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

Elliot Cowan

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Elliot Cowan.My main gig for the past year or so has been Master Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philly and other teaching appointments around Manhattan.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
One summer I worked for an accounting firm moving all their paperwork from one style of manila envelope to another.It was deathly boring.I spent most of my time making barnyard animals out of Acco fasteners and shooting them off the top of the photocopier with rubber bands.This is the only job I’ve ever had outside of media (I directed live action television commercials for about 10 years).

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Uli Meyer Animation in London were working on an animated feature project called Monstermania! Uli brought me on board initially to design a nightmare sequence but soon I was doing all kinds of great stuff.My proudest moments have been

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Chad Essley

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Chad Essley, and I’m the owner  / director of CartoonMonkey Studio.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I started into my animation career in my early 20’s, so I have to go back to my teens to remember early crazy-ish jobs..hmm..
I once worked for a short period of time, at a factory where they made basketball hoops. A robot would weld the hooks onto an iron hoop, and I would stand with these thick leather gloves on, grabbing the hoop as it came off the robot (still white hot from the welding) and file off all the extra bits before stacking it on a forklift palette. The place was full of 40 to 60 year old people who really never saw the sunshine outside the bounds of this dismal industrial factory who would drink on the job, and smoke copiously in the break room. Think I lasted about four days before walking out into the sunshine, never to return.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Someone from Microsoft contacted me, and flew me up to the Tablet PC headquarters to design all the game graphics for a children’s handheld tablet console called the KidTab. I was given a big bunch of money, and given almost total free reign to come up with whatever I wanted. This was for the research and development department, and I workedwith some people on the Continue reading

Ted Wilson

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ted Wilson and I am the co-creator and co-writer of the internet cartoon Gundarr. My partner Corey McDaniel and I also do the voice acting and music. Up until Season 3 (which starts airing on Mondomedia’s Youtube channel on July 17. Plugs ahoy!) we did all the animation as well.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
From door to door sales to working in a lumber mill in Northern Ontario I have run the gamut of day jobs. I’ve also worked as a cook, picked rocks on oilfield reclamation sites and did a couple weeks of telemarketing when I was really up against the wall! None of them were very stimulating, but all those crappy jobs pushed me towards doing what I really love for a living: Animation!

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
The project I’m most proud of would have to be my current project, Gundarr. It started as something my friends and I did for fun one night, and somehow turned into a fulltime gig! My time as prop designer on My Little Pony was also a lot of fun. While the show itself isn’t what I would normally watch on my own, the team I worked with was super talented and funny, so I enjoyed myself everyday.

How did you become interested in animation?
I always loved cartoons growing up. My first love was probably comic books and newspaper strips, but I used to watch everything on Saturday morning, from the Smurfs to the old Looney Tunes to the Gummi Bears. The thing that really captured my imagination had to be when Continue reading

Rick Farmiloe

What is your name and your current occupation?
Rick Farmiloe, I am a traditional (2D) animator and storyboard artist.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Hmmm…..crazy….? Didn’t really have any ‘crazy’ jobs……I worked in my dad’s warehouse, unloading trucks, stacking boxes, and trying not to go crazy from boredom When I moved to LA from the Bay Area, I got a job in a record store, Music Plus in Pasadena. ….home of Van Halen!! It was a lot of fun….but just minimum wage!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think the films I animated on at Disney in the 80’s, early 90’s are the projects I’m most proud of. The Little Mermaid, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin were all great films, and I enjoyed doing the sidekicks in each one! They have seemed to stand the test of time…..which is very gratifying.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born and raised in the Bay Area, Santa Rosa to be exact. Charles Schulz also lived in Santa Rosa, and was a lifelong inspiration to me!! We actually Continue reading