Author Archives: Laura

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Matt Siditsky

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Matt Siditsky and I am currently an animator/designer and independent filmmaker.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing out of the ordinary. Worked at a clothing store and a couple of arts and crafts stores. I also worked as a custom framer which was my favorite job before I got into the entertainment industry.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
That is a tough question. I have honestly loved most of the projects I have been fortunate enough to work on. I do tend to enjoy projects with a lot of experimental freedom more than the norm.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
That would be my fathers influence. He was an executive at Disney for 30 years which impacted me greatly. After observing my strong interest in art he Continue reading

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Luis Escobar

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What is your name and your occupation?

My name is Luis Escobar and I’m a Storyboard artist on THE SIMPSONS tv show.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
Before I got into the animation industry I used to milk squirrels for a living.  It’s surprising how few people know how high the demand for squirrel milk is. Especially in countries like Vanuatu, Uzbekistan, and Liechtenstein. Okay, I made all that up.  I didn’t really have any jobs before I got into the animation industry.  Especially not  involving milking squirrels. That’s sick, SICK I tell ya.  On the other hand, hamsters…

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I’m definitely proud of having worked on THE SIMPSONS movie. It was my first storyboard job AND my first movie.  It was also one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever had.  There are some SIMPSONS episodes I’m very proud to have worked on too. LISA’S WEDDING episode, I liked working on (directed by Jim Reardon) and Continue reading
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Ron Russell

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What is your name and your current occupation?

My name is Ron Russell and I am a background painter for Adventure Time at Cartoon Network.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Probably the craziest one was Hamburger Taster. When I was in my early 20s, I worked for a market research company for a (very) short time. It was my job to rate the food at different Carl’s Jr.’s. Each day they would give me  a stack of cash, a list of locations, and some survey forms. I was supposed to order the same thing at each restaurant and rate the food. At the end of the day I would give them the surveys and receipts. After the first day, I stopped tasting the food and took it all home to my roommate at the time, who was unemployed.They called the position “Mystery Shopper,” but I called it “Hamburger Taster.” I haven’t eaten at Carl’s Jr. since.I also worked at a record store and a couple of bookstores before I went to art school.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The two that stand out for me are Mighty B! and Adventure Time. The crews on both of these projects are/were full of incredibly talented people. and fun. and nice.

How did you become interested in animation?
Well, like almost everyone I know, I grew up watching a lot of cartoons. I really loved them, but never considered it to be a real thing that you could do (or that I could, anyway.) So, I just watched and read about them and admired the art. My favorites were, Continue reading
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Hank Tucker

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What is your name and your current occupation?
I’m Hank Tucker, story artist for Disney Toons Studios in Glendale.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I had two jobs before getting into animation: the first – lasting less than a month – was as a gas station attendant in Canoga Park, CA. The next – which figures heavily into how I got into animation (see below) – was as an apprentice editor at Columbia Pictures Television in 1974. I coded film, ground out leader and mag-track and carried dailies in a bike basket across the TBS (now WB) lot for shows like Police Story, Police Woman and Born Free – getting laughed at, yelled at and occasionally entertained by the likes of David Carradine, Yul Brenner, Angie Dickenson and The Doobie Brothers along the way. I was 17- 18. The job lasted 5 months until I was rightly jettisoned for confusion, inertia and chronic boredom…
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The projects I’m most proud of having been involved with: The Tick animated series for Fox which I produced and directed from 1995-96; Enchanted, which I boarded on for Kevin Lima at Disney and most recently the new Road Runner theatrical shorts for Matt O’Callahan at Warner’s.
How did you become interested in animation?
Around Christmas of ‘67 my mother dragged me to Disney’s The Jungle Book. I had hated Disney films more or less up to that point, being either scared or depressed by most of them and preferring Bugs any day of the week. But when I saw that tiger Continue reading
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Constantine Krystallis

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Constantine Krystallis and I am a Senior Character animator and Visual Effects artist in the Computer Game company in Athens, Greece.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?

Animation was always my goal so I tried to get into it immediately after college. I landed a job in an advertising firm doing mostly visualization and graphic design work. There was very little animation involved so I was on the look out for something else. I have also worked in an archeological site scanning pictures for the digital database. The place was so hot I had to place a wet cloth over the scanner for it to work because it was overheating.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?

I would say that my greatest fulfillment so far comes from my last personal short film which I created in 2008 for my MA of Animation course, called Mariza. It was my final project and has done very well in the festival circuit winning both national and international recognition and awards. It is always great to be in a theater and hear people respond and laugh with your work. I am also very proud of the current project I working for, Darkfall online. It is the first major attempt Continue reading