Josh Zinman

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
Josh Zinman, Freelance Story Artist
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
 I used to smuggle ferrets from Arizona into California and sell them on the black market for a hefty mark-up.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Robot and Monster at Nickelodeon was the most awesome production I have ever worked on. Amazing people, brilliant show, and lots of cake!
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 

I grew up on a cattle ranch in Paso Robles, CA. I really liked to draw so I figured I would Continue reading

Mark Kennedy

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Mark Kennedy, head of story at Disney Feature Animation

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
An overnight shift putting “The New York Times” into newspaper machines

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Tangled, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast

How did you become interested in animation?
It didn’t hit me until I was in junior high school. It was when I first saw the “Dragon’s Lair” video game. I never thought about animation or drawing until then, so I had to try and catch up fast in order to go to art school by the time I graduated high school.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Cupertino, California USA and I went to The California Institute of the Arts right after high school, then started working at Disney feature animation after 3 years at CalArts.

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Every day is different. It depends on where the film is in the production cycle. In the beginning of the cycle, I spend most of my time in the story room with the directors and the other story artists (and writer, if there is one) talking through the story and writing it out on Continue reading

Chuck Grieb

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Chuck Grieb; currently I am a tenured Associate Professor and head of the Entertainment Art/Animation concentration at California State University, Fullerton.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
As a young college student I worked a slew of unusual and sometimes interesting jobs. One summer I spent as an Asbestos Remover. Another summer I spent working two jobs at once(75 hours a week), one as a Peer Tutor helping Learning Disabled students in a College Prep program, the other as an “Egg Cook” in a Perkins Diner. I spent a day working in a trash sorting facility and 4 weeks on an assembly line waterproofing nuts and bolts for the Navy. I also painted houses, delivered pizzas, waited tables, worked as an Assistant Theater Manager, as a Sound Mixer for live shows, photo tech, and various others.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Hmmm, tough question. I am particularly proud of the work on Genie’s Great Minds, a project I worked on when I was a part of the Special Projects Department at Walt Disney TV Animation under the direction of Gary Katona. The Larry Boy show I worked on at Cornerstone Animation had a very challenging schedule, but was a very fun, if intense, work experience. My wife and I storyboarded an episode of Continue reading

Chris Burns

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
Chris Burns, Owner and Lead Animator of EXIT 73 STUDIOS (exit73studios.com).

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
The craziest job I ever had was as a carpenter/roofer. I worked with a bunch of super manly dudes whose life mission was to win concert tickets on the radio or Pick 4 lotto. The money was good, and you couldn’t beat the hours, but I knew pretty early on that I wanted to pursue a career in art.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Hands down my favorite project was Transfurter. We had a lot of freedom with the designs and story, and it was a very homegrown production. I often compare this project to how a garage band works – very DIY, gritty, and a fair amount of improvisation. And just like a Garage band, that unkempt feel translates into something beautiful when it all comes together in the end. It’s truly satisfying.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 
I’m originally from eastern Long Island, which made my choice to go to SVA very easy. I interned at a bunch of Animation studios like B3, NOODLE SOUP, WORLD LEADERS, and 4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT. NOODLE SOUP, provided me with a job opportunity on the pilot episode of VENTURE BROTHERS. After school ended, I had my first Continue reading

Pedro Astudillo

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Pedro Astudillo and I am a freelance graphic artist and character designer.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was a truck driver for almost 5 years. In retrospect, it wasn’t that bad.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I was very young when I started working in the animation field but am still proud of the work I did back then.
When I was living in Spain I worked as a freelance animator for two animation studios simultaneously. I wasn’t really doing great work but I am proud of the fact that my earnings helped support my family for two years.  Many years later I worked in the toy industry as a character designer for entertainment properties, for a few years. It was one of the most prolific periods for me as an artist and am proud of my body of work during that time. Most recently and while I was still working at Disney I worked on a Pinocchio program that consisted of designing and supervising several items of limited edition. That was the last interesting project assigned to me during my last months at Disney and am very proud of the results. The fact that Pinocchio is my favorite animated Disney film only increases that feeling.
How did you become interested in animation?
I  fell in love with animated cartoons at a very early age, long before I Continue reading

James McDermott

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What is your name and your current occupation?
James McDermott, currently I’m the Character Design Lead on a newPrimetime FOX series being produced at Bento Box called “AllenGregory”.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting intoanimation?
My first job, I worked as a kids counselor at a summer camp when I was 14. I was incharge of twenty 6 year old kids every week. Looking back on it I’mnot quite sure how I did that but I did it with joy. I once was asked to dress up as a feltfilm strip character in front of a boardroom full of people, selling itas a brand hallmark for a movie theater chain, I forget which one, for$100 while in art school. Needless to say it was very embarrassing atthe time as a teenager.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been apart of?
Well even though it was cancelled, my time on “Neighbors from Hell” was probably one of the better experiences I’ve  had in production. I loved the style of the show, so much fun to draw. I had the opportunity to work with Continue reading