Author Archives: Laura

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Corey McDaniel

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Corey McDaniel – Lead Animator at Titmouse in Vancouver.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I used to work at a seafood restaurant on the weekends around my senior year in high school. Because of this, I do not eat seafood any more. I also interned at a training facility for a Honda manufacturing plant while taking some college classes. Because of this, I do not eat Hondas any more.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I got to work on an original series called Gundarr with my buddy Ted Wilson for a couple years, funded by Mondo Media. It was a total blast. We basically got paid to write, animate & voice whatever we wanted. I’m also super excited to be animating on Breadwinners for Titmouse. I love cartoons that aren’t ashamed of the fact that they’re cartoons, & Breadwinners definitely fits that mold. I’m currently working with two talented British chaps on a game I came up with called Cloudface. Together we form the unstoppable team FUTUREBEARD. Making a game is hard work, but it’s been very eye opening and super fun!

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
My dad was in the ARMY, so I grew up Texas, Colorado, Germany & Alabama. I went to JSU in Alabama for 4 years & got out of there with a BFA in Graphic Design, but I didn’t want to live in Alabama, so I started hunting around for animation schools. My first try was Cal-Arts, but Continue reading

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Doug Wood

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Doug Wood – Head Writer on FLOOGALS, an upcoming Sprout/NBCUniversal live-action and CGI series for preschoolers.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was an actor so many of those jobs were crazy. Playing an elf on a TV commercial stands out, as does a role as an anorexic Sumo wrestler on an NBC musical/comedy series with Smokey Robinson.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I was the development exec on some great properties– IRON GIANT at Warner Bros., TINY TOONS and ANIMANIACS at Amblin. I’m also proud to have worked on a little film called BALTO– the first animated feature I developed while an executive for Spielberg.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Chicago. I acted there with Steppenwolf, Next Theatre Co., Second City and the Fine Line Comedy Duo. I came to L.A. to do the Fine Line on the Merv Griffin Show and at the Improv and Comedy Store, and wound up getting steady acting work for about a year. When that dried up, I found Continue reading

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Ray Alma

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Ray Alma.  I currently work full time doing storyboards and animatics at Larry Schwartz and His Band (formally Animation Collective)  I also freelance as an illustrator for magazines and do freelance storyboarding for advertising.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I spent 2 weeks working as a staff artist at World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford, CT. I had to draw wrestlers for comic books and lunchboxes, that kind of stuff. They let me go because they didn’t think I drew leg muscles well enough.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I was a fairly regular freelance artist contributor to Mad magazine from 1996 to about 2003. Mad magazine inspired me to become a cartoonist so being able to become one of the “Usual Gang of Idiots” was a life long dream.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
I always loved animation, and when illustration work started to Continue reading

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Josh Sobel

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Josh Sobel Owner at Josh Sobel Rigs + Freelance Character TD at Psyop

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Not too much crazy. Worked maintenance (painting walls, mostly) and was a cashier in a cafe briefly.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m the most proud of the animated Disney short, Feast. It was my first simulation project and also probably the most distinct and artistically-driven.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
Until I was 12 I lived on Long Island and after that I went to high school in Fort Lauderdale. I fell into both art and technology while there and CG animation seemed Continue reading

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Alessandro Baldasseroni

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Alessandro Baldasseroni and I’m currently hired as one of the character modeling lead at Blur Studio.My job consists in creating (modeling and texturing) 3d characters and creatures.When I’m lead on a show ,  I take care of supervising the character assets , artistically and technically.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I didn’t have many jobs in my life honestly, but I recall helping my parents at their restaurant as a barman and then  I had some experiences of web design and i was a cad operator before working full time in cg.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Definitely the halowars cinematics and the work blur did on the pitch for the Goon feature film, also working on the star Wars : the old republic cinematics was pretty challenging . Also doing one of the NFL on fox robots for their pre game tv commercials was very rewarding.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Just by chance, back in1996. , I was working in a networking company as cad operator , and by chance I Continue reading

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Frans Vischer

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Frans Vischer. I am an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation.  I am also an author/illustrator. I have two children’s books published, Fuddles and Jimmy Dabble, and another book being published next year.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
In high school I did weekend janitorial work at a Montessori school, and I was a lousy busboy at a Mexican restaurant, spilling trays and breaking lots of plates. I delivered pizza for a single night after my 2nd year at Cal Arts, (when thankfully an animation job came through.)

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” “Cats Don’t Dance” “Back To Neverland,” “Back to Neverland” “Michael and Mickey” “The Night of the Living Duck,” (a Daffy Duck short.)

 

How did you become interested in animation?
When I was thirteen, my mother sent some of my drawings to the Disney studio. Don Duckwall, the aptly named animation department production manager, wrote back inviting us to visit the studio whenever we were in the area. We lived in Cupertino, in Northern California, and the following summer we vacationed in Southern California, and made part of our plans to visit the Disney studio in Burbank. I met Mr. Duckwall, as well as Ed Hansen, who would succeed him in the job, (and later become my boss.) I also met a number of animators, who inspired me to make my own animated films. My parents bought me a used 8 mm. camera, and my dad built a light box with a set of pegs, and I jumped right in and started experimenting.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. When I was eleven, my family moved to the United Sates. During high school I met Chuck Jones at a talk he gave at a junior college. I wanted to show him one of my Continue reading