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Bill Perkins

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Bill Perkins, Visual Development, Walt Disney Animation Studio.  I also currently teach Color Theory at LAAFA, and Color and Lighting at CDA. I also host my own painting workshops that I announce through e-mail and facebook.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I wouldn’t say that my jobs were crazy, kinda normal really, Summer camp on Catalina Island (fun escape,) I had a sign business through high school into college (first entrepreneurial experience,) Chart House restaurant (crazy people, great fun!) Fine Artist (sold my artwork through galleries) Art instructor (drawing and painting various disciplines.)

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Pre-animation, having my work accepted into the Springville museum and national watercolor society shows.  Creating a group show at the Monterey Peninsula museum of art featuring mine and three other artist work based on or three month painting  trip through France, Italy, and Spain. As far as animation goes, I will never forget the buzz of energy around the studio during Little Mermaid.  On Rescuers Down Under, Dan Hansen, Razoul Azadani, and I changed the layout process while embracing new technology, and accomplished more with a smaller team.  I am proud of my work as well as the animators and clean-up artists on Aladdin, together we shared the pains that come with growth.  Space jam was another massive accomplishment, driven by a small crew of fearless renegades at Space Jam Animation.  I was fortunate enough to work with Continue reading

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Christian Lignan

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What is your name and your current occupation?

Christian Lignan , storyboard artist

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Being an Air Commando  in the French Air Force for (mandatory) military service.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
“A vew to a kill” a James Bond live-action movie,  storyboarding  the car stunt sequences with the stunts coordinator.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
When I learned that animation cells where painted by girls (way before digital compositing…)
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am from France, I got into animation business after Continue reading
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Christian Roman

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Christian Roman, and I’m a story artist at Pixar.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
When I first moved to Los Angeles I did temp work at a medical supply rental company where I was put in charge of filing. Being a compulsive doodler, I couldn’t help but redraw all of their labeling on the file cabinets. One file was for “Dead Files”, clients that were no longer active. The sign I drew for this file cabinet was of tombstones and such, not making the connection that it was a medical supply company and that the files were probably for literally dead clients. I was let go a few days after drawing that.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m probably the most proud of being a part of Toy Story 3, which was the most collaborative and creative project I’ve ever worked on. It was thrilling to be involved in not only drawing the story, but helping to collaboratively craft the story as well. The second would be Disney’s Fillmore!, which was also very collaborative and creative, and probably the most indicative of what I personally can do cinematically and artistically. Third, when I was on the Simpsons I put together a handout called ‘Storyboarding the Simpsons Way’ which has taken on a life of it’s own outside the studio, and I’m pretty proud of that.   In fact, I once went to a lecture on storyboarding and the lecturer gave everyone a copy of it!
How did you become interested in animation?
As a kid, I always loved watching all kinds of animation, but I typically would draw superheroes rather than cartoony characters. It never occurred to me that animation was drawn by anyone, it just existed. Not until Continue reading

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Maurice Morgan

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Maurice Morgan, Freelance Designer/illustrator
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing really out of the norm.  Got robbed twice at gun point working at two different food joints as a kid,  but that’s L.A.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The Angry Beavers  – Great looking show, fun designs, great crew, crazy hours & politics, lots of martini’s, lots of laughs and I drew my butt off.Invader Zim – Another great looking show, pencil heavy;  got cramps in my hands & forearms from all the noodling in the design work.Kid Notorious – A nightmare production that shaved off ten years of my life but I’m damn proud of the work we all put into it.  Thanks for the martini’s and the memories, Bob. Flavio – Not only did I love the flavio character but Continue reading

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Louie del Carmen

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Louie del Carmen and I’m a story artist at Dreamworks Animation

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Nothing real crazy but I was an FM DJ in Manila before I came to the US and one of my early jobs after coming to America was a hotel room service order taker.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’ve learned from EVERY show i’ve worked on whether they were hits or not but I loved my last TV gig on the MIGHTY B!  KIM POSSIBLE was another awesome show.  INVADER ZIM was challenging and the people where downright insane. In other words: FUN.  RUGRATS was where I learned to board and eventually direct series so that was memorable.  The few episodes I boarded on GRIM ADVENTURES of BILLY AND MANDY really challenged and eventually elevated my work.  Really proud of those.  And of course, working alongside some really amazing, world class talent on KUNG FU PANDA.
How did you become interested in animation?
I probably didn’t recognize it but growing up watching Japanese toons like Tetsujin (Gigantor) and Mazinger Z as well as all the american fare like Johnny Quest, Herculoids and Space Ghost, I guess I was always interested.  It wasn’t until I was Continue reading
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Ken Pontac

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Ken Pontac, animation writer.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?I was a bartender in a place called Roxanne’s in Arcadia, California.  The guzzlery had gone through several incarnations before I worked there, when the new owner decided to make it a “New Wave” bar (whatever the hell that means). He had a big screen that played an Abba laserdisc on endless rotation and he made me dress as a clown while I poured beer and wine.  Roxanne’s had been a motercycle bar in its previous life and on opening day a pack of bikers came in, happy to see that their old watering hole was back in business.  They were the funniest bikers I’d ever seen, right out of Central Casting: furry vests and Prussian helmets and studded leather everywhere.  They were like Get Smart bikers, and they came to the place every night. On New Years Eve I was dancing on the hood of my Gremlin in a jester suit, holding a sign that said “DRINK HERE!” A couple of cute girls pulled up and decided that they’d get the jester drunk, and they escorted me to the bar (somebody else was pouring that night).  As midnight approached I had a babe on each arm, both holding a bottle of bubbly that they were pouring down my throat. Continue reading