David Helsby

About David Helsby

I’m a Principal Technical Animator with over 20 years of experience building animation systems that shape how games feel.I’ve worked on Halo: Reach, Destiny, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, Valorant, and Riot’s 2XKO. My focus has always been gameplay animation - making combat feel responsive, building strong systems, and creating pipelines that help teams move quickly without losing quality.I’ve led teams, directed animation work in VR, partnered closely with engineering and design, and built scalable production pipelines in Unreal and Maya. I’ve also spent time evaluating emerging AI and other new tools, testing workflows, and sharing practical takeaways with teams and leadership.I care a lot about how teams work together. The best games come from people who challenge each other, trust each other, stay focused on the player, and take real pride in the work.Right now I’m looking for opportunities where I can help teams raise the bar on gameplay through strong animation systems, solid implementation, and collaborative leadership.

Experience

1. Principal Animator

   Riot Games

   Mar 2023 — Present · US

   Worked across Riot R&D and 2XKO in both leadership and hands-on development roles, helping shape character quality, team growth, and animation direction.• Helped build and mentor the animation team on a canceled R&D title.• Helped define the project’s animation style and maintain consistency across the game.• Partnered closely with other disciplines to help develop character select screens and short cinematic intros.• Owned animation development for several key characters.• Managed animation outsourcing for playable characters and developed and directed NPC stage characters.• Moved to 2XKO, where I owned and developed several characters including marquee characters Vi and Akali.• Worked with animation leadership to improve and refine move sets across the roster, and contributed to the development of Senna.• Also spent time evaluating emerging AI and production tools, testing workflows, and presenting practical takeaways with teams and leadership

Education

• Central Washington University

  BA, Fine Arts

  1994 — 1998

Skills

• Game Development
• Unreal Engine 3
• Rigging
• 3d
• Scripting
• Animation
• Zbrush
• Unreal 3
• Video Games
• Maya
• Max
• Motion Capture
• Cinematics
• Character Animation
• Texturing
• Modeling