The first animal launched into space was a canine. More than 60 years after that brave little dog left Earth’s atmosphere aboard the Sputnik II, our founders’ respective loves for certain space and Jurassic-themed franchises propelled the first dino into orbit.
While dinosaur evolution took place over millions of years, our rise has been meteoric. Within just a few trips around the sun we’ve strung together work on successive feature-lengths, most recently the award-winning Scarygirl. And like a T-rex gets it done with those little arms, we do more with less; outputting high quality to tight budgets and time constraints.
Not bad for a dino in a space suit, huh?
Say ¡Hola! to Ricard, our Spanish-Australian co-founder and directorial dynamo. Cutting his teeth directing and designing live-theatrical attractions for blockbusters like Ghostbusters and The Terminator, he has since transitioned animated features.
Recently awarded a laurel for Best Direction in Animation at the 2023 Australian Directors Guild Awards for his work on Scarygirl, Ricard’s passion and skill are fuel for the studio’s ongoing ascent.
Fun fact: Ricard makes replica movie props and video game consoles with his 3D printer in his spare time.
Taking the helm in 3D-animated feature trilogy “Tales from Sanctuary City” – comprising The Wishmas Tree (2020), Combat Wombat (2020) and Daisy Quokka: World’s Scariest Animal (2021) – he’s continued his collaboration with award-winning Australian production company Like a Photon Creative since co-founding Cosmic Dino in 2019.
Along with fellow Cosmic Dino Tania Vincent, Ricard directed the highly anticipated Scarygirl – sporting a star-studded cast including Sam Neill, Tim Minchin and Killian Nguyen – which hit the big screen in Halloween 2023.
He’s found himself piloting his directorial craft through the “Sanctuary City” universe again, having just finished production on Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024), and currently in production of The Sloth Lane – set to be the ‘Fifth Element’ in the popular series. Both titles are due for distribution by Universal Pictures.
The other half of Cosmic Dino’s dynamic co-founding duo, Ryan has produced and written on an impressive range of feature films and major TV shows. His cinematic production credits include the award-winning CG feature, Scarygirl and the ‘Tales from Sanctuary City’ franchise.
Combining his creative spark with a holistic knowledge of how things get made, Ryan’s perfectly positioned to chart a course for Cosmic Dino’s continued growth.
Fun fact: Ryan is a diehard Liverpool FC supporter and while it has given him a lifetime of heart palpitations and abandonment issues, it also brings him an incredible amount of joy.
On the small screen, Ryan wrote and associate-produced the hit Disney Junior animated series Balloon Barnyard, and produced and wrote for the award-winning “S is for Storytelling” episode of HBO’s Sesame Street.
Along with his writing partner (and fellow Dino doodler) Tania Vincent, he won the IMAGINE IMPACT x NETFLIX US’s screenwriting initiative for a live-action family adventure feature. It’s since been acquired by Netflix, with Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment attached to produce.
With his intimate knowledge of storytelling and practicalities of major productions, Ryan’s excited to pilot the ship across new narrative arcs.
Drawing together experience as a director, screenwriter, and animator, Tania brings her holistic understanding of feature-length excellence to her leadership of Cosmic Dino’s animation department. Over the past 16 years, she’s worked on TV series, AAA computer games, and advertising campaigns for companies such as Lego, Disney, Warner Brothers, Marvel, and Pixar.
Fun fact: The only thing Tania can cook well is cinema-grade popcorn.
Having shared co-director credits with Cosmic Dino founder Ricard on Scarygirl and Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back, Tania’s now breaking new ground as the first female to write and direct an animated feature – The Sloth Lane (set for release in 2024).
With a background in live action film and TV commercials, John’s been a production powerhouse for major international brands like Tesco, Nestle, and Etihad Airlines, as well as keeping things running smoothly on the sets of major motion pictures such as Mad Max: Fury Road, Blended, and Game Changers.
Fun fact: While far from ‘Old Macdonald’, John’s spent a fair amount of time on farms in his native South Africa, volunteering for an organisation that offers horseriding to children with intellectual and physical disabilities.
John made the move from working on film sets to managing production for animation in 2021, when he took on a Production Manager role at Like a Photon Creative. We’ve since welcomed him onto the Cosmic Dino spaceship, where he’s provided a steady hand on projects including The Sloth Lane, Combat Wombat 2, and Scarygirl.
With nearly 20 years in the industry, Robert possesses unparalleled pixel-taming prowess. Having contributed his talents to 7 feature film projects plus TV and toy franchises, he’s grown and shown his knack for navigating complex projects, demonstrating the leadership needed to chart a course forward despite inevitable challenges.
