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Author Archives: Laura
Kevin D. A. Kurytnik
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Kevin D. A. Kurytnik and I am an animation writer/director who runs a small animation studio with my partner Carol Beecher called Fifteen Pound Pink Productions, named in honor of one of our magnificent cats. We tell our own stories in animation. I am also a permanent instructor who specializes in Animation, Motion Graphics and visual narrative instruction at the Alberta College of Art + Design in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Teaching infuses my animation with inspirations and energy and my personal creative work greatly informs my teaching.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Caricaturing in bars late into the night. The Horror. The Horror.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I am very fond of our first large project, Mr. Reaper’s Really Bad Morning, which I wrote, designed and co-directed. It opened a lot of doors for myself and our company. A 35mm film print is housed in the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, and at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal, Quebec. Kevin Schreck, the writer/director of the fantastic documentary The Persistence of Vision, on the making and unmaking of Richard Williams’ feature The Thief and the Cobbler recently commented that Mr. Reaper was one of the best animations he had seen in a while. Kind words with an interesting connection – Mr. Reaper was made after I took one of William’s last Animation Master Classes which took place in Los Angeles in 2000. Mr. Reaper’s Really Bad Morning was finished in 2004. It has a bit of that Williams spirit somehow I think.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am from Norquay, a small town in Saskatchewan, a very flat prairie province. Â I was in the Visual Communications program taking graphic design and illustration at the Alberta College of Art (not yet +Design) when I got a Continue reading
Thomas Estrada
What is your name and your current occupation?
Thomas Estrada. I’m a senior animator at Disney Interactive.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Not really crazy, but the most unusual was working as a pest control technician for several years. Covering Hollywood and Encino, I killed the bugs of Gene Kelly, George Carlin, and Jaclyn Smith, among others.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The Prince of Egypt, The Emperor’s New Groove, Treasure Planet, and the Toy Story 3 video game.
How did you become interested in animation?
As far back as I can remember, I loved to draw. I have memories of early grade school, drawing pictures of “Giant Robot†for school friends. I knew then that I wanted to this for a living.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. After graduating high school in 1988, I had no idea about how to actually be a professional artist. I enrolled into art classes at the community college, but was soon discouraged after a couple semesters, thinking a career in art required going to schools like Cal Arts or Otis Parsons, places I could never afford. So I quit school, found a regular job and did whatever freelance art I could find such as airbrushing t-shirts, drawing brochure covers and painting murals. Finally in the summer of 1996 my wife and I attended her family reunion and discovered she had a cousin who was a Disney animator. He gave me an honest assessment of my drawing skills, then Continue reading
Boom Cookie
What is your name and your current occupation?
Boom Cookie. I am an illustrator, currently designing for animation.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation
One of my first jobs was for a local movie theater that only had two screens (I watched Disney’s Tarzan and Notting Hill about a dozen times)… and UPS on the night shift packing trucks. That was only fun because I worked with my girl friend, and we’d have farting contests to see who would have to evacuate the truck first. Once in college I held a job as an office clerk at a rental agency. And the worst was when I tried telemarketing for home security systems. I had to quit when I found out the call lists were for the parents of newborns… and I didn’t want to know how they got that info. Â All that before I realized – OH, I can make money from my art work!!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I sure enjoyed working on “Robot and Monster” for Nickelodeon. The crew was amazing, the style was fun, and the writing was awesome. ‘Twas a good fit.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in Massachusetts (USA). I always loved animation, so it made sense to pursue the business when I dedicated myself to art. At 21 I moved to San Francisco to go to art school, and I really loved my classes. I met with the head of the animation department every semester to get her advice on what classes to take, and in my last year Continue reading
Ana Maria Mendez Salgado
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ana Maria Mendez Salgado and I’m a Visual Storyteller (Illustrator, Concept Artist, 2D Animator).
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
There are so many! Â I worked as a sales person in a brick-a-brack shop (where I actually sold my first handmade cards and portraits), as a kitchen hand in a vegetarian restaurant (where my boss told me that “making a salad shouldn’t take as long as making one of my illustrations”!), and as a waitress during the night for a weddings venue (where I learned to value my sleeping hours!). Â I also worked as a multicultural officer with children from non-English speaking backgrounds (which I loved), as a designer of props for storytelling time at a library (which was fun), and as a theatre attendant for music and performing arts events (which was always inspiring).
What are some of your favourite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Woods of Charol (2006), Passages (2012) Miniambra (2013), Andrés Barrientos & Carlos Andrés Reyes’ En Agosto (2008) and Carlos Manrique’s Journeys (2008).
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born in Bogota, Colombia and wanted to be an animator ever since I saw the making of Disney’s Little Mermaid. I became obsessed with drawing and imagining characters and storyworlds. Â My first attempt to Continue reading
Lock Wolverton
What is your name and current occupation?
My name is Lock Wolverton, retired animator and animation instructor from the Walt Disney Co. I am currently an animation instructor at Tulsa Tech.
What are some if the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Many, many years ago I was an attack dog handler for the US Air Force, guarding 100 megaton nuclear weapons on a tiny island somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This was during the Cuban middle crisis. Few people know how close we came to a nuclear exchange between the US and the former Soviet Union. The world leaders during that time took the human race dangerously close to extinction.
What are some of your favorite projects you are proud to have been a part of?
During my time with Disney I had the privilege of designing and directing a series of annual animation events which featured such epic films as Mulan, A Bug’s Life, the re-release of Fantasia, Atlantis the Lost Empire and A Tribute to the Disney Villains. These events drew animators and students from all across the country and around the world. Those in attendance would observe chalk talks and lectures from directors, lead animators and producers who brought these great films to life. We were gathering the who’s who of all of Disney animation. For many it became a life changing experience. I met and taught animation to hundreds of aspiring animators, many of which I still maintain contact to this day.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? I am from Orlando FL, currently residing in Tulsa OK. I was born at an early age and Continue reading
