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Curated collections of Workshops organized by subject matter, such as Environment Art, Character Design or Effects Animation.

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Francesco Guarini

Director, Art Director & Visual Development Artist

Francesco Guarini is an Art Director at Dwarf Animation Studios, with eight years of experience working across feature films, television series, and short-form animation. Throughout his career, he has contributed to a wide range of projects, adapting to diverse visual styles and production pipelines while helping to shape cohesive and engaging visual narratives.


Francesco's work is guided by a strong curiosity for animation as a storytelling medium and a deep appreciation for the collaborative process that brings projects to life. He has worked with several respected studios, including Blue Zoo Animation, Able & Baker, Red Star 3D, and Method & Madness, gaining valuable experience across different creative environments.

  • In my career, I've never met a designer with the same passion and drive as Francesco's; his enthusiasm for art and storytelling is highly contagious! His skills in both character and environment design, and his deep understanding of shape, color and light, allow him not only to successfully execute every aspect of pre-production but also to comfortably lead a team of proficient artists. His students will learn how to create successful images in an easy-to-digest and fun way.

    - Simone Giampaolo
    Series Director at Tiger Aspect Kids and Family

  • Francesco is a talented art director with a keen eye for style and mood, on a constant quest to improve himself as an artist. He brought wonderful ideas to the project we collaborated on and delivered excellent results, thanks in part to his rare communication skills. Like his clients, students will benefit from Francesco’s ability to walk them through the process clearly, helping to manage expectations and achieve the best results possible.

    - Alex Orelle
    Animation Director/Creator/Co-founder at Virtue Animation

  • Working with Francesco has been amazing. His passion for his craft is clearly visible and, even with loads of constraints, he is still able to find creative solutions that bring a smile to viewers. He also has a very strong understanding of 3D, which really helped in the projects he worked on with us as the concepts he created translated very well and allowed us to move to the production stages smoothly. I am glad that he is sharing his approach and knowledge at The Gnomon Workshoo and I’m sure his students will be, too.

    - Tan Wen Hao
    Film and CG Director at Method n Madness

  • I have the pleasure of having Francesco working as Art Director in my studio. He's not only talented and passionate, with great ideas and wonderful taste, but he also keeps an eye on the production needs and has invaluable knowledge in the CG area, which helps a lot to translate his art into 3D. His understanding of shape and composition is fantastic. For me, it's essential to have a global view of the project and good communication skills to keep everything in style and get the best out of every artist, aiming for the best possible final result — and definitely, Francesco has those.

    - Ramón Giráldez
    Head of Studio at Able & Baker

  • Francesco is a talented art director with a keen eye for style and mood, on a constant quest to improve himself as an artist. He brought wonderful ideas to the project we collaborated on and delivered excellent results, thanks in part to his rare communication skills. Like his clients, students will benefit from Francesco’s ability to walk them through the process clearly, helping to manage expectations and achieve the best results possible.

    - Alex Orrelle
    Director, Co-Founder at Crew 972 Animation

  • Working with Francesco has been amazing. His passion for his craft is clearly visible and, even with loads of constraints, he is still able to find creative solutions that bring a smile to viewers. He also has a very strong understanding of 3D, which really helped in the projects he worked on with us, as the concepts he created translated very well and allowed us to move to the production stages smoothly.

    - Wen Hao Tan
    CG & Film Director / Founder at Method & Madness

  • I have the pleasure of having Francesco working as art director in my studio. He's not only talented and passionate, with great ideas and wonderful taste, but he also keeps an eye on the production needs and has invaluable knowledge in the CG area, which helps a lot to translate his art into 3D. His understanding of shape and composition is fantastic. His communication skills helped to keep everything in style and get the best out of every artist too.

    - Ramon Giráldez
    Studio Manager at Flying Bark Productions

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