Alumni Panel
Eli Eyers
Eli Ayres is a motion designer and CG generalist working in advertising, user experience, and events.
Since graduating from USC with an MFA in Animation in 2021, Eli has worked for the Portland-based Oddfellows studio creating 2D and 3D design and animation, editing, compositing, and pre-vizualization. His primary tools are Cinema 4D and After Effects.
Eli prefers fast-paced projects with novel design problems. The world of animation won't sit still so Eli finds it's best to go with the flow.
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What I liked most was how raw and process-driven his animation feels. You can tell it’s handmade, and that makes the movement feel honest rather than polished. There isn’t a clear meaning being pushed onto the viewer, which I appreciated. It gave me space to interpret the work in my own way instead of trying to decode a narrative.
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Ana Carolina Estarita-Guerrero
Ana Carolina Estarita Guerrero is an acclaimed experiential and immersive artist. Her work problematizes the boundaries between the self and their surroundings, examines the relationship between technology and memory, and explores embodiment in digital environments.Originally from Colombia, Ana Carolina graduated from USC with her MFA in Animation in 2019. Since 2024, she has been teaching full-time as a Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. In November, Ana teamed up with another USC animation grad living in Philly, Amy Lee Ketchum, on "Other Home" a collaborative exhibition at Tiger Strikes Asteroid gallery. The artists used animation and installation to dig into what home means when you're caught between cultures. In her installation, Ana created spatial paradoxes that mirror the impossible distances of displacement.
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Watching Ana Carolina Estarita-Guerrero’s work felt very personal and intimate. It didn’t feel like I was watching a polished animation, but more like being let into someone’s inner thoughts. The films felt reflective, almost like visual diary entries, where emotions come through more strongly than a clear storyline.
Dustin Reno
For over ten years, Dustin Reno has worked at Picturemill studio in Los Angeles as an art director, title designer, and sometimes animator. He has designed titles for feature films, television, streaming, and branding. Some of his recent designs are for KPop Demon Hunters, The Naked Gun, A Minecraft movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Godzilla x Kong: the New Empire, and Knuckles "The Warrior" Opening title sequence.Dustin studied Graphic Design at West Texas A&M University and received his MFA in Animation at the University of Southern California.
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​Overall, his work made me think about animation as a way to process personal experiences. It feels less about presenting a finished idea and more about sharing a moment or feeling as it is.
Ning Xu
Ning Xu received his MFA in Animation from USC in 2015. While at USC, he spent most of his time perfecting his stop motion techniques. However, he also directed and performed in this 544 group pixilation project still beloved by students.After graduation, he was immediately recruited and hired as an animator at Laika Studios (stop motion) in Portland Oregon. While at Laika from 2015 to 2018, Ning primarily animated puppets for the feature films Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. After Laika, Ning moved to Beijing and founded a stop motion studio called Puppet Passion Animation Studio, where he directs and animates. He is also the CEO of Bejing ROOTS Pictures. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at the Beijing Film Academy, where he teaches character animation classes. Several of his former BFA students have entered SCA, including Yunyang, Nuodi A, and Sijie Xiao!
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There’s a calmness to the work, and it doesn’t try to explain itself or push a strong message. That restraint made the films feel thoughtful and grounded. I loved his work in stop motion, and it was really inspiring to look at his work, and I gained more respect for him knowing he worked on one of my favorite films, "Kubo and the two strings"
