What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, everything I did outside animation was actually parallel activities. Although I never was interested in being an actor at all, I had the opportunity to be an extra on different indie movies and commercials here in Hollywood.  Nothing too crazy, really, but I think the most fun I had was the day I was hired as a stunt man on the History Channel show “Deadliest Warrior” (because of my martial arts background). We rehearsed stunts for 2 days and had a blast, but at the last minute, the producers and director changed the story, and instead of being a French commando freeing hostages from Somali pirates, I became a French tourist on a yacht being assaulted by Somali pirates en route to measure themselves to a Colombian drug Cartel. Bummer…  Still got paid and had lots of fun doing it, though!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think my favorite project to this day remains having been the art director of the movie “9″ (produced by Tim Burton), for which I was nominated for an Annie Award.  The “Transformers Prime” TV show I am art directing now is pretty cool to, and I won an Emmy Award for it last June.

How did you become interested in animation?
I had many artistic interests as a kid: Comic books, illustration, art gallery painting, movies and animation.  I almost became a full time comic book artist: Caza, one of the veteran French comic book artists who created the magazine “Heavy Metal” in the 70s, was offering me to do a book series with him. He had written a synopsis for it, and one chapter. It was cool, a hard core Heroic Fantasy saga with a female character, pretty epic and intense.  But I had just entered animation, and eventually moved to the US to work for Disney. I had to turn the comic book project down.  The series was achieved several years later, though, with another artist.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am originally from France, and got into animation showing a portfolio in the French company that had introduced anime TV series for the first time in Europe, with the TV show “Grendizer” (called “Goldorak” in France).  At the time I joined them, they were co-producing the second season of “Ninja Turtles”. That was my first TV show.

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
On a TV show, at the beginning, I spend a lot of time doing paintings (color keys and color scripts) that will reflect the look of the final images on the series. Then, when the show reaches a regular pace and has found its marks, my typical day starts with checking the final shots of the day coming from the production studio (in the current situation, “Polygon Pictures” in Japan), then give my notes on each shot, along with the director’s notes and the head of design. Make Photoshop paint over frames if necessary for clear comprehension. Then, check the work of my team (usually 2 or 3 people) and give them more if they are finished with their assignement. Then work myself on color keys and color scripts and talk with the director if some aspects of the episode need clarification.  On a feature film, it is a similar process, but everything goes slower, because emphasis is put on higher quality, which usually takes more time to achieve all the way to the final shot.

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
I think that having to handle the final look of a show, TV or feature, is what excites me the most. You are responsible to create a final vision for the project, a visual bible that will both satisfy the director and will give the whole production team a sense of direction toward what the final result should look like, which I still have to control at the end, when the shots are finalized.
This process is actually often misunderstood or undermined in TV animation, which is why I was excited to come back to TV -just for a “Transformers” show- after more than 15 years in feature films.  The challenge for me was to see how far we can go in terms of visual quality with a fraction of the time and budget that movies usually have.  I sure ran into obstacles, but eventually, I am pretty happy with the result.

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Well, there would be a lot to say about how studios work sometimes, and how the people who manage them handle the whole thing. I’m not going to point fingers at anybody here, but I think that when internal politics, power play and personal gains come in the way of truly supporting the artists, or even worse, in the way of bringing the show to the quality level expected, at this point we have reached the point of what I call being… mmh, what’s the word… unprofessional?  Fortunately, not all studios are like that.

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
Photoshop. Sketchup a little bit. And having been fully trained on Maya, I totally understand the problems related to each CG department.

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Having to constantly deal with the “faster, cheaper” people when all you want to is to draw and paint and be happy.
But I think it is part of the reality of business at large.

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
I think right now, there are many great things happening in animation everywhere, particularly Asia and Europe.  I attended the last Siggraph event in Vancouver, BC, and based on what I saw, I believe we are still only scratching the surface of visual possibilities.  CG tools are opening the door to a plurality of styles that were not available untli now. But it’s going to take a few more gutsy porducers and investors to see the full potential of the current field.  I look at it as being some kind of Far-West rush of the CG world. A fully open horizon on brand new CG territories that are begging to be explored.

