Roger Kupelian
Roger Kupelian is an American digital visual artist, filmmaker, director, producer, writer, and educator of Armenian descent.
He is known for his contributions to visual effects in films such as The [Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings trilogy], The Chronicles of Riddick, and Space Jam, as well as his award-winning documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains, graphic novels, fine art exhibitions, and independent creative projects, including the web series Warrior Saints.
Early life
Roger Kupelian is an Armenian-American born in 1967 in Beirut, Lebanon and raised in Sierra Leone, West Africa, from early childhood until age 12.In 1979, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Glendale, California, a hub for the Armenian-American community.Education
He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and graduated from Glendale High School.Career
Documentary Filmmaking
In the early 1990s, Kupelian ventured into documentary filmmaking, embedding himself in the conflicts of the Caucasus region, particularly in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. His documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains, shot in 1994 at Artsakh on the front lines of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, won the Arpa Film Festival Jury Prize in 2002. Combining documentary footage with animation, the film chronicles the history of the region and people’s experiences leading up to the war.Kupelian produced the documentary film East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints, reflecting his interest in Armenian heritage and epic storytelling.
Teaching career
Before fully transitioning to film, Kupelian taught art at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian High School in Encino, California, an accredited Armenian-American private school.Visual effects and movie career
Kupelian launched his Hollywood career as a digital film artist at Cinesite Hollywood, contributing to the visual effects for Space Jam, a live-action/animated hybrid film featuring Michael Jordan and List of [Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters|Looney Tunes characters]. He later worked as a concept artist and digital matte painter on major films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Two Towers, and The [Return of the King]. His artwork for the films was featured in the films’ official art collections, along with a New Zealand stamp collection. His work on The Two Towers earned him a nomination for Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture at the 2003 Visual Effects Society Awards. Kupelian also contributed to Cloverfield, a found-footage sci-fi thriller, and The Chronicles of Riddick, a science-fiction action film.Graphic Novels and Web Series
In 2012, Kupelian released the graphic novel East of Byzantium: War Gods.In 2011, he did the illustrations for the Serj Tankian book Glaring Through Oblivion. In 2015, Kupelian released the Warrior Saints, a graphic novel exploring Armenian warrior traditions and Christian martyrdom narratives. In 2019, he made it into a web series that combines graphic storytelling with digital media.