What is your name and your current occupation? Mike Perez, Freelance Illustrator & 3D Generalist.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? Probably has to be delivering newspapers before dawn or selling fireworks in one of those huge tents.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? Last year, I oversaw Character Rendering for The Adventures of Big Bird and Kami. It was a great project with a great team!
How did you become interested in animation? As far back as I can remember, I have been interested in cartoons. I had a lot of VHS tapes as a kid. Things like the Fleischer Superman, Looney Tunes and Silly Symphonies.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? I’m from Miami, and in South Florida there is some game development and VFX work, but Continue reading
What is your name and your current occupation?
Hi! My name is Megan Ann Boyd, and I’m a toy designer and illustrator!
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I don’t know if I’d call it crazy, but I worked on a small virtual pet website called NeuroGalaxy for many years. I got to make all sorts of artwork for the website, ranging from pets, monsters and items to world illustrations. There was even a time I would make site merchandise in the form of keychains- it was a great little community!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I got to collaborate with Rovio and create the toys for the Angry Birds Stella line! I absolutely love Rovio’s animations and characters, so it was an honor to bring them into the world of toys. I’ve got all those little birdies and pigs on display in my work room.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from New Jersey! I was obsessed with cartoons as a kid, who wasn’t? I ended up Continue reading
Gabby Zapata, Production Artist at Disney Interactive in Glendale, California.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?Â
I was a chocolatier/ ice cream scooper at a local ice cream shop for 3.5 years during school!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?Â
Coming out of school, I went to Digital Domain to work on their first film in Animation. Digital Domain specialized in VFX and we were creating a 3D feature film called “The Legend of Tembo”.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?Â
What is your name and your current occupation? For the past few years I have been Directing. I have Directed many commercials and am represented by Prime Focus in London.  Earlier last year I Directed two Episodes of a new animated series for the UK’s Channel 4 called “Full English†which ironically I Directed in LA at Rough Draft who are most well known for Futurama. I am now Directing a wonderful TV pilot called Lost Treasure Hunt which will be on PBS later this year for Argosy Film.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? Nothing too crazy! I did work as an Art Director a couple years before getting into the Film Industry. We had a brief for a spoof “sick†ad to run in Tatler Magazine and I came up with a concept for an ad for Euthanasia in which we photographed a coffin and put a cut out coupon in the coffin where you had to fill in your details, The headline was “FILL THIS SPACE!â€.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? Without doubt the first project that comes to mind was being a Lead Animator on Brad Bird’s “The iron Giantâ€. The film has such a heart and despite failing at the box office due to poor promotion has stood the test of time and found it’s audience on DVD. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit†was also a great experience as it was my first job in the film industry and stands as a classic.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? I was raised in the English countryside in the beautiful county of Devon near Exeter, My upbringing actually helped shaped me and what route I wanted to follow. This was before Continue reading
What is your name and current occupation?
Matthew Tardiff,Freelance Animator/Director/Creator/etc @ Hummingbird and the Lotus,Animation Instructor @ Full Sail University focusing on Game Animation. What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. Starting at age 15 I worked for a slew of different jobs; starting with fast food, construction, call center, sales, restaurant, car salesman, fast food again, stock, claims representative, art store wall flower etc. I probably left out some stuff because there were a few years there that will never return to my memory. What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Jimmy Neutron ,My first legitimate animation gig where I realized how much I did not know about animation but somehow kept my head above water long enough to learn some valuable life lessons. I’m not being humble; my animation skills as a whole were shit in hindsight. Lunchables (only because I got to work @ Wildbrain in San Francisco)
How did you become interested in animation?
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved to draw, create, make things move and take objects apart. But there were several points in time that directed me to animation. The first one was in 6th grade. A class mate showed me a Continue reading
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 26, 2014 ACCLAIMED ANIMATOR GLEN KEANE DEBUTS NEW SHORT FILM PROJECT, “DUET,” AT GOOGLE I/O CONFERENCE A celebration of life through the hand-drawn line, DUET is the latest in a series of Google ATAP’s Spotlight Stories, interactive short films made exclusively for mobile devices Acclaimed animator Glen Keane unveiled a first look at his latest and most personal project to date, DUET, as part of a special ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) Session this morning at the Google I/O Conference in San Francisco, California. Presented together with Regina Dugan, who leads the ATAP group, Glen gave a live demonstration and talk through the creative process behind DUET. The public can view the entire presentation via YouTube here… Animated in its entirety and directed by Glen Keane (former Disney animator and creator of such beloved characters as Ariel, Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan and Rapunzel), DUET tells the story of Mia and Tosh and how their individual paths in life weave together to create an inspired duet. The unique, interactive nature of the story allows the viewer to seamlessly follow the journey of either of the two characters from birth to adulthood. DUET is the third in a series of Spotlight Stories, which is a new way of telling stories on mobile devices. The stories blend world-class artistry with innovative rendering and interaction technology for mobile to create a new canvas for the next generation of storytelling. DUET is the first traditionally animated, hand-drawn film to debut as a Spotlight Story. The film offers a glimpse into what’s possible on mobile devices, a rich, modern canvas for creative expression and immersive works of art and technology. DUET will officially launch later this year and will be available on all capable devices with proper hardware capabilities and OS version higher than Android 4.2.
The Duet short start’s at 1:15:08 so be sure to check that out too!
ABOUT GLEN KEANE AND GLEN KEANE PRODUCTIONS
A 38-year veteran of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Glen Keane is most noted for creating and animating such legendary Disney characters as Ariel in “The Little Mermaidâ€, Aladdin, Pocahontas, the Beast from “Beauty and the Beastâ€, and Tarzan. Glen also served as Supervising Animator and Executive Producer on Disney’s 2010 box office hit, “Tangled”. In the spring of 2012, Glen decided to leave Disney Studios in pursuit of further artistic exploration. In his departure letter he stated: “I am convinced that animation really is the ultimate art form of our time with endless new territories to explore. I can’t resist its siren call to step out and discover them.” In 2013, he launched Glen Keane Productions to pursue his personal projects.
ABOUT ATAP ATAP is a small band of makers and believers charged with breakthrough innovations in mobile computing and accelerating the development of promising technologies to market. PUBLICITY CONTACT: Fumi Kitahara, the pr kitchen fumi@theprkitchen.com 310-291-9716
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 26, 2014 ACCLAIMED ANIMATOR GLEN KEANE DEBUTS NEW SHORT FILM PROJECT, “DUET,” AT GOOGLE I/O CONFERENCE A celebration of life through the hand-drawn line, DUET is the latest in a series of Google ATAP’s Spotlight Stories, interactive short films made exclusively for mobile devices 
