Cinzia Angelini

What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Cinzia Angelini and I just wrapped up at Duncan Studio on the Despicable Me Theme park ride for Universal. I alternate between working as 2D/3D animator and as story artist. At the moment I’m freelancing as a storyboard artist for studios in Los Angeles, and am directing an animated short film “Mila”, that I wrote.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
When I was a student I sold all sorts of SWATCH watches at the Sunday Flea Market in Milan. It was the nineties, SWATCH mania had taken hold in Italy, and as a student, it was lot of fun. Good times.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Prince of Egypt, Spirit, Spider-man 2, Open Season, How to train your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda 2 DVD Specials.
How did you become interested in animation?
I always liked to draw, and as a child, was fascinated by the mystery of drawings in motion. When I was seven or eight I came up with my own theory of how cartoons were made. I believed that Continue reading

Liz Kupfer

What is your name and your current occupation?
Elizabeth Kupfer: 3D animator/artist.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I got into animation straight out of college, so all my crazy job experiences happened while I was still in school. For 2 and a half years, I was a balloon girl at a party store. Let me tell you. People get very passionate about their balloons and crazy when they don’t get them as soon as they show up (even if there are 10 people in front of them). I have such patience for people in customer service because of my time put in at that party store. You wouldn’t believe how entitled people feel about their balloons.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Currently, my favorite projects are the video games I’ve worked on. It was a lot of fun working on and with each team. My favorites of these were Dance Central and Dance Central 2.

How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always been interested in animation. Saturday morning cartoon child. But the real kick was Continue reading

Deborah Zak

What is your name and your current occupation? 
Deborah Zak-Associate Producer G7Animation

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
 Selling Cable TV.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
We designed, boarded in it’s entirety the film called “Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.”  Beautiful beyond compare and TOTALLY designed by G7 Animation’s crew.  This can be viewed by  going to our website G7animation.com.  We are also uploading three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) a really funny site called LilFartz which can be found on Lilfartz.com orG7animation you tube.  We’re always working on new projects. We’re also working on R rated animation and currently are slated for ten Feature Flms and ten TV Shows.  So to say the least, we’re really busy.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
Actually, I wasn’t that interested but Continue reading

Donovan Cook

What is your name and your current occupation?
Director of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Walt Disney TV Animation

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was Shamu at Sea World, (the guy in the costume)

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
2 Stupid Dogs, Nightmare Ned,Mickey Donald Goofy The Three Musketeers.

How did you become interested in animation?
Always drew cartoons and comics as a young kid. In high school my mother ordered the
Continue reading

Myke Chilian


What is your name and your current occupation?
Myke Chilian, currently lead designer on an adult swim pilot called “Rick and Morty”.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Back in 2005 i was working as a receptionist in a law firm. Does that count as crazy? Other than that, mostly worked at places like Blockbuster Video and Borders Books. Both of which are out of business now, i think.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’m really proud to have been involved in VH1’s “Acceptable.TV”. An awesome, yet short lived sketch show where i was able to work with most of my closest Channel 101 friends. Not many people saw it, but occasionally someone will reference “Mr. Sprinkles” or “Operation: Kitten Calendar”. I’m sure all the sketches are online somewhere if anyone cares to google it. Definitely worth watching.
How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always drawn my whole life. And i also loved making short films with my friends. So naturally, Continue reading

Daniel Spencer

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 Continue reading