3D animator experienced in biped and quadruped character acting. Pushing precision, personality, and pose, in order to animate compelling characters that are fun to watch. Capable of animation for film, proficient in cycles for games, and always ready to learn.

Experience

Last One Standing | Mar 2025 — May 2025 | 3D Character Animator

  • Created two shots of a boxing match between the two main characters.

  • Animated expressive yet precise fight choreography, with distinct personalities and body language for each character.

  • Captured and translated real-life combat body mechanics into 3D animation with some personal flair.

Inkwashed! | Mar 2025 — May 2025 | 3D Character Animator, Compositor

  • Animated a shot with the main character being pushed and falling over with convincing dynamism and weight shift.

  • Animated my personal interpretations of how the other characters in the shot would react to this fall.

  • Created walk cycles, run cycles, and idle cycles for various characters to be used by the rest of the team to speed up production and add in background action.

  • Learned to animate characters of jelly-like consistency for the first time.

  • Assisted in compositing and color correcting three shots.

Education

Savannah College of Art and Design | 2023 — Present | BFA in Animation

  • Expected graduation May 2026

  • Rapidly gaining knowledge and experience thanks to a tightly controlled curriculum, industry-savvy professors, and plenty of resources and opportunities related to the 3D animation line of work.

  • With plenty of collaborative films, I hone my craft and practice management skills that leave me better prepared for the future.

Skills

Technical

  • Biped animation

  • Quadruped/creature animation

  • Looping cycles

  • Action-heavy animation

  • Layout and staging

  • Dialogue and expressive action

Software

  • Autodesk Maya

  • Adobe Photoshop

  • Adobe Illustrator

  • Adobe After Effects

Awards

  • SCAD’s Dean List 2024-Present

  • SCAD Achievement Honors Scholarship 2023-Present

  • SCAD Academic Honors Scholarship 2023-Present

  • SCAD International Student Scholarship 2023-Present

I'm Maira Malikova and I am currently studying 3D Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design. My expected graduation is in May 2026.I am experienced with Autodesk Maya, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe After Effects.I knew animation was the path for me when I realised it was the only thing I watched, talked about, and was excited to study. I am a big fan of anything new and experimental, like Love, Death, and Robots, but I also like the older, niche Soviet animated films from the 70s, like Film Film Film and Wow, a Talking Fish!. I also really love French animation, like Monster in Paris and Wakfu. I have a soft spot for multimedia animated shows, like Smiling Friends or The Amazing World of Gumball.My favorite games are God of War (2018 & Ragnarok), Deltarune, Disco Elysium, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

Inkwashed!

This shot was animated for Inkwashed!, with a focus on capturing the Inkling’s gelatinous, semi-fluid consistency. The primary challenge was conveying believable weight shifts and secondary motion as the character is pushed. I was also given creative freedom to explore how the surrounding Inklings react, adding personality and group dynamics to the scene.

Playful Creature

This is a dynamic and fast-paced sequence, where I
aimed to subvert the typical portrayal of a scary monster
by reimagining it with the playful, endearing qualities of
a puppy. The project served as a valuable exercise in
studying quadrupedal locomotion.

Soccer Monkey

This fast-paced animation was created as a body mechanics exercise, focusing on balance, timing, and dynamic footwork. I combined references from both human athletes and real monkeys to develop a performance that feels energetic, grounded, and character-driven.

Last One Standing

In this two-character fight scene, I drew from pre-production references while incorporating stylized exaggeration to enhance clarity and personality. Each boxer was animated with a distinct fighting style—one aggressive, the other defensive—allowing for contrast and interaction.

Tiger Leap

This animation was my first exploration using a quadruped rig, created to study feline movement and jumping mechanics. I focused on realistic weight transfer, anticipation, and follow-through as the tiger leaps onto a boulder.

Horse Gallop

I studied equine run cycles to create this animation. After establishing the foundational movement, I exaggerrated poses and facial expressions to give the character a more playful personality. Offset posture and asymmetry were used to enhance the sense of motion and visual interest.

Tiger Walkcycle

A quadruped walk cycle featuring a tiger, created with attention to realistic animal locomotion and weight distribution. This animation was later repurposed in other projects, including the Tiger Leap, to optimize production time while maintaining consistency.

Inkwashed!

SCAD student film. Two skribbles come alive and transport into the world of ink to cause mischief.For this project, the team has utilized Flow Production Tracking, which greatly streamlined communication and feedback between animators and supervisors. The Inkling characters were interesting to animate due to their jelly-like consistency. I have also created walk and run cycles for the character Studs to speed up production.

Last One Standing

SCAD student film. Two fighters face off in a boxing arena, using their contrasting, distinct fighting styles.This is the first time I animated action and combat scenes. I studied the movements of boxers like Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier, whom the characters were based on. Weekly check-ins with the Director of Animation ensured the animation was on track. Leads provided info-sessions on how to animate punches, footwork, and overall combat choreography.

PIXIPALS

SCAD student film. Main character Annie becomes dangerously obsessed with a vintage virtual pet game, leading to a surreal battle for her freedom against the controlling digital creature, Bobbin.I assisted in pre-production by providing various asset art for Bobbin's room and the character Redmond. All assets were created in Adobe Illustrator. As part of Bobbin's furniture, I have created a large rabbit plushie, a desk, a bookshelf, a selection of smaller plushies. I have also designed the "Death" emote for Bobbin's UI, and created the final polished design for Redmond.