# Lucas Ridley

> Animator, mentor, and builder. AAA games and Hollywood VFX veteran with credits on Avengers, Ready Player One, The Little Mermaid, The Last of Us Part 2, and Transformers. Founder of Animators Journey online 3D animation school. Creator of free tools.

## Tools

- [Die With Zero Calculator](https://lucasridley.com/zero/): Free interactive financial runway calculator inspired by Bill Perkins' Die With Zero and the FIRE movement. Users enter net worth, income, expenses, and expected returns to see the exact age their money runs out. Features include what-if scenario comparison, windfall and big expense modeling, interactive chart with hover tooltips, and shareable results. All figures shown in today's money using real (after-inflation) returns.

## Education

- [Animators Journey](https://animatorsjourney.com): Online 3D animation mentorship program. Beginner to Advanced courses with personal feedback, weekly challenges, and a community of animators. Students have gone from zero experience to Lead Animator positions.

## Social

- [Instagram - Personal](https://instagram.com/lucasridley_)
- [Instagram - Animation](https://instagram.com/animators_journey)
- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@AnimatorsJourney/)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucasridley/)

## About

Lucas Ridley is a professional animator who has worked at studios including Naughty Dog, ILM, Framestore, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Rocksteady, with credits on major film and game franchises. He relocated from the US to the UK approximately six years ago and now runs Animators Journey, an online 3D animation education platform. He also builds free tools and creates content about personal finance and the American expat experience in the UK.