Fun fact: A 90s kid, Robert first started tinkering with 3D software on an Amiga 1200 computer (remember those?).
Combining know-how, experience, and a team-first approach, Robert’s a proven asset for any production.
A fixture of the animation industry since the Flash era, Rebecca’s career has taken her across the planet and allowed her to work on much-loved globally distributed titles. Getting her start in Australia with corporate and TVC work, she made the move to Canada in 2017, where she took on senior and lead animator roles on a string of much-loved children’s and young-adult TV series. They include Goldie and Bear (Disney Junior), Supernatural Academy (Peacock USA), Rocket Club, as well as Disney prestige shows Elena of Avalor, Alice’s Wonderland Bakery and Monsters at Work.
Fun fact: Rebecca has swum with wild dolphins and held a baby crocodile (not at the same time).
A lot has changed since the Flash days, and Rebecca’s added Toon Boom and Maya proficiency to her tool kit. Her love of creating quality entertainment for the young (and young at heart) burns as bright as ever.
Over the past two decades, Nathan’s built a body of work and skillset bigger than a brontosaurus. With experience spanning animation, film, TV, and game projects, he’s worked on classic cartoons including Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, designed for the History Channel’s hit Vikings series, and produced work for brands like Marvel and Adidas.
Fun fact: Nathan’s sisters used to call him “monkey boy” for his love of bananas and prehensile toes.
Nathan’s expert eyes also came in handy in his art-direction for Scarygirl and the “Tales from Sanctuary City” films.
What do you call a T-Rex accountant? A bone counter… OK, we’ll leave the jokes to the real comedians, just like we’re smart enough to leave the all-important finances to a professional. Cass oversees all the numbers at Cosmic Dino, handling financial management, reporting, analysis, and advising on strategies to optimise performance and profits. She began her career in chartered accounting before moving into senior commercial roles in the retail, resources, travel and tourism sectors.
Fun fact: Cass’s fave vacations involve lounging at iconic Beverly Hills hotels and trips to Disneyland.
There’s no business like show business, but Cass knows that the bottom line is as important as the production values for a successful animation studio.
A real shining star in the Australian animation industry, Josh has over a decade of experience ‘keeping the lights on’ for a huge range of 3D animation projects. His CV sports experience across a range of roles – animating, modelling, rendering, and directing production – plus a wide variety of industries, including online education, mining, and narrative content.
Prior to joining us, Josh worked extensively on lighting and composition for animated web series, TVCs, and streamed features for leading international toy brands including MGA, Moose, and SpinMaster. As a head of department at Cosmic Dino, he’s thrilled to be able to illuminate a fresh slate of cinematic features.
Stephen started his career as a Production Manager on 2D and 3D animated series, TVCs, and web content for a broad range of clients including Thomas the Tank Engine and the ABC Australia’s award-winning Tjitji Lullaby and Marringa Lullaby audio productions of Indigenous-inspired sleep-time music for children.
Fun fact: Stephen’s first job was as a deckhand on maxi yachts sailing tourists around the beautiful Whitsunday Islands, within Queensland’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. While he looked really hard, unfortunately he couldn’t find Nemo.
Since making the move into the Cosmic crew, he’s applied his excellent organisational skills, project management, and excellent communication to keep things running smoothly throughout production of titles including Scarygirl.
Befitting the name, Cosmic Dino is a place where age-old wisdom and timeless storytelling coexist with a fresh approach to revitalising the Australian animation industry. We’ve cultivated a vibrant collaborative space for proven pros and emerging talents to explore, tethered only by a commitment to our colleagues and clients.
We get that as a creator or producer, your project is like your baby (what could go wrong entrusting the little darling to an extra-terrestrial T-Rex, right?). Rest assured; your unique vision is always elevated by our team of artists. Whatever techniques, tweaks, or innovations we suggest are just added sparkle on your big bang of inspiration.
You’ve probably heard that these computer things can do some pretty cool stuff these days… Drawing on the ever-expanding potential of technology, we’ve curated a signature style that stands apart from the pack. Your project will benefit from our boundary-pushing approach, placing your narrative in a world of its very own.
We keep things quick and agile as a velociraptor. Our studio’s a place where overheads are low, and technical approaches flex with the forces of finance and project parameters. Add in Queensland’s world-renowned tax rebate opportunities, and you get unbeatable bang-for-buck on your next animation.
If you think of your project as a spaceship built to spec, it makes sense to have all the components manufactured in the same place. As luck would have it, we offer script-to-screen services, 100% in-house! From directing and writing, storyboarding and editing, through to assets, animation and lighting & comp, we’ll deploy the boosters on your next big thing.