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Definitely, the day I left France. The future was opening for me as an artist, but as a French person, you have to basically erase everything you have become.

Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
Well, I have been doing my own work for art galleries since 1997. And that is still going.  My website is: www.vacher.com  I am currently doing a 4×6 foot oil painting for a Fantasy painters museum project in Vegas.  And I am preparing a painting for an art auction that will be hosted by Michelle Obama for the Centennial of the Cherry blossom Festival in Washington, DC. All the profit will go to the Japan Tsunami relief fund.

Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
As I mentioned before, I’ve been in martial arts for a long time (more than 30 years), practicing more than 15 differents systems along the way, and still have a real passion for it.  I have a federal instructor diploma of Hapkido and still practice boxing, Filipino Arnis and Brazilian Ju Jitsu.  I also go to the gym very regularly.

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Persistence! There are a lot of ignored genius artists out there – because they didn’t have persistence. Work hard, show your work to good professionals to get their advice, and when you are ready, show it to companies that might hire you. If it doesn’t happen immediately, try again later. Very often, it’s a matter of timing. Sometimes, a company will have too many really good artists showing their work and won’t be able to keep them all, and other times, they will need artists but won’t have enough candidates, so they will be ready to hire even artists with not much experience. Timing is everything.  Now, if they tell you your work is not strong enough, don’t get discouraged: go back to work on your artwork and try again later. However, always be aware of your skill level.
If your art is not strong enough and you think it is, you will run into a lot of trouble.  We now have a lot of information tools (like internet) to learn and to gather reference material, something I didn’t have when I was in my teens. I would have done anything to access this kind of information. Use these tools! Get interested in everything around you, learn, find your own way, and be persistent!

What is your name and your current occupation?
Teodor Ajduk, animator

http://www.youtube.com/user/animationinventory?feature=mhee

http://animationinventory.blogspot.com/

What is your name and your current occupation?
Narina Sokolova
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Hmm. Never really had a crazy job, worked as an art teacher in art school, if you can call dealing with 20 kids and make them draw crazy..
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
one of my very first animations jobs, Jonny Bravo(Hanna Barbera), was an awesome show! Rugrats (Klasky Gsupo) was a great one.My Gym partners is Monkey(Cartoon Network) . Most recently 1st season of the Looney tunes show was rally great gig, and turned out fantastic !..I mean i am really proud of most of projects i was on .. Got a chance to work with some incredibly talented people.
How did you become interested in animation?
Was always fascinated by animation. Just a magic seeing images come to life and tell a story through pictures… And of course some animated films are such an amazing pieces of art ,It moves you in so many levels .  I always thought it is the future of visual arts, but now we are living in that future.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I had a fine art training in Russia. But after moving to LA and attending drawing workshops, sort of naturally felt into that. of course being in the heart of film industry helped. Animation industry had a renaissance then, Pixar films, all new technologies , it was very exciting for artists to explore new medias.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Depends on the production flow. I usually have meeting with director /art director about particular mood and design of the scene i am working on. And the production coordinator about schedule Always good to have some time for reference research. And then just do the art work.
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
Besides my love for making and art work, i really like working with team of creative people. Something about collaborating and bringing vision on screen together is very powerful and rewarding.
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Unexpected layoffs .. just kidding, well.. sort of kidding.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
I work mostly on Mac now. Using Wacom Cintiq.

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Sometimes you stay on the show for couple of years and get very comfortable, and then its over. You have to start looking for work again and its not always easy. But every time in this process i learned something new.

