Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh is Associate Professor of Practice at Texas A&M University, where he teaches courses in motion capture, animation, and virtual production within the School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts. He is the director of the Starlab, a research facility focused on motion capture, real-time performance, digital twin creation, and immersive simulation technologies.

Before entering academia, Walsh worked as a 3D artist in the film and game industries, contributing to over 30 feature films and several AAA game titles. His film credits include James Cameron’s Avatar, Beowulf, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Adventures of Tintin, and many more. His professional experience informs his teaching and research, blending traditional storytelling with cutting-edge digital production tools.

Walsh’s creative practice centers on performance-based animation, virtual environments, and stylized visual aesthetics that merge stop-motion sensibilities with real-time technology. He collaborates with partners in defense, infrastructure, and the arts to produce high-fidelity simulations and digital twins, including work with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory.

His recent work explores Unreal Engine pipelines, motion capture automation, and virtual production in education. He is actively presenting and publishing research in these areas, including multiple submissions to SIGGRAPH and related conferences.