Phil Tippett Phil Tippett ( born 1951 ) is a movie director and an award - winning supervisor and producer , who specializes in creature design and character animation . Early career . Tippett was born in Berkeley , California . At the age of seven , Phil saw special effects classic , " " , and his life ' s direction was set . Phil completed a Bachelor ' s degree in Art at the University of California , Irvine , and went to work at the studio Cascade Pictures in Los Angeles . In 1978 , Phil headed the ILM animation department with Jon Berg for . Tippett used to animate the sinister Imperial Walkers and the hybrid alien Tauntaun . In 1981 , Tippett co - developed the animation technique called for " " ( which co - starred Ian McDiarmid ) , and received his first nomination for the extraordinarily realistic dragon animation . By 1983 , Tippett led the famed Lucasfilm creature shop for " " for which he was awarded his first in 1984 . In 1983 , was born when Phil left ILM and set up a studio in his garage to create a 10 - minute experimental film called " Prehistoric Beast " . The realism of the dinosaurs it depicted and the film ' s reflection of contemporary scientific theory led to the 1985 CBS animated documentary " " Tippett Studio won its first award , an for Special Visual Effects , for the animated dinosaur sequences . In 1985 producer Jon Davison hired Tippett to create the animated robot sequences for " " . Craig Hayes was simultaneously hired to design and build the robot . This project became the start of a long and successful collaboration between Phil and Craig . Later career . In 1991 , because of Phil ' s background and understanding of movement and behavior , Steven Spielberg selected Tippett to supervise animation on 50 dinosaur shots for " " . As animation director for the film , Phil supervised both the Tippett Studio and ILM animators . The resulting realistic portraits of dinosaurs that breathe , flex , twitch and react , earned a second Oscar for Phil . Work done on " Jurassic Park " resulted in the development by Tippett Studio ' s Craig Hayes of the DID ( Digital Input Device ) which was pivotal in the transition from stop - motion to computer generated animation in bringing creatures to life . In 1995 , Tippett Studio was hired to create the giant , hostile alien arachnids in adaptation of classic science fiction novel " " . Tippett marshaled a team of 100 animators , model makers , computer artists and technicians and expanded his all - CGI facility . Because of the intensity of his involvement , and his ability to pre - visualize the hoards of teeming arachnids , Verhoeven has credited Phil with co - directing the large - scale battle sequences for " Starship Troopers " . The excellence of this work resulted in Tippett ' s sixth nomination in 1997 for an Academy Award . During 1997 - 98 , Phil supervised animation and effects for Universal ' s " " and Disney ' s " " . In 1998 - 99 he and Craig Hayes co - supervised the visual effects on , " " , for Dreamworks . Under Phil and Craig ' s lead , Tippett Studio created over 100 complex effects shots that expressed the horrific character of the house and the spirits that live there . In 2000 , Phil joined director as the Visual Effects Supervisor on the Dreamworks sci - fi comedy , " " . In just under a year , Tippett Studio designed , realized and animated over 17 extraterrestrial creatures in 175 shots . Throughout 2001 and into 2002 , Phil re - focused his goals on developing and directing his own movie . Phil realized that dream with " " by partnering with his long time associates writer , Ed Neumeier , and producer Jon Davison , with whom he worked on the original " Starship Troopers " and " Robocop " . As Phil ' s career transitions from visual effects supervisor to motion picture director , Phil still mentors and advises the artists and craftsmen who create the unique visual effects that define Tippett Studio . In 2006 , Tippett wrote the afterword for the " " reference book . Behind the scenes . An Ewok in Marvel Star Wars comics is named Tippet , probably as an homage to Phil Tippett .