Author Archives: Laura

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Daniele Afferni

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What is your name and your current occupation?
I’m Daniele Afferni, illustrator, concept artist and co-founder of StudioASC, a creative team specialized in pre-visualization and illustration for advertising, film and TV commercial located in Milan, Italy.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Drawing and painting are the only things I’ve done in my whole life!  After attending an Art High School and a qualifying course in comics drawing, I directly moved to my first job as an inside-man illustrator in a big advertising agency (Armando Testa).  (I don’t think it’s crazy …all the nights we were forced to spend into the agency to deliver our works on time …those were crazy!) Then I became a freelance illustrator and later I founded the creative team ASC, in association with two friends of mine, the illustrators/designers/animators Anna Citelli and Luca Mari.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I had the thrilling opportunity to collaborate with several interesting professional artists, like the Italian movie director Gabriele Salvatores in “Nirvana”, or the English movie director Nicolas Roeg. In Europe it is a common habit for the movie directors to do also commercial spots to enlarge their experience;  just to give you an example, I recall with great pleasure having worked with Wim Wenders for the Ariston-Hotpoint tv commercial: really particular to see a director of a very high artistic level to “soil his hands” with a washing-machine!

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I didn’t start as an animator. Basically I’m a Visualizer and a Concept Artist.  I finished my studies with the aim of drawing comics, but Continue reading

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Brad Graeber

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Brad Graeber, Chief Executive Officer, Powerhouse Animation Studios, Inc.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I worked as an editorial cartoonist at 3 small Texas newspapers. It was good preparation for working in animation, having to contend with unmovable deadlines and getting something out everyday.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Personally I really enjoyed working on the Clerks IP with Kevin Smith, and we have had a blast working on Mickey Mouse and Oswald on the cinemas for the Epic Mickey game.

How did you become interested in animation?
Even in 3rd grade, when we had prototypal “what do you want to be when you grow up” project I knew that I wanted to be in animation. I really got hooked Continue reading

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Jane Davies

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Jane Davies – Animator, Director.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Cleaning public toilets in the height of summer, it was truly grim.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Animation Director on the ‘A Productions’ animated episodes of Frankenstein’s Cat (CBBC series).  Most recently I directed the song section of ‘A Liar’s Autobiography’ a film about Graham Chapman. Different animation companies made sections of that film and I was involved in the ‘A for Animation’ section. That was quite an honor. I put a lot into it and I am very proud of it. There were only 5 of us that did the majority of the work (some additional help from some animators on bits of it) and it was in Stereoscope too. I’m so pleased with the end result.  I also was very proud to be trusted with the characters of Jamie Smart on a micro short we did for fun of Looshkin. I’m doing another one but it’s taking much longer as it’s a little more complicated and I do them in my spare time (1 or 2hrs a day).

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
Stevenage which is north of London. I did some animation in Foundation Art which was a defining moment for me, I had previous done a 2 yr preparatory art course exploring all areas of art trying to find what I wanted to do. When I did my first scene after reading about how to do it in the library, then showed my tutor I knew then and their that animation was what I wanted to do so I took the leap and studied animation at Glamorgan Centre of Art & Design University in Wales; which was the Continue reading

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Virgil Mihailescu

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Hi everybody, my name is Virgil Mihailescu and I’m currently a character animator at The Creative Assembly, working on Rome 2 – Total War.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I had to buss tables and wait for dishes at the dish machine with my international student schoolmates (the only ones left around during the long boring summer in Bowling Green Ohio..). I then worked in catering when I was living in Chicago and had to serve the Romanian president (I’m Romanian btw) at some weird official breakfast meeting.. probably my life’s most epic achievement? :} And I worked one day in flooring but did the easier parts of this job, which is probably one of the most awful jobs invented by humans. And then I worked for a month remodeling an apartment, well.. just destroying it in fact… which included breaking a cast iron tub with a sledgehammer, which I found extremely satisfying and fun.. and a completely awful experience at the same time, if you can imagine that!

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The current one, Rome 2.. because working on the Total War series is a privilege, I think. And then I got to animate more animals than I ever animated before, and it’s such a cool project to be working on. And Tintin, which was for me my first project at Ubisoft and the first game I ever worked on, and, surprise of surprises, only 2 months into the project I was chosen team lead, or animation coordinator.. as it was officially called. Which, as you can imagine, came as an adrenaline shot and it also turned into one of the most challenging but also very exciting experiences.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born in Brasov, Romania, I started writing ‘novels’ and drawing ‘comic books’ when I was about 7 or 8 years old.. To better understand this.. you have to imagine that, in fact, my first novel had about 30 pages and probably half of them were drawings… and my characters were mostly traveling, eating, and sleeping (when they were not dealing with savage Indian tribes in the jungles of.. India). As a visual artist I’m Continue reading

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Nikolas Ilic

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Nikolas Ilic and I am currently working at ToonBox Entertainment in Toronto as a Junior Designer.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing to to crazy at all, I worked as a cook at a pizza joint during and after highschool. It was alot of fun, especailly all the crazy customers and the late night drunks!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Well right now the projects I am working at ToonBox are quite exciting. It is a pretty young and ambitious studio. I am jumping from project to project which is always fun and refreshing. Right now I am designing model packs for their upcoming TV series in development and also working on their upcoming feature film! Other then that making my own short film was something I loved  to be able to do and hope to do one day again!
How did you become interested in animation?
I became interested in animation through childhood cartoons for sure. Some of the cartoons that inspired me were Tazmanian devil, Pink Panther, Inspector gadget,  X-men, Ninja Turtles, Pinky and the Brain,  and Samurai Jack the list goes on really.  Also I have to give credit to Continue reading