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Moving to States from Russia was tough but in a sense that it was complete cultural shock. And figuring out this new world , learning language , surviving as an artist.. But of course ,i believe then bigger challenge the better reward is ..
Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
I am between projects now, and been using this time in my studio and getting back into fine art. Oil painting.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
Not really , I am very usual
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
TV Animation is a hard work and production gets stressful sometimes. Just remember why you got into animation in the first place and keep it fun and playful !

http://www.narinasokolova.com

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Daniel Spencer ,  I am Producer in Giant Creative and Chair of Pegbar.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
During college I worked a lot of hours in a late night petrol station as well as Magner’s photolab. They were busy places to work, but were rich in inspration from the eclectic mix of customers. The petrol station employed loads of art students, 3 of which were animators, so we were constantly taking turns in sketching customers and creating backstories for them. We also transformed the garage into an open air disco & an adventure course, in the early hours of the morning. Fun times.  Previous to that, I worked in a scuba dive centre, as well as a lot of kitchens, prepping food & scrubbing pots.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’ve had many animation and design projects that I have hit milestone’s in my career. However, starting up Pegbar with a few of my college mates, is one project I’m quite proud of. After college, we were finding it hard to communicate or get an ‘in’ with industry. There were 52 film events in Ireland at the time, but few had serious animated content. We were networking as much as possible but could not find the right people to critique our work in order to improve and get jobs. So we created our own animation networking event, and put our generation of animator’s portfolios on showcase, to which industry came to check out this well marketed, mysterious animation event. The event has been growing ever since, and has hosted many talks from a number of prestigious animators.
How did you become interested in animation?
I was always interested in animation, comics, anything related to visual storytelling. I used to draw all the time when I was a kid and for all of the usual reasons. The turning point was when I left school.  I hadn’t made a decision on where I was going after school. To appease the folks, I enrolled in an art and drama course so I wouldn’t waste an entire year whilst trying to find out what I wanted to do in life. Thats when I found out that writing scripts and drawing all day was a lot more appealing to me than marine biology or computer science.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
My education included a diploma in Animation from Colaiste Dhulaigh, and a BA Hons Degree in Animation from Ballyfermot College of further education a.k.a. The Irish School of Animation.  After graduating, I co-founded Pegbar and got a couple of small contracts within animation and design companies. These small contracts, got bigger and bigger as time went on.  I encourage everyone to read David Levy’s ‘How to thrive and survive in animation’. It was my bible to kick start my career.  After a while, I became a freelance designer for a few independent Irish games companies. My job was to design characters, assets and animate them in their various states.  In 2011, I was asked by 3 other super talented freelancers to join in their start up company, Giant Creative. I’ve taken on the official position of Producer within the company and love being back in an Animation company.

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
It is a diverse work load at best. Firstly, I oversee the day to day management of the studio and make sure Giant are constantly in on current animation conversation. The first few hours of my day involve phone calls, mails, meetings and general marketing of the company. Secondly, I make sure all production is running smoothly, and that decisions are made to keep wheels in motion. Thirdly, I check over research and development with Giant. And lastly I develop content and scripts for potential use in the future, these go into the company’s think tank sessions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
Participating in the research and development process. Who doesn’t love researching and developing tech and stories?! Its like playing with new toys and reading books before they’re on the store shelves.  Also, I love when you solve a random problem that occurs…..and they generally occur everyday, but thinking on your toes and solving the problem with ease feels great.

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Its sad I know, but I haven’t encountered a horrible part to my job yet. Before taking on the roll, I had a honest fear, that I would become a ‘suit exec’ running around on the phone 24/7 whist having my head in excel documents. Since I have started, I organise, I create, I learn, I push the company and love the rewards that come with good producing. I look towards really creative, hands on producers, as inspiration, these include Bruce Block, Darla K Anderson, Allison Abbate and Heidi Egger.

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
 These days I’d mainly be on Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro & Sketchbook Designer. I might have to jump on After Effects & Final Cut for some comp’ing if needs be.
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Animation is a vast sea, with tons of variety, and life in it. It is very easy to get lost in that sea. So I recon the hardest part of being in the business, is to let your ideas and goals naturally evolve, without letting yourself get lost. I’ve seen many people fail in animation because they trail off and get frustrated, either because they end up in a position they don’t honestly want to be in, or they dont evolve themselves within the creative industry, or they don’t know what to be doing with themselves on down time. It is so easy to lose track of ones self whilst trying to achieve a number of things at once.

