Category Archives: Artists Interviews

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Ben Rush

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Supervising animator.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
landscaping, busboy at Nordstrom Cafe, painting signs and numbers on parking garages.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Final Flight of the Osiris, Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2,.

How did you become interested in animation?
When I was little my dad gave me a Super8 camera and got me started making claymation movies. It was so cool because you could create whole worlds that didn’t exist in reality. Needless to say, I had a lot of Continue reading

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Cinzia Angelini

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Cinzia Angelini and I just wrapped up at Duncan Studio on the Despicable Me Theme park ride for Universal. I alternate between working as 2D/3D animator and as story artist. At the moment I’m freelancing as a storyboard artist for studios in Los Angeles, and am directing an animated short film “Mila”, that I wrote.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
When I was a student I sold all sorts of SWATCH watches at the Sunday Flea Market in Milan. It was the nineties, SWATCH mania had taken hold in Italy, and as a student, it was lot of fun. Good times.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Spider-man 2, Open Season, How to train your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda 2 DVD Specials.
How did you become interested in animation?
I always liked to draw, and as a child, was fascinated by the mystery of drawings in motion. When I was seven or eight I came up with my own theory of how cartoons were made. I believed that Continue reading

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Simon Piniel

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http://www.animationinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/reel.mov

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Simon Piniel and I’m the owner, creative director and everything else in my company Spin Animation. Me and my team are doing all sorts of animation for all sorts of stuff, predominantly TV commercials, banner ads, info movies and mobile apps.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing too crazy… My first job during Summer break when I was 16(?): garbage man in my home town in Switzerland. A team of two standing on the back of the truck, tossing bags in and hauling containers. I loved it! During art school I sold concert tickets on the phone and did interviews for a polling company.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There’s a few commercials here and there that I had the opportunity to basically realize from start to finish, and it’s always very fulfilling being able to take full credit in one or more departments. When it comes to bigger, team effort style projects that in return more people are familiar with: the Vancouver Winter Olympics (for which I did a animated projections for the closing ceremony, among others), the latest Swiss inflight safety movie (storyboard) and the Ed, Edd & Eddy Cartoon TV series (for which I spent 3 years storyboarding).

How did you become interested in animation?
I drew some flipbooks as a youngster, but that was just part of drawing a lot. My mom had the idea to Continue reading

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Liz Kupfer

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Elizabeth Kupfer: 3D animator/artist.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I got into animation straight out of college, so all my crazy job experiences happened while I was still in school. For 2 and a half years, I was a balloon girl at a party store. Let me tell you. People get very passionate about their balloons and crazy when they don’t get them as soon as they show up (even if there are 10 people in front of them). I have such patience for people in customer service because of my time put in at that party store. You wouldn’t believe how entitled people feel about their balloons.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Currently, my favorite projects are the video games I’ve worked on. It was a lot of fun working on and with each team. My favorites of these were Dance Central and Dance Central 2.

How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always been interested in animation. Saturday morning cartoon child. But the real kick was Continue reading

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Andrew Conroy

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My Name is Andrew Conroy and I am currently the Lead Animation Faculty at Ai SLC.  I teach the finer and not so finer points of animation to animation enthusiasts as well as develop curriculum, characters and short films.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Right out of collage I washed dishes at a summer camp… I drove a little outboard engine boat to work everyday. It was a good time.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I have worked on a few films and enjoyed that experience but I think the most enjoyable projects for me have always been personal. Something I am currently working on is “The FishBoy Project”. I am trying to give students and animation hopefuls a chance to work with a cool rig and in turn raise a bit of money for small business owners through an organization called Kiva.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
My Parents made me go to Art School actually. I think the root of my interest is Continue reading

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Chris Eliopoulos

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What is your name and your current occupation?
 My name is Chris “Elio” Eliopoulos. I’m a cartoonist and adjunct professor at Columbia College Chicago.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
 I worked at a shop called “Too Cool”, where we sold Korean knockoffs of anime toys and really cheap candy. Then an antique store.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
 Teaming up with the folks at Yo Gabba Gabba! And helping develop some pilots at Disney TV Animation.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Trying to make my own cartoons during class in the 6th grade, using a Continue reading