Dave Merson Hess is an L.A.-based animation filmmaker, motion designer, and visdev artist.
Dave believes strongly in animated storytelling as a vital space for visual experimentation.

He enjoys making squiggly lines., in a way that makes people exclaim, "this feels like a lost Nick cartoon from the '90s!".

This registered owner of two scanners and several glue sticks is known to employ collage and other analog/mixed media techniques.


Dave is available for bookings.

You can contact him to discuss things like:
Short-form Animated Content Creation 2D Series or Feature Development • Character Animation • Background Design • Hand-Drawn Effects Animation • NBA Western Conference rumors
SELECT CREDITS/ROLES
Hot Topic, Inc
• motion designer for 400+ campaigns, posts, promos (2021-)
• special emphasis on character-driven collectibles (2025-)
• visdev / production design lead for NDA project (2026)


Spellbook.zip
creative director / digital brush development (2023- )
New Velvet Pictures
animation director & visdev artist (2026-)

Hellavision Television
guest art director for the "Earth" episode (2023)
contributor to various episodes (2018- )


FOX Entertainment
promotion animator (2023)
Bento Box Entertainment
short filmmaker for A Studio Digital (2022)
California Institute of the Arts
special faculty, Collage Under The Camera (2022)
Course on visual development + animation techniques for multiplane projects
NETFLIX Animation
animator & visdev artist on Storybots: Answer Time (2021)

NETFLIX Internal Production
motion, animation, & illustration for quarterly company films (2019-2020)
Los Mundos: "Frutos Rojos"
music video director (2020)

Howler Bros
animator / bumper director (2018; 2020)

Steve Madden / 5Towns Music
animated social content creator (2018)


Dead Oceans / Secretly Group
music video director (2015, 2018)

Night Heron Animation
lead animator / art director (2015-2018)
two-time finalist, TIFF x Instagram 2016, 2017)


Aurora Picture Show
animation educator (2014-2018)
Back to Top