Mary Poplin | Principal Creative Technologist at Adobe

Mary Poplin in a grey pinstriped jacket with an Adobe pin and a white magnolia in her hair

About

I'm a Principal Creative Technologist at Adobe, based in Asheville, North Carolina. I build demos and prototypes that drop enterprise creative teams into real production scenarios with Creative Cloud, Firefly, and Firefly Custom Models, and I present them at Adobe MAX, Adobe Summit, and NAB.

Every role on the timeline below asked me to make something. At Boris FX that meant demo videos, live shows, and training artists and consulting with studios like ILM, Framestore, and others. At Adobe it means API-based workflows, feedback that shapes the After Effects roadmap, and working prototypes for Fortune 500 customers.

I work with generative AI every day. I'm pro-creator rights, pro-regulation, and pro-good-use-case, and I don't buy the hype or the panic.

The Exceptional Women in Production & Post program honored me, and I belong to the Visual Effects Society, SAG-AFTRA, and ASCAP.

Career timeline

2001 to 2005
I earned a BFA in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
2005 to 2006
Omation. Photoshop and paint artist on Barnyard: The Original Party Animals. I cleaned up and composited every marketing render, from character press images to game covers, posters, and billboards, and I painted cleanup on the film's renders in Combustion.
2006 to 2010
Cafe FX and Threshold Animation. I painted mattes, color keys, sky domes, and set textures for feature films and CG animation, including Food Fight, HERO Factory, and Clutch Powers at Threshold and a hand in The Kite Runner at Cafe FX, and I freelanced as an illustrator and designer for clients like Paramount.
2008 to 2010
I studied traditional drawing and painting at Watts Atelier of the Arts.
2010
Stereo D. As a depth artist I converted 2D film frames to stereoscopic 3D with rotoscoping and clean plates, on titles like Gulliver's Travels, Oceans, Thor, and The Green Hornet.
2010 to 2022
Imagineer Systems and Boris FX. Senior Product Specialist for Mocha, Sapphire, Silhouette, and Continuum. I solved shots on deadline, made demo videos, started the Office Hours live series on the Boris FX Learning channel, and demoed at trade shows like NAB, SIGGRAPH, IBC, Adobe MAX, and SXSW.
2016
I painted the Hogwarts Castle matte paintings for the founders' portraits at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort.
2017 to 2020
I co-wrote and ran Undying, a Southern California LARP, and we published a Player's Guide, an Advanced Player's Guide, and a book of supplemental fiction.
2022 to 2025
Adobe. Solutions Consultant, then Senior Solutions Consultant. I designed Creative Cloud and Firefly workflows for Fortune 500 companies, built API-based integrations, and helped steer the After Effects roadmap.
2025 to now
Adobe. Principal Creative Technologist. I build working prototypes and demos on Creative Cloud, Firefly, and Custom Models for enterprise creative teams, and I present them at Adobe MAX, Adobe Summit, and NAB.

Mary Poplin presenting at a laptop to an audience — Presenting.

Mary Poplin smiling in front of a golden Emmy statue on a purple-lit stage — At the Emmys.

Mary Poplin and a colleague in formal wear beside a large Oscar statue and a shelf of statuettes — At the Academy's Sci-Tech Awards.

Contact

If you want me to speak, build a workflow demo, or make something with you, email me or find me on LinkedIn.

Email
LinkedIn

Matte painting

Environment painting, color keys, and compositing for feature film and animation. In 2016 I painted the Hogwarts Castle matte paintings for the founders' portraits at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort. Before that I painted mattes at Cafe FX and Threshold Animation, cleaned up and composited Barnyard marketing art at Omation, and converted feature films to stereo 3D at Stereo D.

Studios own most of the film and studio work I did in house, so most of it can't go on a public site. What's here is what I can show.

Hogwarts Castle in four seasons

Each season pairs a castle matte painting with one of the four founders' portraits, made for Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort in 2016.

