Roger Kupelian

Roger Kupelian (born 1967) 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 trilogy,^[1] The Chronicles of Riddick, and Space Jam, as well as his award-winning documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains (2002), graphic novels, fine art exhibitions, and independent creative projects, including the web series Warrior Saints.

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.^[2] In 1979, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Glendale, California, a hub for the Armenian-American community.^[2]

He attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and graduated from Glendale High School.^[1]

In the early 1990s, Kupelian ventured into documentary filmmaking, embedding himself in the conflicts of the Caucasus region, particularly in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.^[3] His documentary Dark Forest in the Mountains (2002), shot in 1994 at Artsakh on the front lines of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, won the Arpa Film Festival Jury Prize in 2002.^[4] Combining documentary footage with animation, the film chronicles the history of the region and people’s experiences leading up to the war.^[5]

Kupelian produced the documentary film East of Byzantium: War Gods and Warrior Saints, reflecting his interest in Armenian heritage and epic storytelling.^[6]

Before fully transitioning to film, Kupelian taught art at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian High School in Encino, California, an accredited Armenian-American private school.^[7][8]

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 Looney Tunes characters.^[3] He later worked as a concept artist and digital matte painter on major films, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring (2001),^[9] The Two Towers (2002),^[10] and The Return of the King (2003).^[11] His artwork for the films was featured in the films’ official art collections, along with a New Zealand stamp collection.^{[9][10][11][12]}  His work on The Two Towers earned him a nomination for Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture at the 2003 Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards.^[13] Kupelian also contributed to Cloverfield, a found-footage sci-fi thriller, and The Chronicles of Riddick,^[3] a science-fiction action film.^[14]

In 2012, Kupelian released the graphic novel East of Byzantium: War Gods.^[2][15]

In 2011, he did the illustrations for the Serj Tankian book Glaring Through Oblivion.^{[16][17][18][19]} In 2015, Kupelian released the Warrior Saints, a graphic novel exploring Armenian warrior traditions and Christian martyrdom narratives.^[20][21] In 2019, he made it into a web series that combines graphic storytelling with digital media.^[22]

Kupelian has directed and produced music videos for Serj Tankian of System of a Down,^{[23][24][12][25]} including songs “Reconstructive Demonstrations,” which was released in 2010, “Honking Antelope,”which was released in 2017, and “How Many Times,” which was released in 2021.^[26][27][28]

Kupelian maintains strong ties to the Armenian-American community in Glendale, California.^[15][19][29] He has two daughters with designer Alina Khanjian.^[19][3][7]

• 2011, East of Byzantium: War Gods, Fugitive Studios Entertainment. ISBN 9780615572062^[30]
• 2011, Glaring Through Oblivion (as illustrator, with Serj Tankian), It Books. ISBN 9780062012050^[19]
• 2015, East of Byzantium: Warrior Saints, Fugitive Studios Entertainment. ISBN 9781944243760^[21]