Rascal: Meet the 3D Team

It’s a pretty exciting time for Rascal right now. They are proudly welcoming four new talented members to their CGI team. With a passion for storytelling and a wealth of experience, these new team members bring a fresh perspective and a new level of creativity to the Rascal family. Here, we'll introduce you to each of them and give you a glimpse into their unique backgrounds and expertise. Let’s meet the new editions. 

Belinda Sandberg

Belinda has had an impressive eight years spent in VFX where she had the opportunity to work on Star Wars - Rogue One and Trolls as well as a new TV series that will be airing on Netflix and HBO. What is more, in 2021 she received an Emmy Certificate for “outstanding special visual effects in a single episode” for her work on Star Trek Discovery.

Belinda is the team’s newest recruit. She’s incredibly ambitious, especially when it comes to something she feels truly passionate about. Not only is she an avid digital artist, but loves to embrace her Ninja Turtles fandom by modelling and 3D printing her own figures.

Starting a new journey at Rascal feels like a breath of fresh air for Belinda, “I love that Rascal doesn’t feel like a factory where the artist is just a gear in a clockwork. It’s a creative and fun workplace.”

She feels hopeful about the future of the industry, noting how much she has seen working conditions for artists improve over the past decade. For Belinda, the most important thing of all is working with people you love.

Daniel Westerlund

Detail oriented to the core, Daniel comes alive when it comes to being creative. Stumbling across the world of VFX was a bit of a happy accident. Originally planning to study archaeology, he discovered VFX was more closely aligned with one of his great passions in life: film. Working in the industry for seven years has allowed Daniel to be part of many interesting and challenging projects; including the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises. 

For Daniel, the best piece of advice he has ever received is don’t be afraid to pitch your ideas. “Even if it’s something that gets shot down, it can help start other ideas forming and coming to life. Getting a creative discussion going is a great thing.” Maybe this is part of the reason why he enjoys working in a team environment so much. Recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award honours for his work on Star Trek: Discovery, Daniel is now dreaming of working in something involving high fantasy, where his creative juices can be fully squeezed. 

A relatively new recruit to the Rascal team, having joined six months ago, Daniel has already built solid foundations. “I have always believed what makes a great company is finding the right kind of people that really enjoy working together — not just people who want to get into the office, do a day's work and get out the door. I feel that Rascal really has managed to find the perfect group of people for the kind of work we do.”

Outside of work, Daniel is a keen golfer, especially when the weather allows for it in Sweden. 

Adam Ahlgren

Adam’s portfolio is pretty impressive and boasts names like Star Wars and the Mandalorian; the latter being one of his standout projects. Making a village was an opportunity for him to run creatively, “I got to go all in. I did the whole layout, shading and lighting of those shots” he tells us.

Adam was always creatively driven but didn’t know where his path would take him. Having a passion for special effects he applied to every school that had “3D” in their programme name. He ended up studying at a campus situated deep in a forest which gave him the perfect focus to hone his skills. He’s now been in the industry for nine years. 

He loves that he gets to create things that do not exist. Being someone who likes to paint, draw and photograph, he’s always been fond of taking something mundane and using effects to make it something visually special. His next goal is to work on a project where he can give specific focus to colour grading. 

For Adam, the best part about working for Rascal is the freedom to come with creative input, knowing that someone will actually listen. And of course, the team: “there really are so many great people to work with.”

Mikael Theander

Mikael has now been with Rascal for nine months and is loving the fast-paced nature of the company. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of a young company as it grows. And to flex the creativity cells”. He began his career in long form and is best known for his work on Black Panther, Pacific Rim, Rogue One and Jurassic World. 

The things Mikael is most proud of within his work are often the things that will go unnoticed to the naked eye, or that the audience will never see. He takes pride in doing difficult work well, whether that being a particularly tricky clean up or track; it is this dedication to the unsung work that makes Mikael a true asset. 

A keen amateur chef, Mikael is very down to earth and doesn’t shy away from technical challenges. Initially pursuing an education in composting, Mikael eventually transitioned into the field of VFX where he honed his skills. His interest in matchmoving tasks began early on and soon propelled him to become the primary tracker. 

As far as dream projects go, for Mikael it is anything that goes smoothly and makes everyone involved happy.