Chris Battle

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Chris Battle, and I’m a Character Design Artist, currently working on “Dan Vs.” at Film Roman.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Assistant Manager of one of the short-lived Hana-Barbera Retail Stores.  A bit of a zoo, but it was run by the studio itself, so it allowed me to meet all of the studio artists, which led to me getting my start in the biz.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Without a doubt, my 7-year stretch at Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network, where I worked on DEXTER’S LABORATORY, POWERPUFF GIRLS, and SAMURAI JACK.  Truly amazing shows that I’m personally very proud to have been a part of, working alongside some of the greatest talent this industry has to offer.

How did you become interested in animation?
 I was lucky enough to grow up during the 80’s, which was a perfect storm of kid pop culture:  The best of the old (Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera, Classic Disney, Marvel & DC comics) and the best of the new (Star Wars, Muppets, Nintendo, Robotech, etc)  You can’t help but Continue reading

Job: Disney Animator-Burbank, CA.

Disney logo

Disney is looking for an animator in Burbank… Click here to apply for the Disney animator job.

From their site:

 

Animators, grab your reels and prepare to do the best work of your life!

Be part of the longest running animation team in history. Work alongside legends. Drink all the coffee you want. Waltz into the Animation Research Library and hold a Fred Moore scene in your hands. Use your animation powers for good and touch the hearts of millions of people around the globe.

We want talented men and women who show exceptional understanding of weight, locomotion, anatomy, dialogue, acting, appeal, and entertainment. If you’re funny too, that’s a plus. If you’re not, you’d better be a crack foosball player. If you’ve got an opinion, all the better. We want artists with a strong point of view who put a personal spin on their work.

Responsibilities
Effectively tell the story in a meaningful way through vivid and compelling character acting and movement
Create quality animation using digital tools for feature films and other related projects
Work closely with Directors and Animation Supervisors in a feature film environment:
Receive assigned shots in sequence review with the Directors providing general guidance
Plan shots with an understanding of story/character context
Block animation, most commonly using audio dialog track
Clearly show performance ideas and shot blocking in Director review (animation dailies)
Collaborate with and take direction from Directors and Animation Supervisors
Implement changes and completely finish shots in accordance with production schedule
Develop a working knowledge of necessary production tools
Maintain an open and professional demeanor regarding direction, changes and shifting requirements
Requirements
Visual demonstration (Quicktime or web link preferred) of animation that illustrates visual storytelling, believable expressions, emotional states, weight, physics, balance, appeal, entertainment, clear timing, and staging.
2 years production experience
Proficiency in Maya or equivalent software preferred but not required
Background in traditional hand-drawn, computer, or stop-motion animation
Art Background. Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art, Illustration, Computer Graphics preferred
Degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics or Engineering or equivalent experience helpful but not required
The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Dermot O Connor

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Dermot O Connor. Currently I work as a freelance/independent animator/artist.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I went almost straight from school into animation, aged 18. Apart from working briefly for a graphic design company, I have no career history stranger than animation itself! The strangest animation jobs? One was a French TV show about the souls of babies in heaven (they drove tiny cars around on clouds). I still have no idea what that was about, or how people find the money for such awful projects. Another “educational” project that I worked on was owned by a man who revealed himself to be a quasi-James Bond supervillain. Actual quote: “If you control the children, you control the world”. I handed in my notice the next week. There are some very strange people out there.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
None of my paid animation jobs (which were on movies, TV, interactive and internet projects) would be anything to remember – which I’m sad to say is a common problem – many will know the frustration. There are a great many projects of low to middling quality – and it’s incredibly rare to work on something memorable. That said, the one professional job that I’m really pleased with is my current training series for Lynda.com. I’ve done three titles with them so far, and it’s tremendously rewarding. One of the recent emails I received complimented me on my voice, saying that I sound like the snake in Jungle Book. That made my day!

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m Irish; left school in the mid 1980s, a time when there was very little chance of work, and emigration levels were soaring. If you want to make an Irish person over the age of 40 wince, just say Continue reading

Bruno Monteiro

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Hi there, first of all, I’m super happy to share some of my life and experience so far! My name is Bruno Monteiro and right now I’m a lot at once! I’m supervisor animator at the super cool LittleZoo Studio, I have my own small online animation school called OnFire and I’m co directing an indie short!!

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, I’ve been doing animation since I’m 14 so I didn’t have other job in my life. But I played basketball for 6 years and I thought I would play professionally until I broke my leg and that was the end for me. Ah, and I made some real small money playing semi pro Warcraft 3 games.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think that Rio 2096 was the paramount for me until now. Its a Brazilian feature that scored the Annecy’s Crystal Award in 2013 for best feature and the movie is about social clashes. Minority being murdered and its a mixture between Brazilian true story and syfy. Its a movie that has something to say, some important issue to touch and I think that animation, as any type of art form should address to the social needs of the people.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Brazil, and I started my journey in animation as a clean up artist. There wasn’t much studios in Brazil back there so jobs were few and no much opportunities. Until one day a small studio got the chance to do some animation for the “Asterix and the Vikings” feature, so I jumped in and Continue reading

Jimmy Cross

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Jimmy Cross I am currently a production artist and owner of Uncle Porkchop! Productions LLC.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Crazier than animation? Well when I was around 19 I worked at the VA hospital running a snack shack and there are allot of craziness going on there. But it was fun. My favorite job around that time was delivering pizzas. Good times no worries. Just school and delivering pizzas . Always been a hard worker.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
So many so many. I loved the NFL RUSHZONE. Creating the world from the ground up was so much fun and I worked on it for over nine years. I didn’t really know that much about football, but when I started working with the NFL , I learn to love it. Lots of things to pull into a fantasy world in the NFL franchise. The Olympics was also a blast and creating a web experience was hard work but lots of fun. But to tell you the truth I still get giddy seeing something you’ve drawn on television. It’s still very humbling . So many things. Personal projects are the best . Nothing like creating your own projects and sending them out to the world.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m was born in raised in Los Angeles so I didn’t have to go to far to be in the business. I’ve been drawing all my life and I knew at a very early age that I wanted to make cartoons. My mother enrolled me in a animation school when I was twelve . My parents were and still are very supportive of my art. I got to animate a potato coming out of the ground. It’s was a class where Continue reading

Massimiliano Lucania

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Massimiliano Lucania and I’m a storyboard artist, at the moment I’m working for the Irish animation studio Brown Bag Films on season two of the Disney show “Doc McStuffins” .

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Actually, to be honest, I never had “crazy” jobs before getting into animation; I’ve always been lucky enough to work in fields where I get to draw: my very first job was as a comic book artist for Disney Co. Italy, then I’ve been working as a concept designer for video games, I did some illustration, and finally, six years ago, I started doing storyboards for animation, for several animation studios, both in my country, Italy, and abroad. So, every job I did, it was about drawing. Beside storyboarding, sometimes I also do a bit of character design.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I can say that storyboarding last year on season two of “Octonauts” was fun and challenging at the same time; it’s a preschool type of show, but it still has really a lot of action sequences. It was fun but sometimes it required a lot of thoughts in keeping everything under control in terms of composition and action. I think it’s a very nice show and I’m proud of it.

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from the Milan area in Italy. Like almost everyone working in animation, I always loved watching cartoons since I was very little; it was the late 70s and early 80s and like a lot of people of my generation here in Italy, I grew up with a lot of Japanese anime and American cartoons ( stuff like Tom and Jerry and Hanna and Barbera).  Actually, Continue reading