Autumn matte painting of Hogwarts Castle: tall towers on a rocky hillside under an amber and grey sky

Autumn founder's portrait composite: a woman in a brown embroidered gown holding a golden goblet, with the castle behind her

Summer matte painting of Hogwarts Castle: a large round tower on a mossy cliff at sunset over a dark lake

Summer founder's portrait composite: a long-haired bearded man in a russet tunic and leather gauntlets resting his hands on a sword

Winter matte painting of Hogwarts Castle: a lone stone tower with lit windows on a snow-covered peak under a full moon

Winter founder's portrait composite: a bald man with a grey goatee in dark jeweled robes, hands clasped, with the castle behind him

Spring matte painting of Hogwarts Castle: slate-roofed spires above a trimmed hedge maze under a cloudy sky

Spring founder's portrait composite: a painterly portrait of a woman with long dark hair and a jeweled circlet in front of the castle towers

Autumn. Castle matte painting on the left, founder's portrait composite on the right.

Films and animation

Seventeen titles I've worked on. The titles and artwork belong to their studios.

In Search of Fellini
Cliffs of Freedom
The Green Hornet
Thor
Jackass 3D
Gulliver's Travels
Enter the Dragon 3D
Oceans
This Is It
Avatar: The Last Airbender
HERO Factory
Clutch Powers
Bunyan & Babe
Food Fight
The Kite Runner
Lucifer
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals

In Search of Fellini, Cliffs of Freedom, The Green Hornet, Thor, Jackass 3D, Gulliver's Travels, Enter the Dragon 3D, Oceans, This Is It, Avatar: The Last Airbender, HERO Factory, Clutch Powers, Bunyan & Babe, Food Fight, The Kite Runner, Lucifer, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals.

Selected credits

Stereo D: This Is It, Oceans, Thor, Enter the Dragon 3D, The Green Hornet, Gulliver's Travels
Omation: Barnyard: The Original Party Animals
Threshold Animation: Food Fight, HERO Factory, Clutch Powers
Cafe FX: The Kite Runner

Watch the demo reel

Studio work

Portrait and figure studies, mostly in oil. I trained at Watts Atelier of the Arts from 2008 to 2010, after a BFA in Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Oil portrait of a man in a mustard-yellow coat and white cravat against green drapery

Oil portrait of a woman with curly pale blond hair lit from one side, in blue and gold tones

Still life painting of a blue glazed vase with white and yellow drapery against deep blue cloth

Sepia figure study of a pirate in a plumed hat holding the hilt of a rapier

Graphite sheet of quick gesture drawings of standing, seated, and twisting male figures

Oil portrait of a woman in a blue headband looking to the side, with a teal drape behind her

Painted portrait of a man with swept auburn hair, a mustache, and a hoop earring against a green ground

Graphite sheet of quick gesture drawings of female torsos and standing figures

Oil portrait of a man with a white goatee in a red head wrap against green

Graphite sheet of quick gesture drawings of muscular male figures in twisting poses

Oil portrait of an older man with a white beard and glasses wearing a flat cap

Oil portrait of a balding man with a full white and auburn beard against green

Oil portrait study.

Illustration and key art

Digital painting, character illustration, and studio marketing art. At Omation from 2005 to 2006 every Barnyard character press image, game cover, poster, and billboard came through me for Photoshop cleanup and compositing. Some of these pieces are book art.

Digital painting of a young woman with an archer's bow kneeling to greet a large blue dragon in a dim stone courtyard

Illustration of a pointed-eared woman in a red and blue dress playing a lute beside a large grey armored hound wearing a saddle

Painterly illustration of a warrior in polished plate armor with a gold face mask and red plume, one armored leg raised onto a large sword, red cloth at the hips, and shafts of golden light behind

Painterly illustration of a pale undead woman with glowing green eyes, black hair, and a purple dress, conjuring green magic while bones and a glowing skull gather around her

Marketing key art of cartoon animals riding motorcycles down a mountain road toward the viewer

Barnyard character render of Otis, a cartoon cow with black patches dancing on one leg against white

Barnyard character render of Eddy, a tan cartoon cow with a topknot pointing sideways against white

Character illustration of a red-maned, feline-featured warrior in blue trousers holding a sword, with an eye emblem on his belt

Loose watercolor of a red-flowered urn on a pedestal in yellow and violet washes, signed Mary Poplin

Girl and dragon. Digital painting.

The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn was formative for me. I made this work for Peter Beagle's Last Unicorn Tour, a screening tour of the animated film.