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
What is animation greatness? 99% of the people I know, or have worked with, or have met in the animation world are pretty much heroes and legends in their own way. Everybody is making their own collaborative contribution to a constantly growing art form and industry.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Helping out with my mam’s battle with cancer for the past two years hasn’t been easy. Some days are great, some others, not so great.Life deals an enormous amount of highs and lows for every individual to manage in their own way.  I suppose my toughest animation related situation was the death of Philip Heffernan, a good classmate of mine in Colaiste Dhulaigh. It led to the final year in there a bit of a nightmare, to which I nearly dropped animation all together.

Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
I like to play with arduinos, and making basic patches with pure data, quartz and xcode. My interest in this sort of stuff grew from taking a post grad in the National College of Art and Design. ADW was a perfect course for me to take some time out to question the nature of storytelling, the relationship of virtual and visual storytelling, as well as, to look at the increasing mediation of culture in animation and art.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
Both my hands are double jointed, all fingers and thumbs included.
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Animation is a marathon not a sprint. Everybody’s learning curve is different.  Network amongst like minded animation folks with a positive attitude.  Make critiques your new best friend, try and get the harshest reviews back from the most talented people you can find.  Step back and review yourself and your goals every month if not every week.  When you get an opportunity within a company, find the most talented person in the studio to learn from, without getting in their hair. (that could mean, just studying and deconstructing copies of their work files after hours)  If you are struggling with a problem, ask for a professional’s advice.  Try and get yourself several objective & unofficial mentors who will give you sound advice when you are gearing up for an  animation test or portfolio review.  For the first couple of months after graduating, whilst trying to score that first gig, give yourself unrelenting hard tasks and horrible challenges to achieve. This will allow you to try loads of different avenues, to see where your strengths and weaknesses may lay. It will also make decisions a lot easier in the long run.  Get a GOOD internship, don’t make the tea & coffee for 2 months and learn nothing. Find a proper internship where you get hands on experience. Even if the internship involves production admin work, filing work and making the tea & coffee, you make sure you are spending a portion of your day learning the trade and developing your skills.  Watch Chris Landreth’s ‘Ryan’…….if you’re in animation…..there is a good chance you have an addictive personality. Don’t let any stimulant take advantage of you, know the line in which you are still in control of your life. Scars are going to happen, just learn from your experiences.

Http://isa-bcfe.com

http://danielspencer.ie/adw/

http://giant.ie

I worked as accountant in meat factory, and occasionally as security officer between two animation projects.

I enjoyed working on animated series Mr. Bean in Varga Studio Budapest, but I was even happier to work on Tom Jones musical video Give a Little Love. I animated several scenes, designed some characters and almost all old model cars that appear in the clip. Since I am a huge fan of 40′s and 50′s music and lifestyle I enjoyed a lot designing and animating cars from that period.
Regarding „proud to have been a part of“ I am proud every time people whom I worked for previously and were satisfied with my work call me again for their next project.

As a kid I loved comics and cartoons (don’t remember what was first) and spent most of my free time drawing.

I am from Zagreb, Croatia. I worked as accountant for three and a half years. I hated it and felt just as Joe ( Tom Hanks) at the beginning of Joe Versus the Volcano movie. One day I left my desk and decided to do what I really like since I was a kid – drawing cartoons. Studio Croatia Film from Zagreb had open positions, I applied and in a few days was there doing inbetweens.

As a freelancer I don’t have usual routine how I work, each project that I am starting is completely different from previous one. My day starts with huge cup of Turkish coffee in the morning( what happens before that cup I have no idea).  After coffee I work in my studio which is in my house. Usually on Cintiq and Toon Boom, although on some projects I do traditional animation with good old-fashioned paper with peg holes.  I usually work all day with breaks for lunch, getting my kid from kindergarten, having coffee or beer with friends outside.

What part of your job do you like best? Why? 

Drawing. Cause I just like it so much.

What part of your job do you like least? Why? 

Since I am a freelancer I work with lot of people on different projects. I hate when someone, before the rates are set, tries to convince me that the project is „very simple and easy, almost nothing“ which means that they just want to pay as little as possible. It usually turns out to be a complex and time-consuming project with no end.

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?

I mostly use Wacom Cintiq, Toon Boom Animate Pro, Photoshop After Effects and Autodesk Maya.

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business? 

