Luis Escobar

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What is your name and your occupation?

My name is Luis Escobar and I’m a Storyboard artist on THE SIMPSONS tv show.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
Before I got into the animation industry I used to milk squirrels for a living.  It’s surprising how few people know how high the demand for squirrel milk is. Especially in countries like Vanuatu, Uzbekistan, and Liechtenstein. Okay, I made all that up.  I didn’t really have any jobs before I got into the animation industry.  Especially not  involving milking squirrels. That’s sick, SICK I tell ya.  On the other hand, hamsters…

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
I’m definitely proud of having worked on THE SIMPSONS movie. It was my first storyboard job AND my first movie.  It was also one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever had.  There are some SIMPSONS episodes I’m very proud to have worked on too. LISA’S WEDDING episode, I liked working on (directed by Jim Reardon) and Continue reading

Ray Chase

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ray Chase and I am a directing animator on “Free Birds” our first feature film at ReelFx. I am also a mentor at Animation Mentor.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I don’t know that I really had any crazy jobs.  But let’s say that I was a llama herder in Australia.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
A couple years ago I worked on a series of Looney Tunes cartoons which were a lot of fun.  One short in particular, “Daffy’s Rhapsody”, used original Mel Blanc recordings of Daffy Duck. It was pretty amazing to animate to his voice.

How did you become interested in animation?
I was always interested in animation as a kid but never thought much about doing it as a career.  Toward the end of high school Who framed Roger Rabbit came out and I was inspired; I saw it eight times in the theater.  A couple years later the Disney/MGM studios opened in Orlando where you could see real animators bringing characters to life.  That’s when I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I grew up in Gambrills Maryland. And went to school at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). They didn’t have much of an animation program at the time; this was the early 90s. After college I started applying to Disney to get a job as a 2d animator, but Continue reading