Aodhan McNicholl

Aodhan McNicholl serves as Lecturer in 2D Animation at Ulster University's Belfast School of Art, Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences. Based at the Belfast campus (2-24 York Street, BT15 1AP), he joined the university in 2019 after six years as a professional Designer and Background Artist for industry clients including Adult Swim, HBO, BBC, and JAM Media. His role focuses on providing software and hardware support for the animation curriculum.

McNicholl's expertise bridges industry practice and academic instruction, with research interests centered on 2D animation techniques, game design pipelines, and television production workflows. His professional background informs practical teaching approaches in digital art creation and animation technology. Current research engagement includes the AHRC Future Island-Island GTE Extension project (2025-2028), examining collaborative arts initiatives between island communities.

As a Co-Investigator on the £1.2m AHRC-funded project led by Professor John Magee, McNicholl contributes technical animation expertise to this cross-institutional collaboration. The Belfast School of Art environment provides direct access to industry-standard animation studios and digital production facilities, supporting both his teaching responsibilities and research activities in applied animation contexts.