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What is your name and your current occupation?
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I really didn’t do many jobs,I worked at a gas station , I cleaned pools, gardening at a church and worked at Magic Mountain.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Besides my Toxictoons. I had a lot of fun designing the weird monster kids designs on the ED EDD AND EDDY HALLOWEEN SPECIAL - BOO HAW HAW that runs every Halloween on Cartoon Network.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtSee5SdiBU
Also my MASK line at WWW.TRICKORTREATSTUDIOS.COM im very proud of , they have 4 of my masks that they used my designs for. Shirt designs for Metallica,and lots of other bands. An APP coming out in a few weeks designed by ERIC DANIELS. And all the work I did at DISNEY ANIMATION back when they did hand drawn films from Oliver and company to Princess and the Frog. As well as working on the FAMILY DOG for Amazing Stories that TIM BURTON designed.
And right now my friend ERIC DANIELS is turning in an APP to APPLE with my art where you can make monsters with my parts.
How did you become interested in animation?Â
As a kid I loved anything with cartoon art, and I watched cartoons all the time. Bugs Bunny, Fleischer’s, Tex Avery, Tom and Jerry, Saturday morning and of course WALT DISNEY.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in Canyon Country and lived right by CAL ARTS started by DISNEY’S.
When I graduated high school I started going to all the SPIKE AND MIKE Animation festivals. At this time I started going to a school called BRANDES ART that was taught by DISNEY artists. Then after a year and a half of schooling there I just went out and looked for any job and got hired on. My 1st animation job was on ,†THE LEGEND OF ORIN in 3-d†back in 1983
This was 3-d like a view master 3-d . Then all my friends went to work on the Steven Speilberg’s Amazing Stories show called,â€the Family Dogâ€, and then they all went on to Disney’s and they put in a good word for me.
I got hired at DISNEY’S in 1987 on OLIVER AND CO as an inbetweener.This was right when ROGER Rabbit came out an got people interested in animation again.
I worked at Disney’s until the management at the time decided nobody wanted to watch hand drawn films anymore and switched to all computer films and got rid of us all in 2002.
I was let go THANKSGIVING weekend 2002, Nice way to say thanks for 15 years service. But hey seems to be what most major company’s in America are doing these days and shipping all our jobs overseas.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
I am self employed working on my toxictoons art.
I wake up and just see if I have orders for my shirts-books-stickers-prints and put them together, and mail them off.Then work on what ever comes out of me that week.
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
Being my own boss and creating and working on my own stuff.
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Being home sometimes. I just suffered a heart attack 2 months ago mostly from salty foods and LACK OF EXCERSISE! So sometimes I miss being in an environment with other artists and moving around ESPECIALLY. But now I eat way different and ride bikes and swim.
**Very important to all you out there who eat like crap and sit all day. GET UP AND MOVE AROUND! Go for a walk anything.
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Well since I don’t work for any studios right now, that’s it, NO JOB. Unfortunately doing 2-d these days is almost like saying ,â€Hi I’m A LEEPER GOT ANY 2D WORK?!
No one wants you.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?Â
I do PEN AND INK and PHOTOSHOP daily.
In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
Well on TREASURE PLANET I did some designs and they used a character and named it PIGORS after me,that was pretty cool. I did my own cartoon called,â€LETS CHOP SOOE!†for International rocketship ltd in 1990.
And when the EMT in the ambulance was taking me to my operation as I had my heart attack he said,â€I see your name is PIGORS you wouldn’t be thee UNKLE PIGORS would you?†I said yes and he said he had lots of my shirts and told the driver hey we have a star riding with us.â€Which was nice when you are having a heart attack,it calmed me down for the 15 minute drive to the Hospital.
Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Well I think the heart attack is almost the hardest thing to go through. And these days being an artist who draws trying to get work in a computer animated world.
Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
Well HALLOWEEN is my favorite time of year , and most all my art is spooky stuff with a dark sense of humor .Maybe Tim Burton meets Charles Addams and RAT FINK. I have my 2011 TRICK OR TREAT BAG SPECIAL coming out Sept 1st on my website and some other Halloween themed items as well to buy.
Well , you can see all my stuff atÂ
www.toxictoons.com that’s my life and hobby I guess you can say.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
I can drive with my eyes closed! No, nothing really strange talent I can think of.
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Well my motto is,†do what you enjoy ,and life will be much happier for you.â€
If you can make a living with it, that’s even better!
