Cheryl Briggs

Cheryl Briggs (formerly Cabrera) is a Professor and an award winning animated short film director that has advised and guided aspiring animators, game artists, and visual effects artists for 15 years. Since 2022, Cheryl has been teaching animation and level design as part of the faculty of the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Prior to this, from 2009 to 2023, Cheryl taught all aspects of production in the Character Animation track of the Emerging Media BFA in the School of Visual Arts and Design at the University of Central Florida. She also taught as Professor of Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2001 to 2009. Cheryl is currently on the SIGGRAPH Education committee and is on the Board of Directors for the Animation Hall of Fame, a member of SIGGRAPH, ASIFA Hollywood, Women in Animation, and the Society for Animation Studies.

Cheryl is also an Autodesk Certified Professional in Maya and an Autodesk Certified Instructor in Maya; Author of An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging (2nd ed. 2020, CRC Press, 2008, Focal Press) and Reel Success: Creating Demo Reels and Animation Portfolios (2013, Focal Press) as well as Animating Short Stories (2019, Bloomsbury).

Cheryl holds a B.A. and M.Ed. in Education and an M.F.A. in Computer Art with a specialization in 3D Animation. She is a digital artist and animator that blends the lines between digital imagery and the traditional painting medium. She has participated is numerous group and solo exhibitions in the US and her works are featured is several private collections. She has additional experience in acting and directing theatre for several years. Her award-winning students have been featured in animation festivals worldwide, and many have gone on to work within the entertainment industry.