Allen Battino is an award winning designer and director of computer animation and visual effects, He has worked with such notable filmmakers as Jim Henson, Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, Brian De Palma, Chris Columbus, Jordan Kerner, Stephen Sommers, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Studio clients include The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Dreamworks and Amblin Entertainment. Allen began his career in animation and VFX as a designer for Robert Abel and Associates in 1983. As one of a handful of art directors working in CG in the 1980's, his knowledge expanded to include the full spectrum of visual effects techniques. Allen worked as a commercial director for the first 10 years of his career and oversaw the production of over 40 television spots showcasing CG animation and effects. In 1990, he started his own production company, Barking Art Productions. His work expanded into theme park media production and video game cinematics during the early 1990's. In 1996, Allen joined the visual effect powerhouse Dream Quest Images to create their new art department. Dream Quest was purchased by The Walt Disney Company 6 months later, with Allen as their art department supervisor (and later as an art director) for 6 years. In 2002, he left Disney to become a production designer for Nickelodeon's new division, Nick Digital. Since then, he has worked as a freelance production designer, art director, visual development artist, matte painter, and within the last number of years made a name for himself as a character designer for major studio films. He is a charter member of the Visual Effects Society and served as a member of the VES awards committee for 2 years.