From NJIT to Sony Pictures Imageworks: How Alum Kaylin Wittmeyer Uses Animation to Tell Human Stories

When Kaylin Wittmeyer first began applying to colleges, she didn’t have a single, narrow career path in mind. What she did know was that she loved animation, but she also loved math, physics, and the technical side of how things worked. Rather than choose between art and technology, she sought a place where both could coexist — and found that balance at NJIT.

“I knew I was really interested in animation, but I loved math, I loved physics, and I loved the tech behind it as well,” said Wittmeyer. “NJIT was really the choice for me. It felt like a really good mix of artistic training that I would need to enter a visual art field, but also a lot of freedom in the computing and technical side.”

That freedom would define her undergraduate experience in the Hillier College of Architecture and Design and Albert Dorman Honors College. Originally intending to double major in mechanical engineering and digital design, Wittmeyer ultimately focused on digital design while continuing to take honors-level math and technical coursework. Those seemingly unconventional choices for an art student would later become one of her greatest professional advantages.

In fact, Wittmeyer believes she was the first design major hired as a math tutor at NJIT’s tutoring center — a reflection of how deeply she embraced interdisciplinary learning.

“That’s not something a lot of people come into a visual art field having,” she said. “But it’s been incredibly useful in ways I never expected.”

At NJIT, Wittmeyer was influenced by professors whose backgrounds spanned art, technology, theater, and storytelling. Rather than training students solely for one narrow discipline, faculty encouraged exploration across fields — an approach Wittmeyer credits with shaping her collaborative mindset.

“I got a lot of exposure to things I just wouldn’t have gotten if I had gone to an animation-specific program,” she said. “Every single professor had such a breadth of experience and showed us how everything can come together.”

That holistic foundation proved essential as Wittmeyer entered the highly competitive animation industry. After graduating, she received a Fulbright award to study at Sheridan College in Canada, one of the world’s leading animation schools. The experience allowed her to take everything she learned at NJIT and refine it into a specialty at the intersection of art and technology.

“At NJIT I was kind of like, ‘Look everywhere,’” she said. “And then Sheridan was like, ‘Look at this tiny pinhead of what you’re interested in.’ That combination was exactly what I needed.”

Today, Wittmeyer works in feature animation as a character effects (CFX) artist at Sony Pictures Imageworks, where she contributes to building digital muscles, hair, cloth, and simulations for major motion pictures. Since joining the studio, she has progressed from junior associate artist to intermediate artist and has served as a key artist on recent projects — a trajectory that reflects both technical excellence and leadership.

She describes animation as a field where specialization may get you hired, but broad knowledge helps you succeed.

“We’re creating massive projects with a ton of moving parts,” she said. “Anything you know — tech, story, communication, writing — becomes useful in some way.”

Equally important is how NJIT taught her to approach complex challenges without fear.

“A big thing NJIT helped with was making technical problem solving not seem scary,” Wittmeyer said. “Being able to go, ‘Okay, great, I’m going to start going backwards and figure out where the problem is,’ is the most useful thing an artist can have.”

Beyond technical achievements, Wittmeyer sees animation as a powerful vehicle for empathy and human connection. She believes storytelling — especially through family-friendly films — can shape how people understand the world and each other.

“Humans are storytellers. That’s what we’ve done for thousands of years,” she said. “Getting to add to that history and encourage empathy and understanding is a worthwhile pursuit.”

Frames from KPop Demon Hunters (2025). Kaylin Wittmeyer worked on these shots as a character effects (CFX) artist. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Imageworks.

For Wittmeyer, art and technology are not opposing forces but parts of the same responsibility.

“Every single thing we do on screen is trying to support the story,” she said. “Whether I’m coding or sculpting something in 3D space, everything is in support of the same goal.”

This spring, Wittmeyer will be honored with the Emerging Alumni Designer Award at HCAD’s Design Showcase — recognition that she views as both humbling and motivating.

“It feels like a way of saying I’m on the right track,” she said. “It makes me want to push farther and try to bring whoever I can with me.”

From tutoring math at NJIT to helping shape the future of feature animation, the intersection of Wittmeyer’s interdisciplinary education, curiosity, and a commitment to lifelong learning will open doors for her in the future.