Category Archives: Artists Interviews

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Raquel Omana

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Raquel Omana. I am now a freelance artist.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was Interior Designer.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Most popular old Saturday morning cartoons, Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles, Scooby Doo, My Little Pony and many more; First educational games that started the Sony Play Station; film features, Anastasia and Titan AE.

How did you become interested in animation?
It was more alluring to me at the time.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m originally from the Philippines. At that time, Continue reading

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Ray Leong

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ray Leong and I’m currently a digital inker/clean up artist on Fairly Odd Parents at Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I used to work in a library for a medical school that was also a research facility. The one window I had in my office faced the loading dock where a delivery service would drop off animals for testing. I assume they all knew their fates, because they would scream bloody murder and would want to get out of their cages. It was very depressing. It’s a good thing I had responsibilities in other buildings, so I would just work elsewhere. I did see prisoners in orange jumpsuits and chains being brought in as well. Not sure if they were being used for testing too, but I didn’t feel sorry for them. 😉

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
My initial run on Fairly Odd Parents was one of my favorite projects. I had only worked as small studios and it was first job at a larger facility. There were tons of new people to meet, I got to utilize my skills on Adobe Illustrator for the first time on an animation production (I don’t think many places were using it back then) and the show itself was a funny show. I’m glad to be back working on the show again. Actually, I’m just glad to be working period.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. I studied art in college and the animation industry seemed like a good fit at the time. People get paid to Continue reading

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Lucky De

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Lucky De, Freelance 2d Flash Animator for web/TV .

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Oh I dont know… Construction worker in Toronto in December was fun, Bartender at a Navy bar where you see buff guys singing pre school songs at midnight that was also fun… Or pushing trolleys at the supermarket, i used to get 2 at a time, one for each leg and slide down the hill, that was totally fun. Man really most of the crappy jobs were fun as long as I didn’t take them seriously!

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Oh a bunch, I loved working with Stephen Brooks on the Ghostbusting Wallstreet short, that was really great. When I was interning at Flux at a young age we did a show which took 4 weeks to make usually in 2, because I was so fast at flash, I was bad at drawing but I knew my shortcuts! Also being a part of the top 3 people in my uni who got to pitch their own idea for an animated series and talking to Rita Street on making cartoon bibles was also an incredible experience! I still have that bible when one day I feel confident in my writing enough to make my own series!

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
Right now I’m in New Zealand, originally from Bulgaria, I’ve always loved animation and I got my first break at Continue reading

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Katya Bowser

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Katya Bowser and I am currently a Freelance Artist focusing on Storyboards, Illustrations and Character Designs.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I haven’t had anything too crazy, but working retail at Hollister was interesting. There were some crazy managers who would do things like chase shoplifters out of the store with a broomstick. You encounter a lot of interesting people when working in retail.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Being a freelancer has given me the opportunity to work on a lot of different projects. I’m working with some friends on a short film called “Asylum”. Its been a fun process and I’ve learned a lot through it. I also had a great time while working temporarily at DisneyToons. I don’t know if my sequence will make it through to production, but it was extremely fun to work on! And my other favorite would be my first animatic I created and designed with Epipheo for Crowd Equity. It turned out really neat and I enjoyed working on it a lot.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. My dad got me interested in art and was the one who taught me how to draw when I was little. We watched movies and cartoons together all the time and I loved everything animation. One summer in high school Continue reading

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Maxwell. A. Oginni

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Maxwell. A. Oginni. I’m an animation director, animator & illustrator, working mainly in commercial advertising.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Way back in my student days, when I was broke & hungry, I once took on a Summer job as a street fundraiser… That was pretty crazy. I met some very “interesting” people… I also (mistakenly) once asked a woman when she was “due”… she wasn’t pregnant.

 

 What are some of your favourite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Last year my good friend Gosia, who teaches at a primary school invited me to give an animation workshop/ pep talk to her graduating class of 11-12yr olds… Before my visit, I had the kids design their very own cartoon characters, as an exercise to explore their ‘personal’ creativity… The day finally came; the kids were so charming & adorable! Originally I was to choose only one winner from the bunch who’s character I would re-design & animate; but on seeing each design, I was so impressed by the effort & skill they had all put in, that I decided I’d get my industry pals involved… I made a quick announcement on my Facebook page inviting animator/ illustrator friends to help me in re-designing ALL the characters. Within two days I had over 20 artists on board! The project, which I hosted via my Facebook page, ran on for about a month or so. The re-designs were fantastic, & the response from everyone on my friends-list (artists/ non-artists) was great; people really got involved & it pretty much became it’s own thing… Anyways, I had all the re-designs sent over to the kids via their teacher as high-res images they could print & frame up as posters. According to Gosia, the kids nearly hit the roof once they saw their designs being “brought to life” by industry professionals… It was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I live in London, but was born in Benin- Nigeria. My story into animation I’m sure is pretty much the same as most other animators, really… As an introduction, back when I was a kid in Nigeria (about 5-6yrs old, late 80’s), I remember Continue reading