Author Archives: Laura

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Chris Burns

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
Chris Burns, Owner and Lead Animator of EXIT 73 STUDIOS (exit73studios.com).

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
The craziest job I ever had was as a carpenter/roofer. I worked with a bunch of super manly dudes whose life mission was to win concert tickets on the radio or Pick 4 lotto. The money was good, and you couldn’t beat the hours, but I knew pretty early on that I wanted to pursue a career in art.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Hands down my favorite project was Transfurter. We had a lot of freedom with the designs and story, and it was a very homegrown production. I often compare this project to how a garage band works – very DIY, gritty, and a fair amount of improvisation. And just like a Garage band, that unkempt feel translates into something beautiful when it all comes together in the end. It’s truly satisfying.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 
I’m originally from eastern Long Island, which made my choice to go to SVA very easy. I interned at a bunch of Animation studios like B3, NOODLE SOUP, WORLD LEADERS, and 4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT. NOODLE SOUP, provided me with a job opportunity on the pilot episode of VENTURE BROTHERS. After school ended, I had my first Continue reading

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Anne Walker

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Anne Walker, lead character layout artist at Six Point Harness

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Working at a party supply store with a (possibly psychotic) owner, bookkeeper at Staples, smoothie wench at the Laguna Beach Jamba Juice. Also I taught piano.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Random Cartoons!!! Also, the The Mr. Men Show, and Good Vibes, my current project at 6PH, which is quite possibly the funniest thing I’ve ever worked on.

How did you become interested in animation?
I always loved cartoons, but I really fell in love with telling animated stories in high school.  Mixing storytelling and art made me feel more alive and at home than anything else in my life at the time – including being with my family in my actual home.  I drew more than I listened in class.  I spent prom night working on my epic (read: TERRIBLE) science fiction anime screenplay in my parents’ office.  I was That Sort.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I originally came down to southern CA from the Bay Area to go to art school. The first two years at school were a blast; my third year was miserable. One of the high points of that miserable third year was an internship at Cartoon Network studios, where I met (stalked) a number of artists who were generous enough to share their time and wisdom with me. I learned that many of them had never graduated college, or in some cases had never even gone to school, period, and it occurred to me that I could break into the industry without suffering through another expensive year of art school. So, the summer before my senior year I

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Ray Chase

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ray Chase and I am a directing animator on “Free Birds” our first feature film at ReelFx. I am also a mentor at Animation Mentor.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I don’t know that I really had any crazy jobs.  But let’s say that I was a llama herder in Australia.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
A couple years ago I worked on a series of Looney Tunes cartoons which were a lot of fun.  One short in particular, “Daffy’s Rhapsody”, used original Mel Blanc recordings of Daffy Duck. It was pretty amazing to animate to his voice.

How did you become interested in animation?
I was always interested in animation as a kid but never thought much about doing it as a career.  Toward the end of high school Who framed Roger Rabbit came out and I was inspired; I saw it eight times in the theater.  A couple years later the Disney/MGM studios opened in Orlando where you could see real animators bringing characters to life.  That’s when I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in Gambrills Maryland. And went to school at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). They didn’t have much of an animation program at the time; this was the early 90s. After college I started applying to Disney to get a job as a 2d animator, but Continue reading

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Elliot Cowan

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Elliot Cowan.My main gig for the past year or so has been Master Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philly and other teaching appointments around Manhattan.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
One summer I worked for an accounting firm moving all their paperwork from one style of manila envelope to another.It was deathly boring.I spent most of my time making barnyard animals out of Acco fasteners and shooting them off the top of the photocopier with rubber bands.This is the only job I’ve ever had outside of media (I directed live action television commercials for about 10 years).

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Uli Meyer Animation in London were working on an animated feature project called Monstermania! Uli brought me on board initially to design a nightmare sequence but soon I was doing all kinds of great stuff.My proudest moments have been

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Pedro Astudillo

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Pedro Astudillo and I am a freelance graphic artist and character designer.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was a truck driver for almost 5 years. In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I was very young when I started working in the animation field but am still proud of the work I did back then.
When I was living in Spain I worked as a freelance animator for two animation studios simultaneously. I wasn’t really doing great work but I am proud of the fact that my earnings helped support my family for two years.  Many years later I worked in the toy industry as a character designer for entertainment properties, for a few years. It was one of the most prolific periods for me as an artist and am proud of my body of work during that time. Most recently and while I was still working at Disney I worked on a Pinocchio program that consisted of designing and supervising several items of limited edition. That was the last interesting project assigned to me during my last months at Disney and am very proud of the results. The fact that Pinocchio is my favorite animated Disney film only increases that feeling.
How did you become interested in animation?
I  fell in love with animated cartoons at a very early age, long before I Continue reading