Character Design for Animation with Adam Dix

If you've ever imagined what it would be like to help produce animated films, or if you have a curiosity about being one, please take a listen to this engaging podcast episode with Associate Producer Romney Marino as she shares her experiences as an Associate Producer and outlines potential paths you can consider if you're interested in a management career in the animation industry! There's so much helpful information she shares in this episode!

Romney is credited as an Associate Producer for Disney Jr's “TOTS” and “Goldie and Bear”, Apple TV+ “Wolfboy and the Everything Factory”, “Mulligan” for Netflix. And she’s currently the Associate Producer for a Bento Box Studio special.
She has worked for world renowned studios including Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks, Warner Brothers Animation, and Titmouse and Bento Box for their television series She's also a member of the Producers Guild,  a long standing member of Women in Animation and ASIFA.

Romney is a graduate of California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor’s of Art degree in Graphic Design and has advanced her studies through UCLA's Professional Program in Producing.

You can see a detailed list of Romney’s film projects through her IMDB site. Please be sure to check out the amazing films she's worked on.
 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1599236/

Are you, or do you know anyone interested in breaking into the animation, game or entertainment industries? Securing an internship may well be the single most important link that can connect you to, and launch you into a lifelong career in animation... or any industry. They're really just that critical.

Come listen to this recent podcast Internships in Animation on AnimationU and become better informed on what an internship is, why you need to land one, and learn about valuable tips and tricks that can better assist you in securing one for yourself, from our guest Clarissa Corral.

Clarissa recently completed an internship as an artist intern at Warner Brothers Feature Animation on their unreleased project “Bye Bye Bunny”, and she was also a mentee with Netflix Animation Foundations as well as Women in Animation.

She studied at California Stated University Northridge where she recently received her BFA degree in Art with an emphasis on Animation. Congratulations Clarissa!!

If you're looking to hire an up and coming talent, or just interested in checking out Clarissa’s portfolio work, here's a link to her website and social media accounts: https://clarissacorral4.wixsite.com/clarissacorral and Instagram and Twitter @orange_eraser.

In this weeks episode of Prop Design for 2D Animated Television Shows, Kyle Bowman will help to clarify what a Prop Artist is and what contributions they bring to a pre-production animation pipeline. Kyle will share what you need to do to find a rewarding career in animation as a Prop Designer.

Kyle graduated from College for Creative Studies with a bachelors in Fine Arts. His professional experience is in prop design as well as character design and background design, having worked for numerous studios including Green Portal, Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, Titmouse, Warner Brothers, Shadow Machine, Bento Box, Gaumont Animation and he’s currently designing at 20th Century-Disney.

Kyle is currently a prop designer for King of the Hill, and he’s previously worked on the highly rated Rick and Morty series, Vox Machina, Central Park, Pantheon and the soon to be released Venture Bros movie.

If you'd like to check out some of Kyle's work, please visit his website at:
Kbowmanart.com

You can also check him through these links:
Instagram - @kbowmanart
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylerbowman/
IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7822542/

Have you ever been mesmerized by the background paintings that provide a stage for your favorite animation to come to life? Check out this engaging AnimationU episode that focuses on Background Painting with Andy Clark as he shares his thoughts and provides valuable insight and tips for anyone who has ever dared to imagine having a career as a background painter in the 2D animation industry.

Andy is a graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California majoring in illustration with a minor in fine art and has since earned a reputation as a Background Painter, Visual Development Artist and an Art Director working for world renowned studios including Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Fox Animation, Paramount Pictures, Disney TV, DreamWorks Television, Cartoon Network, HBO/ Max, Bento Box, Shadow Machine, and Hanna-Barbera Cartoons.

Andy’s multiple film credits include Fabulous Furry Freak Bros, Flintstones reboot, Cosmos a Space-Time Odyssey, the Sponge Bob Series and the Sponge Bob Movie, We Bare Bears, Fired on Mars, The Great North, The Angry Beavers, Chalk Zone, and Dexterʼs Lab.

Andy was nominated for an Academy Award for his Art Direction on an episode for Sponge Bob.

Please be sure to check out Andy's amazing work at his website.
 https://www.andyclark.us

Here are some additional helpful links where you can learn more about Andy as well as a link to the Animation Local 839 website providing information on union contract and wages.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-clark-544a446/
https://animationguild.org/contracts-wages/

The right preparation when looking for your next job can make or break the deal. Camille Eden, Vice President of Recruitment, Talent Development and Outreach at Nickelodeon Animation Studio offers her expertise and insight into how you can best prepare for landing your next job. Her advice applies to all jobs and all disciplines.

In this episode of AnimationU's "Career Preparedness", you'll learn how to make yourself more attractive to potential employers and gain tips that can help increase your visibility and hire-ability in the job market. What exactly do studios and employers look for when they're looking to hire the right candidate? What can you do to help you stand out from the competition? Come listen to Camille's valuable tips and...and be sure to take notes.

Camille has worked in a variety of positions ranging from Production Management, Recruitment and Artist Management for the world's most prestigious studios including  Industrial Light & Magic, DreamWorks, Sony, Nickelodeon, Disney Animation and Framestore located in the UK.

Some of her film credits include James Bond Quantum of Solace, the Harry Potter franchise, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and Frozen 2, Moana, Zootopia, Sponge Bob, Star Trek Prodigy, Surf's Up, Cloudy With a Chance, and more…

Please check out these links to learn more about Camille's impressive career, and be sure to check out the other valuable links she wanted me to share with you to help you in your search for or advancement in your career in animation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-eden-54343a1/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0249078/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12416699/?ref_=fn_al_nm_2

Important links Camille wanted to share:
https://womeninanimation.org/
https://www.riseupanimation.org/
https://latinxinanimation.org/
https://www.vesglobal.org/

Additional important links:
https://lightboxexpo.com/
https://ctn-events.com/
https://animationguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-Studio-List-1109.pdf
https://www.awn.com/

In this episode of AnimationU we'll explore an informative and interesting conversation with animation veteran Vic Cook as he shares his experience and provides advice for anyone interested in  Directing 2D animated films.

