The Papercut Ninja

Raised in Virginia Beach, VA, Tim D. Saguinsin spent much of his childhood creating with paper, pencil, paint, wood, etc. He continued his artistic endeavors attending high school at the Governor’s Magnet School for the Arts and later attended the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, MD where he received his BFA in General Fine Arts in 1995 focusing on painting and sculpture.

After graduating, Tim traveled overseas to London, England where he transformed his talents of painting and sculpture to animation and graphics to create educational CD-ROMs. He first started with New Media Projects as an animator and illustrator creating the graphics for 5 multimedia projects. Later while still in London, Tim co-founded re-Animate Educational Software and continued to create the graphics and animation for over thirty award winning educational products for the UK and international market.

After 5 years working overseas, he returned to America in 2001, where his talents were quickly picked up by K12, Inc.  Tim left K12 for a short period to be the Art Director for AARP Services in 2005 where he helped usher in the new AARP brand. He later returned to K12, Inc in 2006 where he helped to educate through graphics and animation.

In 2006, Tim founded Ricecooker Studios to help cultivate his artistic endeavors. Over the years, Ricecooker Studios has created animation for Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, published an online comic BARRIORS, produced Minny Facts, produced the first episode of Bytesize Bayani: Jose Rizal to teach Filipino history and had his first animated short “The Fisherman” play on HBO On Demand for Asian American History Month.

In November of 2013, Tim first started chopping up paper. A month later he purchased a paper cutting machine and Paper Chop Shop was born. Initially creating custom artwork for friends, and family, Tim moved towards creating his own ART and has exhibited throughout North Carolina as well as in Los Angeles and Germany.

In 2019, Tim’s animation and paper art were also showcased on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, where he competed as the Papercut Ninja. After a brief sabbatical to focus on ninja warrior, Tim is continuing his creative endeavors, now incorporating wood and metal into his repertoire.

He currently lives on the outskirts of Raleigh, North Carolina with his creative wife, two boys and dog, Spartan.

Want more? You can find me Ricecooker Studios and my ART site.