Sydney Padua

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University in 2024, I had a 25-year career in animation that began with The Iron Giant in 1999. I’ve worked in hand-drawn, character, and VFX animation as well as development, storyboard, and previs, at studios such as Warner Brothers, Sony Imageworks, Double Negative, Framestore,and MPC. My credits include Clash of the Titans, Sylvian Chaumet’s The Illusionist, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Spirit Untamed. Most recently I was a Lead Animator at MPC London on Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, due for release in December 2024. 

I am interested in all forms of visual storytelling and enjoy alternating personal projects with industry work. My short film Agricultural Report screened at over 200 international festivals, and was nominated for Best Short Film at the animation industry’s Annie Awards.My graphic novel, The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, was featured as a Guardian Paperback of the Year in 2017 and was nominated for Best Writer/Artist and Best New Work at the comic industry’s Eisner Awards; it has recently been adapted as an opera by Elena Ruher performed at MIT in Boston. As part of this project I created the first visualisations of the unrealised 19th century computer, the Analytical Engine, which led to talks at MIT, Microsoft, and Google. 

My current projects are in hybrid and stylized animation forms that combine drawing with computer imagery. 

• Senior Lecturer