What is your name and your current occupation?
Jez Tuya is my name, and I am a freelance illustrator.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I had a brief stint of working part time as a shop floor assistant in a retail store (in charge of the toy and kitchenware department) while still in art school. I have so many horror stories from my experience, and I decided to quit after two months of working there, and promised myself to never work in retail ever again.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?Â
Pretty much most of the work that I’ve done is for publishing, and one of my favourite projects is illustrating a picture book based on one of Roald Dahl’s poems called “Television.â€
How did you become interested in animation?Â
I actually wanted to be an air force pilot after I graduated from high school. I had an obsession (and in some ways I still do) with airplanes, but with the grades that I had in high school, and because of my apparent allergy to maths and physics, I came to the conclusion maybe flying planes was not for me. But I’ve always had a fascination for art and animation since I was a kid. I didn’t grow up with video games or cable television when I was wee lad, and drawing was something I did for fun. (That, and making airplanes out of Legos). I remember my parents would always bring home boxes of scrap paper for me to draw on, and it would feel like Christmas whenever they do, and I think they may have unintentionally encouraged me to enjoy making art because of that. I also watched LOTS of cartoons, and whenever I visit my grandparents’ house, I’d rot my Continue reading
