Pete Draper is a highly experienced professional in the visual effects (VFX) industry, with over 25 years of experience. He’s known for his roles as a Lead and Senior Artist, Head of Media, and Director of Visual Effects in studios both in the UK and internationally.
Key Highlights of Pete Draper’s Career:
- Co-founder of Makuta VFX: Since 2009, Pete has been based in Hyderabad, India, after co-founding Makuta VFX. This company quickly became a multi-award-winning visual effects facility renowned for its quality work in the Indian market, particularly for its attention to detail and creative environment.
- Major Film Contributions: At Makuta VFX, Pete spearheaded the visual effects for numerous acclaimed films, including:
The highly successful Baahubali franchise (Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion) , Eega (also known as Makkhi) , Magadheera , RRR , Ghajini , Endhiran (Robot) 2.0 , Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy , Saaho , Kaala
- Author and Educator: Beyond his studio work, Pete is a seasoned author with several publications on visual effects, including “Deconstructing the Elements with 3ds Max,” which focuses on creating realistic fire, earth, air, and water effects without plugins. He also contributed numerous articles to trade magazines, taught visual effects workshops globally, and served as an external examiner for respected institutions in the UK in the late 2000s.
- Technical Expertise: He has been an Alpha & Beta tester for Autodesk for nine years, and his work often involves advanced techniques like LiDAR scanning (Makuta VFX was the first studio in India to offer this service).
- Current Role: Pete Draper is currently serving as the SVP Customer Production at Ryff since September 2022. Prior to this, he was the Co-Founder, Division Head, and Chief Technical Director at Makuta VFX from April 2010 to September 2022.
Pete Draper’s extensive career showcases his significant contributions to the visual effects and animation field, particularly in bringing high-quality VFX to Indian cinema.