James Nethery


What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is James Nethery and I’m a freelance Flash/Toon Boom Harmony animator.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, the craziest was probably working at the Magic Kingdom park in Orlando as a “Custodial Host” (aka a janitor in Disney Park-speak) for a few years. I could probably start a series of blog posts on all the crazy stuff that went down on that job… from “how the heck did it get on the ceiling??!” restroom cleaning stories, to rude/angry park guests, to employees getting fired for coming in drunk/high, to insane employee policies that parks put in place. That was a fun job (and the free park admission was a major perk) but it could certainly be tough sometimes.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Three words: Cyanide and Happiness. That show is a lot of fun to work on and it’s great working with the guys over at Lowbrow Studios and Explosm who are a really talented bunch. I love seeing how much I can get out of such simple designs. So far, I’ve worked on about 11 shorts, two of which haven’t been posted online yet. Some of I’m animated fully, so I’ve just helped out a bit on doing animation revisions and such.  I’m also working on another project right now that’s really cool that I can’t really talk about… all I can say is that its being animated in Toon Boom Harmony and that’s its based on another very popular web comic.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Orlando, Florida. I got into the freelance animation business basically by working my butt off on my demo reel and applying to every job I could. It was tough starting out, but Continue reading

Randy Bishop

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name’s Randy Bishop and currently, I work as a freelance illustrator and character designer which is fantastic.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?

Oh goodness… I’ve worked a lot of jobs before being able to support my family doing freelance. I’ve worked landscaping, retail, construction; I even drove an ice cream truck one summer. That was a cool job.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?

Right now I’m actually working on a project that I’m really excited about. The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a old timey radio performance show that has a great fan base and a lot of great people working on it. I was approached by the creators to illustrate one of their properties into graphic novel form and it’s been a blast to work on. It always helps when you enjoy associating with the people you work with. My very favorite project to work on is a personal project I’ve been collaborating with a friend of mine on for a few years. It’s a property called Monomyth that we’re very proud of and very protective of. We’ve had to put it on the back burner for a while until we get the time and funds to really work on it full time, but once we get started it’s going to be phenomenal. We’re planning on telling an epic story directly influenced and surrounded by multiple ancient mythologies including greek, norse, egyptian, as well as others. It’ll be done in graphic novel form, but we like to think of it in terms of animation. The stylization of the characters as well as the storytelling itself lend it to eventually being made into an animated franchise.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 
 I’m from Idaho which isn’t a place where you’d Continue reading

Andrew Dickman

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Andrew Dickman, I’m currently a storyboard artist

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before I got into the industry I took a lot of freelance jobs doing flash animation for several clients who liked my work. I remember taking a job in Hollywood to do flash animation for a studio I can’t remember the name of. It felt even though I was an amateur coming into the studio, I was teaching them how to prepare everything for flash animation. My job there was very short lived and I felt they didn’t know exactly what they were doing. I have no idea if the project went through but it was a very odd moment for me. Around the same time I did an animated music video for a band in Germany, which I heard made it to television over there but there’s little I really know for certain. I seem to have done a lot of flash animated music videos at the time for both myself and other clients, it seemed to be a thing I wanted to do until I found my Continue reading

Axel Ortiz

This slideshow requires JavaScript.


What is your name and your current occupation?
Hello my name is Axel Ortiz…I am a Development Artist based in Los Angeles. I mainly do conceptual work not only in animation..also in video games, theme park and live action. I also work on my own projects as well.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, I wouldn’t say my past jobs were crazy….more like working with mentally nutty people. Worked Sears in the kids dept…dealt with crazy customers. I worked at a Pioneer Chicken for two weeks so I can make enough money to buy a comic book back issue. Before heading out to school to the Art Center….I worked at the airport down in the ramp…where I would get passengers’ luggages into the plane. In all of these places I worked with colorful characters…I would always be drawing in my sketchbooks during my breaks….or on the clock. 😛

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There’s a few projects that I liked working on…like Big Guy and Rusty show from Sony Animation was very cool to work on…I’m a fan of the Geoff Darrow and Frank Miler book that the show is based on. I also liked working on developing characters for pitches for clients as well…getting the chance to create something new is always fun…I’ve done stuff for Nickelodeon, Bento Box, Midway, Activision, Animax and others. Lately I’m excited to be developing characters for two animated show ideas for two clients of mine. One will be pitched to Disney…let see how that goes?

 

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from the greater Los Angeles area of the South Bay….not far from the beach. I got into the animation just by chance…Sometime after I graduated from the Art Center College of Design…I was doing freelance jobs and working on my own project at the time…I got a call one afternoon from Continue reading

Bernie Petterson

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Bernie Petterson. Which is the condensed version of the name on my driver’s license: Stephen Bernard Petterson. I work as a storyboard artist on a children’s TV show called Phineas and Ferb. My employer is The Walt Disney Company.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?

It was all minimum wage scut work. I worked in a hotel as a “Houseboy”. I learned that hotels are very creepy places. Places that are inhabited by people who, now that they’ve found themselves in a new town where nobody knows them, will allow the meanest and most debauched parts of their personality come out. If you ever get a chance to work in a hotel, don’t.

How did you become interested in animation?
I saw a really ugly brochure in the College Resource Room at my high school. It was green with avant garde purple-ish scribbles on it, and it was the marketing material for a place called California Institute of the Arts.The brochure claimed that you could major in

Continue reading

Joel Trussell

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

 

What is your name and your current occupation?
Joel Trussell.  Director and such.  Currently directing Tom Hanks’ “Electric City” series at Six Point Harness in Hollywood.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Tip of the iceberg…

I waited tables at a Japanese hibachi restaurant.

I served Bloody Mary’s for breakfast on a golf course.

I reluctantly danced the “Macarena” while serving crab legs at a seafood restaurant.

I worked in the firearm, exercise equipment and toy department at a Service Merchandise store.

[video src="http://www.animationinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/war_photographer.mp4" /]

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
For 7 years I worked out of my house in Tennessee directing music videos and commercials which I dug pretty well.  I guess the “War Photographer” video I directed for Jason Forrest (DJ Donna Summer) was spread the furthest, but I had fun doing them all.

http://joeltrussell.com/#/motion/music-videos/jason-forrest-

How did you become interested in animation?
Fate.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I lived most of my life in the Continue reading