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. Fresh off back-to-back wins for Best Direction in Animation at the Australian Directors Guild Awards (Scarygirl in 2023 and The Sloth Lane in 2024), Ricard is cementing his place as one of Australia’s leading animated feature film directors.
At Cosmic Dino, he’s directed a string of acclaimed features, including Combat Wombat: Back 2 Back (2024) and co-directed the Annecy-premiering The Sloth Lane. His journey began with the Tales from Sanctuary City trilogy: The Wishmas Tree (2020), Combat Wombat (2020), and Daisy Quokka (2021), before leaping into star-studded adventure Scarygirl (2023), featuring Sam Neill and Tim Minchin.
Up next, Ricard is bringing festive cheer with Mission Santa: Yoyo to the Rescue (2025) and tackling the highly anticipated screen adaptation of the New York Times bestseller The Pout-Pout Fish (2025), starring Nick Offerman, Amy Sedaris, and Jordin Sparks.
Fun fact: Ricard makes replica movie props and video game consoles with his 3D printer in his spare time.
The other half of Cosmic Dino’s dynamic co-founding duo, Ryan Greaves is an AACTA-nominated producer and screenwriter who has worked across an impressive range of animated feature films and major TV series.
He was one of the producers of the 4 x AACTA–nominated feature, SCARYGIRL, and co-writer and producer of the acclaimed THE SLOTH LANE, along with writing credits for such prestigious companies as Netflix, Disney, Sesame Street, Imagine Entertainment, and HBO.
Ryan’s focus is on collaborating with exciting directors & creatives to bring their projects to life; harnessing the creative and financial prowess of Cosmic Dino and the Australian animation funding systems to make a wide range of unique animated productions a reality.
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.
Tania Vincent is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and animator, launching Cosmic into hyperspeed as their Head of Animation, overseeing all the animation team’s quality and collaboration within the studio. With over 18 years of animation experience, Tania has worked on projects for companies such as Lego, Lucasfilm, Disney, Pixar, and Marvel.
Most recently, Tania made her writing & directing feature debut with the animated film ‘The Sloth Lane’ for Universal Pictures, making her the first woman in Australia to write and direct an animated feature – a fact that is both exciting and bonkers. Tania went on to win ‘Best Direction in Animation’ at the Australian Directors Guild for the film in 2024.
Before Sloth, Tania co-directed the 4 x Australian Academy Award-nominated animated feature ‘Scarygirl’, adapted from the critically acclaimed graphic novel. In 2021, she was selected for Ron Howard’s Imagine Impact screenwriting initiative with her writing partner, Ryan Greaves, which led to their live-action family feature screenplay, The Keepers, being sold to Netflix US.
Fun fact: She’s a massive sci-fi nerd with a love of Muppets, travel, and a good Aussie Flat White.
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.
No stranger to Dinosaurs, our globe-trotting number-tamer Leticia Jenkins has finally parked her suitcase at Cosmic Dino HQ in Brisbane. From England to Thailand, Czech Republic to Malta, and even the USA, she’s been crunching numbers and balancing books with Jurassic-sized skill. Armed with an eye sharper than a raptor’s claw, Leticia’s international accounting adventures have kept the finances roaring on audience favourites like Jurassic World Rebirth, Nosferatu & Nine Perfect Strangers.
Fun fact: In her space time, Leticia rules Catan, solves Sherlock’s toughest cases, battles Arkham horrors… And somehow knows how to hypnotize a chicken.
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.
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.
