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Tag Archives: Animator
John K. Lei
What is your name and your current occupation?
Hey there, my name is John K. Lei. I am an animation director and artist. I recently finished up Assistant Directing on Johnny Test, season 5. Currently I am freelancing design and development, and working on my website and blog.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well, I worked as a graphic designer for a small company in Toronto. Of course, there were the long hours (my first day there was 15 hours) and crazy expectations (I had 3 days to conceive, create and put together all the art and signage for a fashion show). However, the craziest thing about that job were the unrelated skills I developed (fixing computers and photocopiers, painting the office, being the delivery boy and my favourite – fixing the phones). I’m surprised I got any of the design work done.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I really like funny, zany shows like Johnny Test because our crew can have lots of fun. Also, working on features like Curious George is nice because we can afford time to create some beautiful artwork. I also liked illustrating the black and white art for some of the Franklin the Turtle books – it’s a nice break away from the typical animation production.
How did you become interested in animation?
Naturally, I got into animation by watching a lot of cartoons on television when I was a young kid. Some of my favourite shows were The Flintstones, Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies, Battle of the Planets (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) and Starblazers (Space Cruiser Yamato). I was intrigued by Continue reading
John Serpentelli
What is your name and your current occupation?
John Serpentelli – I am an independent animator and an Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I was the world’s clumsiest caterer. I once knocked several boxes of glass soda bottles down a flight of marble steps. Fizzy explosions everywhere.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I made two short films for UNICEF for their Child’s Rights campaign and I was feature in a documentary called ‘Animating Autism’ where I taught a dozen kids with Autism to collaborate on an animated film.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Toms River, New Jersey and I got into animation as a career while Continue reading
Daniele Afferni
What is your name and your current occupation?
I’m Daniele Afferni, illustrator, concept artist and co-founder of StudioASC, a creative team specialized in pre-visualization and illustration for advertising, film and TV commercial located in Milan, Italy.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Drawing and painting are the only things I’ve done in my whole life!  After attending an Art High School and a qualifying course in comics drawing, I directly moved to my first job as an inside-man illustrator in a big advertising agency (Armando Testa).  (I don’t think it’s crazy …all the nights we were forced to spend into the agency to deliver our works on time …those were crazy!) Then I became a freelance illustrator and later I founded the creative team ASC, in association with two friends of mine, the illustrators/designers/animators Anna Citelli and Luca Mari.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I had the thrilling opportunity to collaborate with several interesting professional artists, like the Italian movie director Gabriele Salvatores in “Nirvanaâ€, or the English movie director Nicolas Roeg. In Europe it is a common habit for the movie directors to do also commercial spots to enlarge their experience;  just to give you an example, I recall with great pleasure having worked with Wim Wenders for the Ariston-Hotpoint tv commercial: really particular to see a director of a very high artistic level to “soil his hands†with a washing-machine!
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I didn’t start as an animator. Basically I’m a Visualizer and a Concept Artist.  I finished my studies with the aim of drawing comics, but Continue reading
Jane Davies
What is your name and your current occupation?
Jane Davies – Animator, Director.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Cleaning public toilets in the height of summer, it was truly grim.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
Animation Director on the ‘A Productions’ animated episodes of Frankenstein’s Cat (CBBC series). Â Most recently I directed the song section of ‘A Liar’s Autobiography’ a film about Graham Chapman. Different animation companies made sections of that film and I was involved in the ‘A for Animation’ section. That was quite an honor. I put a lot into it and I am very proud of it. There were only 5 of us that did the majority of the work (some additional help from some animators on bits of it) and it was in Stereoscope too. I’m so pleased with the end result. Â I also was very proud to be trusted with the characters of Jamie Smart on a micro short we did for fun of Looshkin. I’m doing another one but it’s taking much longer as it’s a little more complicated and I do them in my spare time (1 or 2hrs a day).
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
Stevenage which is north of London. I did some animation in Foundation Art which was a defining moment for me, I had previous done a 2 yr preparatory art course exploring all areas of art trying to find what I wanted to do. When I did my first scene after reading about how to do it in the library, then showed my tutor I knew then and their that animation was what I wanted to do so I took the leap and studied animation at Glamorgan Centre of Art & Design University in Wales; which was the Continue reading
Igor Stefanovic
What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Igor Stefanovic, I am Character Technical Director / Rigger at DreamWorks Animation. My job is to build internal skeletons, animation controls, face expressions and body deformations for digital characters. I create something like a digital marionette, which animators move around in shots. It is a job that is both artistic and technical. I have a good understanding of anatomy so I make sure that face and skin of character look good in every pose, just like real actor. I also work on hair and cloth, which are more on the technical side. Animators then take my work and breathe life into it. You could say, if animation department is the heart of animation process, then rigging is its brain.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well I grew up in Belgrade, in Serbia. I started drawing very young. So in my teen years I started doing some simple marketing designs. First it was business cards, then larger prints and billboards, and finally I started doing tv commercials. One freelance job always led to another, so I ended up working every summer break during high school. Those were fun days, I got in contact with various people and learned a lot about life. So most of the stuff about computer graphics I learned on the go, through work. This continued through my college years, and finally I decided to make my own animated short. I wanted to have very good characters, so I ended up making detailed face and body setups for two characters, an old fisherman and a raccoon. By that point I realized I could make demo reel just out of these setups, so I postponed my short for some better days, put together demo reel, and applied for rigging position in several companies. I was lucky to get a job at Framestore in London. First really big company, working on Hollywood projects. I stayed there for two years, then got a job at DreamWorks Animation in Los Angeles. I am here for three years now. I have worked on four animated movies for them so far, including Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots. But still those early beginnings are great memories. Those were days when future seemed distant and anything seemed possible.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
There are two types of projects that can make someone in this business proud. There are big projects with famous names, that everybody has seen in cinemas or on tv. I guess for me, those are Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots. And there are those, which don’t necessarily have to be famous, but where I had greater responsibility and got more personally invested. In London I was working for over a year on Universal Studios animation The Tale Of Despereaux. It was smaller team than on DreamWorks productions, plus my first Hollywood movie so I put a lot of effort in it. In the end it was ok movie, it did so so in the cinemas, but for me it opened doors to other things.
How did you become interested in animation?Â
As I mentioned, I was drawing since I was a kid. At one point I realized that Continue reading
