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Gerald de Jesus

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What is your name and your current occupation?

My name is Gerald de Jesus (pronounced “dee HAY-soos” instead of like “Jesus Christ”) and my current occupation is a Painter on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before I got into Animation, I did a lot of editorial illustrations for places like “Entertainment Weekly”, “Capitol Records” and “The Village Voice”, as well as gallery work for my personal stuff.  Then things started drying up and I got really broke, so I helped my friend make floral arrangements at his flower shop.  Removing the thorns off roses really sucked.  I also had to do these really awful drawings of kids in wheel chairs or carrying crutches for this educational pamphlet…it was pretty demoralizing copying an art style I thought was atrocious.  Hey, whatever it took to pay the bills!

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
One of my favorite animation projects to work on was Nickelodeon’s “El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera”.  Not only was it a great looking show, the crew was just awesome to work with.  Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua (the creators of “El Tigre”) had such passion for the show, it infected everyone and we worked our hardest to make it look great.  It was sad that it was cancelled before its time, but we were recognized (post-humously) with a bunch of awards, including my first Emmy!

How did you become interested in animation?
It was kind of a fluke… as I mentioned before, I was struggling with finding freelance illustration work, when out of nowhere, my friend Tony Mora, whom I have known from going to Art Center with Continue reading
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Ben Price

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What is your name?
Ben Price

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Managed a video store, worked with kids (age 11-18) in a neighborhood Youth Center.

What would you say has been your primary job in animation?
My primary job has been that of a traditional animator.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Let’s see – character designs for a documentary (unfortunately funding ran out before it could get to the animation stage), test animation of a raven for a Comcast commercial, being layout supervisor and doing layouts on a MTV pilot featuring Bootsy Collins, animating part of the Hallucination Sequence in the feature “Beavis and Butt Continue reading

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David Fremont

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What is your name?

David Fremont

How did you become interested in animation?
Watching Saturday morning cartoons

and after school cartoons. bugs bunny, bullwinkle, underdog, super chicken, johnny quest, sid and marty kroft, monty python. i thought “someone drew that stuff” so I tried to
draw a cartoon character, i think it was Lyle Lion with overlapping cartoon eyes. yellow submarine was a big influence as far as being inspired to draw weirder, abstract stuff.  and sunday comics, Cathy, Fred Basset. No actually I loved Tumbleweeds, Peanuts, figments, the Wizard of Id. I was always drawing comics and trying to create my own comic strip. Then I got into MAD, National Lampoon comics and RAW, Gary Panter had that scraggly punk look that changed my outlook on trying to draw perfect perspective cartoons. I started drawing comics without sketching them out, just pen and ink improv stuff, totally fun and scrappy. That’s how Glue started, a comic that turned into an online animated series for Wildbrain.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from a northern Cal. town called Fremont. How convenient, right?  I moved to San Francisco and worked in an art supply store. The people that worked at Colossal Pictures would buy supplies there and I’d always bug them about working there. So finally I got hired in the Ink and Paint dept, painting animation cels for things like cereal commercials and MTV’s Liquid TV with a bunch of like-minded Continue reading

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Drew Neumann

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Drew Neumann, Composer/Sound Designer for Film, TV, Animation, Games, and iPad apps. Synthesizer programmer and design consultant.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I worked as a bus boy and dishwasher at the restaurant where Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. I’ve also worked at Little Caesar’s Pizza, Radio Shack, and sold electronic components at Dow Radio.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
MTV’s Aeon Flux, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, The Wild Thornberrys, and Aahhh!!! Real Monsters!”

How did you become interested in animation?
W Continue reading

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David Block

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What is your name and your current occupation?

 

David Block,  Supervising Director -Warner Bros. Animation

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Sold Hoover Vacuum Cleaners and Washer and Dryers in Retail stores

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’ve been lucky to work on a lot of great projects but some highlights would be Chuck Jones’ “Riki Tiki Tavi”,  Disney’s “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” Disney’s “Hercules”, and  Directed Disney’s “Kim Possible”.

How did you become interested in animation?
I decided to become an animator after seeing “Fantasia”.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chuck Jones gave me my first job.

http://www.animationinsider.com/2011/04/david-block-2/penguins_conveyor_belt

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
My job varies from day to day depending Continue reading

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Bill Burnett

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What is your name?
Bill Burnett 

What would you say has been your primary job in animation?
Writing, conceiving, composing music and supervising story.
 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Janitor cleaning up old people’s poop at retirement home. Rock musician cleaning up dog poop in ski resorts.  Advertising guy cleaning up marketing executive’s poop in big corporations.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
What a Cartoon, Cow and Chicken, Oh Yeah Cartoons, ChalkZone, Electric Piper, Curious George
 
How did you become interested in animation?
Always madly in love with cartoons.  Have massive Continue reading