Mary Poplin on stage with Peter Beagle and two other people in front of a projection screen, with a blue T-shirt in the foreground

Digital painting of a pale unicorn rearing in swirling magenta and violet clouds

Black line art of a unicorn's head tilted to one side, surrounded by stars, with The Last Unicorn Tour title and web address

Black line art of a wide-eyed woman in a tricorn hat with wild curls and outstretched hands, with The Last Unicorn Tour title and web address

On stage with Peter Beagle. The blue T-shirt is one they gave me, and it says “It's All Peter Beagle's Fault.”

Writing

I write live-action role-playing games and the game books that go with them, including the Southern California LARPs Dying Kingdoms and Undying. I also write fantasy books and short stories. You've most likely read none of them, because I write those for myself.

Undying: A Southern California LARP I co-wrote and ran from 2017 to 2020. We published a Player's Guide, an Advanced Player's Guide, and a book of supplemental fiction, and the story arc closed in 2020. Undying on Facebook
Dying Kingdoms: A Southern California LARP that ran for a decade and has since ended. I wrote for it.
Fantasy books and short stories: Most likely you've read none of them. I write them for myself.
Whispers of the Dream Court: An epistolary game for two that grew out of all that LARP writing. It's further down the page.

LARP and costume

I have LARPed since I was young enough for that to be not cool. This is where I sharpened my improv, storytelling, costuming, and stage combat. I've always been a giant nerd.

Players in period costume fighting with foam swords in a sunlit dirt courtyard ringed with colorful banners and hay bales

Two players in a forest, one in black with a horned headband and a war hammer, one in a green tunic with pointed ears

A couple in pirate costume, a bearded man in black velvet with a sword and a woman in a tricorn hat, leather jacket, and red sash

A costumed couple at a masquerade ball, a man in a black coat with a red vest and a woman in a rose-pink gown with a lace collar

A woman in a champagne satin halter gown holding a glass of wine, wearing a jeweled necklace

A woman in a purple draped gown with a long teal train, layered pearl necklaces, and gold sandals

A player with white face paint, black lips, and a black feathered hat, in a corset and black shirt with a gloved hand raised

A player with green skin makeup, red eyes, and stitched scar makeup wearing a bone necklace outside a convention center

A composite image of a headless figure in a brown leather corset and jacket, holding its own head under one arm

A LARP battle.

Whispers of the Dream Court

Whispers of the Dream Court is an epistolary role-playing game for two, set in the dream-touched realm of Somnia. One of you plays the Queen Regent and the other plays her Spymaster, and you both guard a secret that could save the kingdom or bring it down.

It grew out of my LARP writing, scaled down to two people. There's no game master and no complex rules. You write each other handwritten letters, answer Court Intrigue cards with resources from the Sovereign's Deck, and keep the letters afterward, and the consent tools cover every relationship style, from emotional intimacy only to consensual physical expression. I wrote it because I needed it to exist, and I wanted epic romantic adventure without leaving home.

By Mary Morley Poplin

Back it on Kickstarter

Illustration of a glowing gold crown joined by a red thread to a dagger over a misty castle and crescent moon at night

How a session runs

Draw a Court Intrigue card that threatens the secret.
Write letters in response, spending cards from the Sovereign's Deck.
Meet for an in-person scene. The player who drew the card decides how it ends.

You resolve every session together against the kingdom instead of against each other, and the story ends when the two of you decide it does, deliriously happy or crushingly tragic.

Two card backs in blue and red with gold moon and star designs, and a Joker card called the Dream Trickster

How it was made

The art started with custom Adobe Firefly models trained only on my own original art. I painted over, modified, and finished those base compositions by hand, so nothing in the final art is unedited AI output. AI language models helped me edit my writing. The concept, mechanics, world, characters, and writing all come from me.

Mirisin title on a teal and gold nebula, beside a red-haired singer in a star-covered witch hat

Music

Mirisin is my personal project. I use it to explore emotions and writing from the last two decades, and I run it as a creative outlet. I don't treat it as a commercial project.

The songs come from my original writing, a custom musical model, and a custom digital voice, and they're about power, magic, love, and the women who hold all three. A digital avatar fronts it. I'm an enthusiastic singer, but I'm not sure everyone wants to hear me try to hit high notes.

A new single comes out every week.

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