Sandra Loke

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Sandra Loke and I’m currently working as a freelance Layout Artist and Background Painter at Chuck Gammage Animation.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
Haha Well, I used to work at a Golf Course doing maintenance. I got to cut grass on some crazy machines. I also had to watch out for golfers cause some of them liked to aim at you!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
The first thing I got to work on was a DC Nation’s short. I remember when I was in my interview they were like “so can you do layouts?” and I said yes. Then they were like “well you get to do Batman.” It was totally a dream come true. The little girl inside my head was like OMG BATMAN YAY!!!
How did you become interested in animation?
When I was five years old my cousin was marrying a guy who was working at Warner Bros on Tiny Toons and is Continue reading

Kyle McQueen

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Kyle McQueen and I am the studio Art Director at East Side Games in Vancouver, B.C.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I went through a placement agency once and ended up getting a job taping boxes shut it a powder painting factory. The parts would be passed through the assembly line and then placed into a box. Once the box was full, I taped it shut and put it on a skid. It took roughly 2-3 minutes to fill a box. Nobody spoke for 8 whole hours. The factory was located across from a mental institution, which is an unsettling thing to have to walk past when your shift ends at 2 am. I quit after one shift.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think my favorite project would have to be the “Block Party for Blockheads” animated PSA I did for Nexon America. I had a really great Creative Director who trusted me and gave me complete creative freedom and support and just let me get on with it. Such a rare opportunity in this industry, but the most rewarding as well.

 

How did you become interested in animation?
I’ve always known that it’s what I wanted to do. I grew up on The Muppet Show, Transformers, Spiderman comics and was always drawing. When I was small I thought of animation as this Continue reading

Rich Dannys

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Rich Dannys. I’m currently working as a Layout Artist at Yowza Digital, here in Toronto.. We’re in production on a new web cartoon series for Nickelodeon.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
My summer jobs during high school, involved working at a pickle factory: shipping, receiving, and (later on) in their “Tank Farm”. Smelly work, but at least you could work on your tan!  After college, I worked for a time at a comic-book distributor called “Andromeda”. Distribution nights, involved making very early-morning drives to both a nearby bus terminal for accounts in Montreal, Ottawa, and the Maritimes. And to Toronto Airport for accounts in Calgary, Edmonton, and Victoria, BC..

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I’ve enjoyed most of the stuff I’ve worked on.. Layout on ‘BEETLEJUICE’ holds a lot of happy memories for me. My start in the business, and not a bad cartoon either.. When I started work in Design, I got to work on ‘CADILLACS & DINOSAURS’.. A very small, tight crew. I think we did good work, that was helped by a solid Japanese overseas studio..  Working on ‘RIPPING FRIENDS’ at Red Rover was also pretty great.. We had a lot of freedom on that cartoon, and Andy Knight had a genuine respect for all of the artists working at his studio..

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business? 

I’m from Scarborough, a suburb in the east-end of Toronto.. Went to Sheridan College for ‘Classical Animation’ from ’83 to ’85, but dropped-out before finishing. Was working retail at a comic-book shop when a buddy suggested I take the Layout Test at Nelvana.. They seemed to like the work I did on it, and hired me to do Layout on their ‘BEETLEJUICE’ cartoon in 1989. Later, I did some Design work at Nelvana, for their action-adventure cartoons.. And in the mid-90’s, I began freelancing full-time under my own corporate identity: ‘Flying Dutchman Studios, Inc.’

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
Get into the studio around 10am.. Get my Scene list and check it against the current animatic. And then either begin roughing-out or cleaning-up my individual scenes. This also usually involves designing some stuff that hasn’t been designed yet.. Lunch around 12.30 pm. And a mid-afternoon coffee run around 3.15 pm, or so. Head home around 6.30 pm.. Lots of kibbitzing with fellow in-house artists, throughout the day, etc.

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

I get a lot of satisfaction purely from the act of drawing.. I really love drawing. Particularly, when I have a good idea of what each scene requires. The art of composition and making things “read visually” is also enjoyable. The staging, etc.. And when you get those rare moments when you can sneak something into a cartoon that you find funny or amusing, on the Design or Layout end. That can be a lot of fun, too..

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

Working from poorly-executed storyboards can be a real drag.. Trying to “fix” stuff that just isn’t working, but has somehow already gotten past layers of approval.. That, can be a frustration. But you always do what you can, to “plus” things. And hope that the phenomenon won’t materialize again, or continue throughout the duration of the production..

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis, how has technology changed in the last few years in your field and how has that impacted you in your job?
Right now, I’m using Photoshop on a cintiq.. I still prefer the old analog pencil-and-paper. But realize that it isn’t coming back anytime soon, and that’s a shame. The hardest thing for me to get used to now, is no longer having a nice thick storyboard that I can leaf thru at my leisure and make my notes, etc. Having to log onto a computer just to check an animatic, is annoying. And nowhere near the same experience.. I don’t read my books digitally. And would prefer not to “read” my storyboards that way either, given the chance..

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Keeping pace with new software and new methods of production.. Each studio invents it’s own production pipeline. Some are good, some not so much.. The changes in the industry are happening so fast now, that it’s hard to keep pace with it all.  Working contract-to-contract can be difficult, too. Though that aspect does seem to be improving lately, to a degree. Working full-time as a freelance artist will always be a challenge, I think.  And having a regular gig is something that we all dream of..

