Aaron Sims Creative

What Aaron Sims Creative does

Aaron Sims Creative (ASC) is a privately held design, visual effects, and game studio founded in 2005 by Aaron Sims and headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio provides concept design, creature and character design, environment design, key scene art, prop design, and realtime visual effects services to enterprise clients in film, television, gaming, advertising, and publishing. Its portfolio spans major franchises including Stranger Things (Netflix), Wonder Woman (Warner Bros.), and the Planet of the Apes trilogy, alongside collaborations with directors Patty Jenkins and Wes Ball and gaming clients such as Wargaming and Wizards of the Coast. The studio operates with 101-250 employees and maintains direct enterprise sales through project-based bids managed by in-house producers.

ASC's production pipeline is anchored in Unreal Engine as its core real-time technology platform, with MetaHuman enabling hyperreal digital character and creature creation. The studio monetizes through four distinct streams: (1) custom VFX and design services delivered via project bids to enterprise clients; (2) pre-built, rigged, and optimized 3D asset sales through Epic Games' FAB marketplace targeting film, game, and virtual world production; (3) gallery-quality art prints distributed through ArtStation; and (4) original IP development including the 2025-launching animated series NEXUS, the short film THE EYE: CALANTHEK (premiered in Fortnite's 2021 Shortnitemares Film Festival), and a slate of other properties. The company holds no disclosed institutional funding, remains founder-owned, and celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2025.

Name

Aaron Sims Creative

Legal name

Aaron Sims Creative

Website

https://aaronsimscreative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Aaron Sims Creative is a privately held design, visual effects, and game studio in Burbank, California that provides concept design, creature and character work, and realtime VFX built on Unreal Engine for enterprise clients in film, television, gaming, and publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Effects and Concept Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Simulation & FX Animation (Cloth, Hair, Particles) (MPAHACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Outsourced Art/Audio Production Services (2D/3D, Animation, VFX, Audio/VO) (MPAFAKAM), Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Concept design services
• Visual effects production
• Character creature design
• Realtime VFX services
• Game development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Burbank

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. VFX and Design Services: Custom design and visual effects services for film, television, advertising, and gaming clients. Projects are bid and estimated individually with producers responding to client requests.
2. Digital 3D Assets (FAB Marketplace): Sale of pre-built 3D assets including creatures, environments, and characters through Fab.com marketplace. Assets are rigged, textured, and optimized for real-time engines.
3. Art Prints (ArtStation): Gallery-quality art prints sold through ArtStation store featuring ASC's original artwork from films, games, and other projects.
4. Original IP Development: Development and ownership of original content properties for film, television, books, games and more, including animated series like NEXUS and short films.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Aaron Sims Creative is a boutique design and visual effects studio that delivers concept design, character and creature design, environment design, and realtime VFX production for film, television, gaming, and advertising clients. The studio also distributes pre-built 3D assets through Epic Games' FAB marketplace and gallery-quality art prints via ArtStation, and develops its own slate of original IP projects including animated series and short films.

