Coming from a background in traditional art, film and illustration with a BFA from School of Visual Arts in New York City, Bartoli made the move to California to work as a concept artist on Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. He has been working in the visual effects, commercial and film industry for over 10 years at companies such as Pacific Data Images and Dreamworks Animation. As Visual Effects Art Director on such films as Evolution, Minority Report and AI, he honed his skills in special effects, art and matte painting as well as computer graphics and later transitioned into computer animated feature films. It was while working on films such as Madagascar and Shrek 2 that he learned valuable pipeline production techniques that would assist him in later films.

Bartoli was the Supervising Virtual Art Director for James Cameron’s AVATAR. In May of 2005, he began work on Avatar as one of four artists initially hired to work directly with James Cameron to design the creatures and environments of Pandora. From conceptual design, he moved on to supervising the Avatar Virtual Art Department. Yuri assisted in creating a world that existed only in the computer, innovating and improving the look of the template of the film.

The opportunity to work, learn and contribute to the process of making Avatar was unique- from Virtual Production to 3D stereography, from concept design to technical knowledge of the Volume; he looks forward to applying it all to future projects, and pushing the envelope even further.

Combining his fine art successes with a life long interest in film, Ellingson landed a position at George Lucas' Industrial, Light and Magic in 1989 as a Visual Effects Art Director. While at ILM, Ellingson contributed to the creation of ground-breaking special effects in films such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Disclosure. In 1995, Ellingson accepted an invitation by Director Guillermo Del Toro to act as principal designer of the signature creature for his film, Mimic. TyRuben also designed weapons and equipment for Del Toro on Blade 2 and the Hellboy films. Ellingson was the Lead Vehicle Designer for James Cameron’s AVATAR. He provided the designs for the AMP suit and RDA combat aircraft. As the show moved into post-production, TyRuben designed the RDA mining equipment and RDA ground vehicles, several of which were also used in the AVATAR video game.

As a result of his unique and robust understanding of story, production, visual effects, and design, TyRuben collaborates with directors in a manner that extends well beyond design work. Known for his creative thinking, he brings value to each project by proposing new story elements, set pieces, and/or sequences in addition to inventive designs. Other films to which he has lent his creative talents include Blade Trinity, Signs, Eagle Eye, Surrogates, Priest (2011) and Battle: Los Angeles (2011).

The son of a Minnesota art professor, TyRuben spent his childhood in his father’s studio drawing and painting. He completed his Master's degree at St. Cloud State University, and his Master of Fine Arts degree was completed in 1987 at Southern Methodist University.