If you could change the way the business works and is run how would you do it?
It’s always nice to have bigger budgets with longer production schedules.. But my entire Animation career has been in TV production. So that equation doesn’t seem to materialize very often.. More money to make cartoons, and more time to create them? That would be a nice improvement..

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
I don’t really have Animation heroes, per se.. I had Kaj Pindal as my Animation History teacher at Sheridan. He’s a bit of a local legend here, I suppose.. And I enjoyed working alongside Jim Smith when he came up to Red Rover studio, during production on ‘The RIPPING FRIENDS’. Looking over his shoulder as he storyboarded, proved insightful.. Most of my artistic heroes come out of the Comic-Book field, I guess? I got to meet Mark Schultz, when we did ‘CADILLACS & DINOSAURS’.. Later on, I got to know Dave Stevens pretty good.. He’s famous for creating ‘The ROCKETEER’. But he actually started out as an Animation Layout guy; working at both Filmation and Hanna-Barbera. So, we were always able to discuss Animation on that level.. Boy, I really miss that guy!

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
I’m currently seperating from my wife.. Does that qualify? hah   In the past 10 years, I  also spent a good deal of time caring for my aging parents.. That too, posed it’s share of challenges.  But for the most part, I’ve been very fortunate in my life. For which, I’m very thankful!

Any side projects you’re working on that you’d like to share details of?
I’ve been talking it up for years, ad nauseum.. But one day, I AM going to publish my own comic-book project! I self-published a sketchbook in 2003, and loved the entire process.. Taking control of one’s own artistic destiny, can be a tremendously satisfying endeavour..  I heartily recommend it!

Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
As a younger man, I used to take stairs (both up-AND-down) two steps at-a-time.. I’m a short, stocky guy. with very strong legs. I inherited my Dad’s physique, I guess. Dunno, if I’d try it now though. I’m a lot older. Perhaps, wiser?.. Some, would argue that point. So, I guess the Jury is still out on that one!

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Draw, draw, draw.. And draw some more.. I’ve taught a little bit. And always tell my students that drawing is the very foundation of the Animation (or Comic-Book) business. Storytelling too, certainly. But without learning fundamental drawing skills, you’ve really crippled yourself from the very start.  After that, Humility is a pretty good tool to have, too!.. When you stop learning in Life, you get old very quickly. So make a point of learning something new each and every day!

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Stephanie Pyren-Fortel

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Stephanie Pyren-Fortel, bg painter, character painter.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
When I was HS I was working as a  cashier for a dept store after that it was art jobs, I was hired at 19 to work as a fashion illustrator.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
So many to really say from Fat Albert, they were all fun in the old days now it is more client based whereas before artist ruled!

How did you become interested in animation?
I loved the satire and puns with all theBullwinkle shows ,rocky and his friends and Continue reading

Adam Fay

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
My name is Adam Fay and I am a freelance illustrator and designer. I am currently seeking character and background design work.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Before working in animation I hosted at a seafood restaurant, was a cashier at my college campus bookstore, and one summer I did manual labor landscape work to “build character” as my parents said.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I had the great pleasure to work on the new Spongebob movie that came out a couple months ago. It was such a huge project, and I was completely overwhelmed. The work itself was really challenging, and it definitely pushed me, which I was grateful for. Most recently I was character and prop designer for a Comedy Central pilot, which was a lot of fun because it was a super small team of us, and it was all new. I really enjoyed being at the beginning of a project, helping set the style and look of the characters and props, as well as setting them all up in flash. It was cool to see it all start to come together. I have yet to see the fully finished pilot since I was there for the first half of production, but I still loved being apart of the small hectic group.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I am from Marin County, which is north of San Francisco and south of wine country. It’s a pretty, but kind of boring suburb in the bay area. I went to a small high school in San Francisco, so I was able to hang out in more exciting places.  I’ve always liked Continue reading

Jay Shultz

What is your name and your current occupation?
Jay Shultz  Background designer and layout artist for Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Well I got into animation pretty early, when I was 21 so there’s not to much craziness that went down. I grew up in a pretty small town in Ohio and there wasn’t that much art to do. I painted lots of murals for the local high school, restaurants, football t-shirts, band logos, jacket patch designs, backdrops for theatres and photo studios, signage for businesses, basically anything that involved some form of art I tried it. I took it all very professional and I knew when to say no to a job that would later turn out to be a pain.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
It would have to be my first job at Fox Feature animation doing storyboards for Anastasia. It was an amazing learning experience both professionally and personally. It was scary that everything was so new and everyone was better than me but man did I learn quick and I got to work with one of my favorite animators/directors Don Blueth.  My other favorite project would have to be my own Doodle A Day project. Where I am still to this day drawing and painting my own ideas and stories and posting on lines through blogs, and art site. I love the absolute freedom that it gives me.

How did you become interested in animation? 
I started drawing around seven years old before that I scribbled a lot but I was always interested in art. As a kid I watched a lot of cartoons. I watched anything I could that was animated but mostly the classic Warner Brothers cartoons of the 1950’s. Still my favorite toons to this day. So I could say I was always Continue reading