There is no long-term project as in steady job. I have to compete for every new project/client. There comes the time where there are no projects for few weeks and then suddenly three super extra urgent projects pop up at the same time. Unfortunately, in Croatia there are currently no studios that make features or TV series so all the jobs I can get in Croatia are short term projects that should have be finished yesterday .

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?

Thanks to Internet, I don’t have to travel much. In Zagreb Film I met one of the forefathers of Croatian animators Mr. Dusan Vukotic, who won Oscar in 1962 for best animated short. Substitute . Also, while I was working in Budapest I met Csaba Varga, one of most important European animators.  Last summer on 3d character animation masterclasses I had a unique opportunity to have teachers that actually have shaped the form and standards in 3d art and industry in last decade and a half. It was Michele Meeker  from Animation Mentor, Andy Schmidt and Rich Quade from Pixar and last but not least Keith Lango from Valve.

Describe a tough situation you had in life. 

Not working on any project for three months. I just do not know what to do with all that free time I am not used to have.

Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?

I collect vinyl record from 40′s and 50′s (jump’n'jive, rythm’n'blues and 50′s rock’n'roll).
I still have some clothes in 50′s style that I used to wear but they shrunk too much lately. It happens when you spend whole day sitting and drawing.

Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?

I can say words and sentences backwards without thinking, but till now I did not find any use for that.

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?  

You have to REALLY love what you do and never stop learning. Never be completely satisfied with your drawings and thrive for better. And, of course, there’s always somebody who is better than you, but if you’re sure you’ve done your best, you will have nothing to feel sorry for.

http://www.darkotomicic.com/index_eng.html

]]> http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/darko-tomicic/feed/ 0 http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/frodo-kuipers/ http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/frodo-kuipers/#comments Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:33 +0000 Laura http://www.animationinsider.com/?p=5475

What is your name and your current occupation?
Frodo Kuipers. I’m an animation director (mainly independent films) at my homestudio Studio Mosquito!
Furthermore I’m an animationteacher at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Quite a few: I worked as a musician and actor at a Dutch theatrepark called ‘Het Land van Ooit’. It sure was a lot of fun: making music whole day, and we had a few acts and small shows we played and acted out. A lot was on an improvisation-basis, so just interact spontaniously with the audience (mostly children).  I learned a lot over there, about performance, staging, focus, character, timing, in fact this job let me realize that animation is A LOT like theatre!  I also worked as a postman for a while, which gave me some inspiration for a possible future short on postmen and their heroic adventures  More jobs: selling icecream, serving in a restaurant, baking pancakes, paperboy, even made workingschedules for workers of a company…

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m quite fond of my latest short ‘Fata Morgana’ (http://vimeo.com/34165189). I worked with a screenwriter which really felt succesful. The film was being part of a program called KORT!, which is ‘short’ in Dutch. Usually only live-action films are being financed by the organising broadcastcompany, but my film got financed as well.  What I also find quite fancy is that I animated a few scenes for Paul Driessens latest film ‘Oedipus’. I have always admired Pauls films, so the chance of working together was really great!
And finally, one of my films (Shipwrecked) got included to Ron Diamond’s Animation Show of Shows a few years ago.

How did you become interested in animation?
When I finished high school, I didn’t have a clue of what I wanted to study. I definitelly knew that I did want to do something creative, since I always felt a passion for creating things. I simply love to create, doesn’t really matter what it is, I just need to…
I went to artschool and by coincidence I discoverd the animationdepartment which was run by Dutch animator Gerrit van Dijk. Immediately I was sold! Something really deep inside of me felt connected with that profession, so at that point I made my choice!  To be honest, I didn’t know before that day that there were actually schools to learn animation. Never realised that animation is an actual business. Of course I knew the Disney-classics, but hey! They simply existed! And yeah, of course somebody drew all that, but I never thought about it really…

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from the Netherlands, studied in the Netherlands (ABV Tilburg) and Belgium (KASK Ghent), and after that became a profesional. So not much adventure there, quite a regular route I guess…
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Usually I start working around 10 am. Since I work at my homestudio, I’ve got lots of freedom of scheduling my time. A do work late at night, probably until 11 pm.

