Who are we?
When Disney decided to close the Lucasfilm Singapore branch, a group of passionate artists came together to create a new kind of studio. Welcome to Studio Ulu, where we specialize in both digital and real-world creations. From 3D assets for high-end games and Hollywood films to collectibles, sculptures, and jewelry, we do it all. With over 100 years of combined experience, we're experts in every aspect of development- concepting, modeling, texturing, grooming, 3D printing, and manufacturing. Meet the team:
Michal
Michal, the founder and creative director of Ulu. He's been supervising asset teams at ILM, MPC, Animal Logic and the Orphanage for the past 17 years. Both an experienced leader and educator, Michal holds bachelor's degree in fine art and has contributed to numerous courses and workshops in various art schools. Besides work in VFX and games industries, he's developed a jewelry line and sells sculptures to private collectors. Around the time he parted ways with ILM, he left his legacy as the Grogu bronze statue, installed where Lucasfilm studio once was.
Sendhil
Sendhil is our senior modeler, who started his career in 2006 as a character modeler in Pixion Studios, Mumbai. During his 17 years of career in the VFX and feature animation industries, he's worked for domestic and international studios including MPC, DNEG, Barajoun, and most recently ILM. He's made major contributions to the Academy Award-winning shows including The Jungle Book, Dune, and many others. His expertise and dedication have made him a highly respected professional in the industry.
Jei
With 15 years of experience working at ILM, Jei is well versed across a variety of different art styles, ranging from the stylized and cartoony to highly realistic models. An expert organic modeler, he's worked on hero creatures, digital doubles, set up face shape libraries as well as in shot sculpting. Over the years he has contributed to iconic films such as Space Jam: A new legacy, Avengers: Endgame, Ready Player One, Warcraft and the Clone wars series and countless more. Outside of ILM he has also done sculpture work for 3d printing purposes.
Daniel
Daniel, recipient of the VES Environments Award for ILM's work on Ready Player One, with 25 years of VFX experience as a 3D generalist and virtual production artist on shows like "The Mandalorian" or "The book of Boba Fett". While at Unity Technologies, Daniel has been involved in the development of the Hair System (3rd best Tech at SIGGRAPH 2022) and the implementation of Weta's VFX Environment and Grooming Unity Tools. Currently designated as our AR/VR/Digital Twin expert, Daniel's been indispensable, thanks to his multifaceted approach in choosing the right tools for the task.
Rakesh
Sam
Samuel Chew is a senior modeler specializing in complex environment work. He started his career in Double Negative, then worked at ILM Singapore for the last 8 years. Sam has contributed to countless digital worlds, including Aquaman, End Game, Starwars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian, All the lights we cannot see and many others. His work on both Ready Player One and The Rings of Power environments have won VES awards. As the ILM Singapore's area tech lead, he's honed his pipeline knowledge and supported the team with the necessary tools and software.
Ching Ye
With over 11 years in the creative industry, Ching Yee has played many parts, from scuplting toy figurines for MightyJaxx to animating award-winning short films "Sonder" (2018) and "Soft Rain" (2023). However, her true passion lies in character art for games and digital sculpture. She is well-versed in the game pipeline, performance limitation, and has a flair for providing relevant technical solutions thanks to her extensive background. Ching Yee has shipped several games on various platform and her most recent contribution involves first-of-its-kind AR/VR experience which will be released in the near future.
You
We still have space for 2 more key employees and are always on the lookout for talent. What sets us apart from most studios is remote friendly structure. This makes us truly location independent, allowing us to welcome remote hires from anywhere in the world. We believe in tapping into the global talent pool, provided you have a proven track record of working with top-tier companies. Our infrastructure supports seamless collaboration, no matter where you are located. This flexibility not only fosters a diverse work environment but also ensures we have the best minds working on our projects.
Colab!
If you're a freelancer with your own clients but need infrastructure and a TPN-certified facility, we're open to collaboration as well. At Studio Ulu, we understand the challenges freelancers face, especially regarding high-end infrastructure and security for client projects. Our advanced, TPN-certified studio offers robust infrastructure and seamless communication tools. By collaborating with us, you can leverage our state-of-the-art facilities and maintain the highest standards. We're committed to providing the support you need to succeed. Email us at hello@studioulu.com.