asset development for clients worldwide in the film, videogame, animation and advertising industries.

"These guys really are stars in the industry, so it's exciting to have them choose Austin--and our team--as their next studio," said the Gemini School's Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Cynthia McGrail.

The Austin Steambot Studio will start with six people, but more artists are expected to be hired as projects are started.

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