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
I really like storyboarding and the animation-phase. To me it’s a very creative part which suits me a lot.  I also like compositing, since at that point the film finally gets together.  And finally the sounddesign we do in the studio is great. I usually work with great sounddesigners!

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
I really hate the fact that your job is so damn insecure. There’s always the question whether your plans get funded or not, or whether you get the assignment or not. I feel really bad about that part of the job. If I ever quit, that definitelly will be the reason why!
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
Mostly just a lightbox and sheets of good-old-fashioned paper  I do finish my animations digitally (like coloring and compositing of course), but I simply love the character of Indian ink on paper.

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Like I said before, the insecurity…
In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
In fact I did! After graduation I was an artist in residence at the NIAf (Netherlands Institute for Animationfilm) in the Netherlands. That was a great experience, since I was able to develop my skills further. A lot of great animators came by to give lectures and guidence like Michael Dudok de Wit, Paul Driessen, Mark Baker, Konstantin Bronzit, Kyle Balda, Normand Roger, Chris Hinton, Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbes, and others.  (At least: I think that’s what you mean by this question?)

Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
When I have the time I really like lego’s to give my mind a break

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Be sure to let the world know you’re there! Jobs won’t come to you, you need to go after them!

http://vimeo.com/channels/studiomosquito

www.studiomosquito.nl

]]> http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/frodo-kuipers/feed/ 0 http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/paul-jesper/ http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/paul-jesper/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:00:14 +0000 Laura http://www.animationinsider.com/?p=5471
What is your name and your current occupation?
Paul Jesper, Animation director

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Pizza Hut at 1am cleaning

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Danger Mouse, The Prince of Egypt, Balto, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
How did you become interested in animation?
Overnight with a book, The Animators Workbook by Tony White

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
Plymouth in the UK, got in the business with lots of luck

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
8 hours solid focus… the work and only the work…

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
Breakthrough moments when an idea works

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
I’m fairly content

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
Photoshop, 3D Studio Max are the main contenders

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Not difficult if you try and make the right decisions and understand the bigger picture

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
Chuck Jones, Jeffrey Katzenberg and many others I find inspiring

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
The same tough situations everyone faces

Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
Writing a book is my main thing at the moment…

Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
I dress well ;O)

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Don’t take my job, and work and work and focus and focus

]]> http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/paul-jesper/feed/ 0 http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/elyse-hartey/ http://www.animationinsider.com/2012/02/elyse-hartey/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:52 +0000 Laura http://www.animationinsider.com/?p=5462

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Elyse Hartey and I am a Lead Texture Artist at Nickelodeon Animation Studios
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was a hotel maid at Disney World. I was also a tennis instructor for a little while.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I really enjoyed working on Robot and Monster for Nickelodeon. It hasn’t aired yet but it will be coming out soon and I’m excited for everyone to see it.
How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always loved cartoons and it had never occurred to me that I could do it as a job. I think the first time I saw Finding Nemo was the first time I really realized that I could do that, and I’m going to do that!
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am originally from the Pennsylvania, New York area. I went to school in Florida and after graduating I got an apprenticeship at Nickelodeon.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Most days I get there and go right to work checking uv and texture files sent in from overseas, giving notes to guide their work or approving files. Throughout the day I’ll get tasks to work on, majority being uv’s, texturing and shader writing. Recently I’ve started on a new show so my days and occasionally my nights are being spent on texturing the main characters and testing new software.
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
I love seeing the finished product. My job is to help make cartoons that will be seen all over the world in a ton of different languages. It’s pretty cool that my artwork is seen by so many people.
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Well I live in California, so sometimes being cooped up inside behind a computer for 8-10 hours a day can be a challenge, but you just have to love what you do.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
On a daily basis I use, Maya, Photoshop, Bodypaint and Outlook
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Living so far away from my family and friends. I hope to get a job on the east coast within the next few years.
Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
I play tennis alot lately, I love it.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
The past few years for Halloween I’ve started making really elaborate full body costumes of cartoon characters. They’re alot of work but really fun to make.
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Apply everywhere!

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