Product overview

Aaron Sims Creative (ASC) is an award-winning design, VFX, and game studio offering a portfolio of services and products. The core offerings include Concept Design services (character, creature, environment design), Video Game Development, and Realtime Visual Effects using Unreal Engine. The company also sells two product lines through third-party marketplaces: ASC FAB Assets (3D models sold on Epic Games' FAB marketplace, optimized for real-time engines) and ASC Art Prints (gallery-quality prints sold through ArtStation). Additionally, ASC has launched a slate of original IP projects including NEXUS (animated series), THE EYE: CALANTHEK, DIVE, Archetype, TANK, and Paralyzed short films.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concept Design Services Character, creature, environment, key scene, prop, and FX design services for film, television, and gaming projects.
• Realtime Visual Effects Services Real-time VFX production using Unreal Engine, creating fictional characters, creatures, and fully digital humans for high-quality visual realism across film, TV, and gaming projects.
• Video Game Development Services Full-service game development including artistic direction, high-fidelity playable asset creation, vertical slice development, and pipeline guidance from initial design through final delivery.
• ASC FAB Assets High-end 3D character and creature assets sold through Epic Games' FAB marketplace. Models are rigged, textured, and optimized for real-time engines like Unreal Engine, designed for use in films, games, and virtual worlds.
• ASC Art Prints Gallery-quality art prints of ASC's original artwork available through ArtStation, featuring iconic designs from films and games.
• THE EYE: CALANTHEK Original animated short film co-produced with Epic Games using Unreal Engine 5, debuted in Fortnite's Shortnitemares Film Festival and toured the festival circuit.
• Archetype Original short film about RL7, an eight-foot tall combat robot that goes on the run after malfunctioning with vivid memories of once being human. Directed by Aaron Sims, starring Robert Joy and David Anders.
• DIVE Survival horror film series set in uncharted corners of the planet where man faces nature at her most beautiful and terrifying, each featuring unique creatures inspired by their environments.
• TANK Original short film where MAX, a street kid, and TANK, a decommissioned military robot, are thrown back in time to World War I to defeat a cold-blooded scientist.
• Paralyzed Short film about sleep paralysis directed by Aaron Sims, written by Jeffrey Reddick, starring Brit Morgan, Jay Rodan, and Mark Steger.
• NEXUS Original animated series executed entirely in Unreal Engine, set in a future dystopia featuring a female assassin in the metaverse.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Epic GamescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021ASC co-produced THE EYE: CALANTHEK with Epic Games. The short film was completed in six weeks and debuted in Fortnite's Shortnitemares Film Festival 2021. ASC has embraced Unreal Engine as the next great innovation in storytelling and was featured in Epic's Unreal Engine spotlights and keynote presentations.
• FAB (Fab.com)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorASC sells 3D assets through the FAB marketplace including creatures, environments, and characters. Assets are rigged, textured, and optimized for real-time engines like Unreal. Clicking asset images directs to FAB store for purchase.
• ArtStationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorASC sells gallery-quality art prints through ArtStation store featuring original artwork from films, games, and other projects. Clicking print images directs to ArtStation for purchase.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DNEG: Vertically integrated VFX and post-production house with feature, episodic, and game-services exposure. Directly competes for the same Hollywood studio bids as ASC while operating at much greater scale and across more verticals.
• Keywords Studios: Publicly listed end-to-end games services platform (art, QA, localization, live ops) with thousands of artists globally. Overlaps with ASC's game design and asset services, though at materially larger scale and broader scope.
• Framestore: Global VFX and immersive entertainment studio (Harry Potter, Gravity, Marvel work) operating at significantly larger scale but in the same feature-film VFX and design services category as ASC. Useful peer for capacity, scope, and pricing comparisons on tier-one bids.
• MPC (Moving Picture Company): Global VFX and animation studio (The Lion King, Jungle Book) within the Technicolor group. Competes with ASC for feature-film concept and VFX work but at significantly larger capacity and full-vertical ownership of major productions.
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): Lucasfilm-owned VFX powerhouse and the global category leader in feature-film visual effects, working across the same blockbuster and franchise clients as ASC (Star Wars, Marvel, Stranger Things-era blockbusters). Relevant as the upper-bound scale and competitor for marquee concept/VFX bids.

Direct peers

• Virtuos: Large game art and co-development outsourcing studio producing 3D assets, character art, and full co-dev support for AAA and mid-tier game publishers. Comparable to ASC's gaming segment (Wargaming, Wizards of the Coast engagements) at a substantially larger scale.
• Rising Sun Pictures: Boutique-to-mid-sized VFX studio (now part of StreamCo) working on Marvel, Disney, and Netflix tentpoles. Closest mid-sized VFX boutique peer to ASC in terms of project bidding profile and client overlap.
• Weta Workshop: New Zealand-based design, VFX, and physical-effects studio with a comparable boutique-to-mid-size model that combines film/TV services with a portfolio of owned original IP (e.g., Avatar behind-the-scenes design, District 9, and proprietary franchises like Warcraft and Avatar exhibitions). Closest structural analog to ASC's services + original IP hybrid.
• Perception: Award-winning NYC design and visual storytelling studio producing concept art, motion design, and creative direction for entertainment, gaming, and brand clients. Closest peer to ASC's concept-design and creative-direction arm, particularly for AAA game and film pre-production.
• Atomhawk: Boutique concept art, character design, and pre-production studio serving video game and film clients — historically worked with Warner Bros., Marvel, and major AAA studios. Closest peer to ASC's concept-design-led service offering within the games and film crossover niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/aaronsimscreative
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aaron-sims-creative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aaron Sims Creative