Vic has been nominated for multiple Emmy’s including 2 Emmy Nominations for 101 Dalmatians the series, 1 Emmy Nomination for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and an Emmy Nomination for The Legend of Tarzan.

Vic has worked for some of the most prestigious animation studios including Disney Television Animation, Warner Bros Animation, Sony, Titmouse, Film Roman and Cartoon Network Asia, as an Executive Producer, Supervising Producer, Director, Supervising Director and long-time Storyboard Artist.

In addition to a soon-to-be-released, new Disney Junior television series "Pupstruction" Vic's list of properties he's worked on include Disney Junior’s series TOTS,  Hasbro’s Stretch Armstrong and The Flex Fighters, the Spectacular Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, Lilo and Stitch, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, 101 Dalmatians, Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles and Aladdin, and Return to Neverland starring Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite, which is part of the animation exhibit at Disneyland’s California Adventure.

Please check out these links to learn more about Vic Cook:
https://twitter.com/Victor_Cook1
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177328/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-cook-9148873?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
https://www.comicsonline.com/2018/04/comicsonline-exclusive-the-spectacular-spider-man-10th-anniversary-reunion-interviews/
https://collider.com/stretch-armstrong-netflix-series-vic-cook-interview/
https://www.overlyanimated.com/2019/02/03/50-years-of-scooby-an-interview-with-victor-cook/

Iconic and memorable cartoon characters have touched most of us at some point in our lives. Adam Dix specializes in creating engaging and iconic characters that many of you are likely familiar with.

This weeks episode of AnimationU explores the role of a character designer. In addition to educating us on what a character designers role is, Adam dives deep into the psychology that goes into creating iconic and beautifully designed characters for film.

Adam studied at the Academy of Art San Francisco. He is a character design lead, character designer, prop and EFX designer as well as a character design instructor at Art Center College of Design and Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Arts.

Adam’s extensive list of studio experience includes Walt Disney TVA, DreamWorks Television,  Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, Wild Canary, Bento Box, Netflix, Big Idea Studios and others. Some of his projects include Cup Head, Central Park, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Boss Baby, Sofia the First, and others.

Be sure to take the time to check out and explore Adams work and teaching through these links:
Website: https://adambdix.wixsite.com/adamdix
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamdix/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-dix-96b7a922/
Art Center: https://www.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?accdID=0300194
Los Angeles Academy of Art: https://laafa.edu/adam-dix/

Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Adam, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania are just a few of the mega films that our special guest Noah Amrani has worked on. In this episode of Pre and Post Visualization for live action, animation and VFX, you'll learn what a career path in this direction entails. Noah will help clarify what these artists do and what skill-sets you would need to learn in order to get your foot in the door, working on these colossal films.

Noah is an accomplished Pre/Post-Visualization Artist, 2D and 3D Character Animator, Visual Effects Supervisor and a VFX artist. He’s also a Compositor, a Rigger, a CG Generalist and an adjunct professor at the California State University Northridge, as well as a member of the Visual Effects Society.

Noah’s impressive studio list includes Digital Domain, FotoKem, Pixomondo, Aaron Sims Creative, The Third Floor,  Fuse FX, Creative Capers Entertainment, Almost Human, Shadow Machine, Film Roman, and Sageous Studios LLC (which is Noah’s freelance company visual effects and animation). Additionally, some of his client lists includes Disney, Marvel, DC, Sony, Amazon Studios, Activision, and General Mills.

In addition to the film titles Noah has worked on he's also worked on Avengers: Infinity War, Aquaman, Venom, Rampage, Tomb Raider, Hell and Back,  the Law & Order series for their SVU and Organized Crime properties, The Underground Railroad, The Orville, the Simpsons and others.

Here are some links where you can learn more about Noah and his work:
http://www.noahamrani.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SageousStudios/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahamrani/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3952737/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

How does a student, or artist, successfully make the transition to work in one of animation's most world-renowned studios? It's the one question that's at the top of every student's or artist's mind when they're looking to find employment in animation. Jiyoung Choi, a recent CSUN graduate who successfully made the transition to work for DreamWorks studios, shares her journey and experience with you and offers tips that you can consider getting your own foot in the door.

Jiyoung is a visual development artist who has worked on TrollsTopia, Abominable and the Invisible City, and she’s currently working on an unannounced 2D DreamWorks show that’s in production.

You can check out Jiyoung's work through this links:

Jiyoung's website: https://www.jiyoung-choi.com
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm14403894/?ref_=fn_al_nm_3
Abominable and the Invisible City trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecSb3wMUPEQ
TrollsTopia trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPGeeh_oPhQ

If you've ever had a wondering about what it would be like to work on feature films as an film editor Lisa Linder Silver is here to provide a glimpse into this exciting career.  She has worked on award winning projects for iconic studios such as Disney, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Hasbro and Apple TV, on beloved films including Emperor’s New Groove, Mulan II, Cinderella 3: A twist In Time, Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Winnie the Pooh, Paperman and the Tangled Ever After shorts. Lisa has also edited on Duck Duck Goose, A-Bomb-In-Able, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne and To Mom (and Dad) with Love, and she’s currently editing on an unannounced feature in the SpongeBob Universe.

Lisa offers valuable insight into her career and offers tips to anyone who has an interest in pursuing a career as a feature film editor.

Visit these links to learn more about Lisa's impressive career
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisasilvereditor/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0511724/