RISING STARS

Luis Gadea

Character Designer, Bugs Bunny Builders (Warner Bros. Animation)

Age. Birthplace: 34; born in Canada, grew up in Costa Rica. Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid. Looney Tunes and The Porky Pig Show were major shows in my life. Also loved Dexter’s Laboratory, Freakazoid!, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Pinky and the Brain, etc. Favorite movies included The Iron Giant, The Land Before Time, Brave Little Toaster, The Great Mouse Detective, A Goofy Movie, Space Jam and The Prince of Egypt

I knew I wanted to work in animation when: I watched a lot of 2D animated movies and cartoons as a kid, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I started putting together my feel for art and animation. Movies like Shrek and Monster House inspired me to think about turning my love of animation into a career. I was in Costa Rica at the time and there was barely anything related to animation as a real study.

First job in animation: I must separate this answer into two parts: My first job in animation was in 2009 while I was studying 3D animation in Costa Rica. My teacher hired me for a 2D animation job working on animated commercials. At the time, my knowledge was minimal, and I was really doing 2D animation without quite understanding it; it was a learning-as-you-go kind of thing. It wasn’t until I moved to Canada in 2012 to formally study 2D animation that I got my first 2D animator job on Rocket Monkeys, a series produced by Atomic Cartoons for Teletoon.

What I love about my job: It’s not every day you get the chance to re-design classic Looney Tunes characters. Working on Bugs Bunny Builders has been one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had. Having studied Chuck Jones and all the great artists that created the original designs, I love being able to put my own vision on these characters. Some days I don’t believe I get to do it. It has been a profound thing in my life.

Biggest challenge: For Bugs Bunny Builders, the biggest challenge at the beginning was to hit the task: “New take for young audiences but with the classic feeling of the Looney Tunes.” It sounds easy, but not really; old and new don’t always go together. For my career, I’d say giving myself time to experiment and to keep exploring art without falling into drawing the same things in the same way all the time. I try to get away from the computer during my personal “art-time” and use all traditional materials.

Best advice: Learn to work as a team. Animation is a collaborative process. If your team succeeds you succeed as well. Supporting your co-workers, solving problems, raising the hand for any questions, or even raising the hand to ask for help is OK. What I enjoy the most about my career in animation is knowing that we — with our hands — create a bunch of art, and that art is sent to a lot of people that add another bit of art. This process keeps going until the art moves, gets sound, gets voices, and then parents with their kids sit down and watch it. The fact that a group of people get together, collaborate and produce something is a great experience!

Carrie Hobson

Director/Writer,

Win or Lose, Pixar

Age, Birthplace: 34, Maryland.

Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: Sailor Moon, Batman the Animated Series, Mulan, Spirited Away, The Secret Garden, Little Women, Motorcrossed

I knew I wanted to work in animation when: I realized there was a job that combined my love of drawing and storytelling.

First job in animation: Intern at Disney Consumer Products.

What I love about my current project: The team! CG is hard and expensive; everyone has to work together to make it not look like crap. I’m so lucky to work with a bunch of nerds who want to geek out over the details of filmmaking.

Biggest challenge: It’s a very ambitious project — it’s longer than a Pixar feature but made with a smaller team. We have to do more, with less. What’s great is, because every person really matters, every person becomes a bigger contributor.

Best career advice: Geek out with your friends over films and shows. Analyze what works/doesn’t work. Also, just live life. Read books, study philosophy, listen, go to new places, get your heart broken … Have a point of view in what you create.

Michael Yates

Director/Writer/EP, Win or Lose (Pixar)

Age, Birthplace: 31; Gary, Indiana.

Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: Toy Story, Akira, Fullmetal Alchemist, The Lion King, Princess Mononoke, Dragon Ball Z

I knew I wanted to work in animation when: Seeing my drawings first come to life set in motion a lifelong obsession. I realized animation is a combination of all the art forms. Where you can transport people to any place you can imagine.

First job in animation: Story artist trainee at DreamWorks.

What I love about my current project: Win Or Lose is such a fun character-filled world, where I feel like we get to explore so many different perspectives. It never gets boring.

Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge has been just how big and interconnected the show is. Sometimes it feels like we need one of those detective cork boards with photos, newspaper clippings and red thread connecting the evidence. Except instead of connecting suspects, it’s storylines.

Best advice: Always look to learn, every project and person you work with has something to offer you. Even the bad experiences can teach you what not to do.

Natasha Kline

Creator/Exec Producer, Primos (Disney Branded TV)

Age, Birthplace: 39, West Covina, Los Angeles.

Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: In the late ‘80s/early ‘90s, I watched everything on MTV and Nickelodeon — the animated music videos and the classic Nicktoons like Hey Arnold! and Rugrats. I’d even stay up late to see Æon Flux. Of course, Looney Tunes and the Disney musical features were a big staple, too.

I knew I wanted to work in animation when: I was three years old, and MTV was premiering a new music video — my whole family gathered around the TV to see “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty. I remember sitting on my mom’s lap and being completely blown away by the animation. It was the first time I realized that drawings could move — I thought to myself, “Whatever that is … I’m going to do that.”

First job in animation: My first industry job was in the art and story department at South Park, from 2008-2015. There were six people making all the pre-production materials for the show — storyboards, backgrounds, character and prop designs. We’d make all of the materials for one show in a week, then move on to the following show the next week.

How I came up with the idea for Primos: The series was inspired from an adult short I created for a stand-up show at Upright Citizen’s Brigade in 2017. As I developed the main character, I started thinking, “What would her family be like?” This led to my memories of summer vacation when my mom would invite all my cousins over and hilarity would ensue. I’m a huge fan of Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, so I hoped by creating this giant ensemble cast, and having a hilarious main character leading them all, we could bring back those Sunday funnies vibes. What I love about it: I love working with the amazing Primos crew. I’m very lucky to be surrounded and supported by them — and very lucky to be working at Disney. The intense passion, drive and talent that everyone possesses is more than inspiring — it gives me a reason to get up every day.

Biggest challenge: My biggest challenge as a showrunner is struggling with shyness and social anxiety. A major part of the job is speaking up. It’s hard to do when my natural urge is to quietly slip into the background, ha ha!

Best career advice: There’s not one direction to breaking into the industry and a career isn’t a single straight line. For me, I found success by creating opportunities to learn through every phase of my career. As artists, we get a lot of feedback, some of which could even be traumatizing; however, to persist, it’s important to develop a tough skin and take all information you receive — positive OR negative — as potential for growth.

Tran Ma

Writer/Production Designer, The Voice in the Hollow (Half M.T. Studios)

Age, Birthplace: 39; Orange County, Calif.

First time I knew I wanted to work in animation: After playing Final Fantasy VII as a kid.

Biggest animation heroes: Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone. First job in animatino: Modeler/Texture Artist at CafeFX.

Why I love animation: I love animation because it is a truly versatile medium. The possibilities are endless, and the wide range of styles and techniques available means that animation can take on many different forms. Whether it’s a hand-drawn pencil animation, a stop-motion film made out of clay, or a 3D computer-generated animation, the medium is capable of capturing the imagination and bringing any story to life in an exciting and dynamic way.

What I love about my current project: I feel proud that we completed it to the best of our abilities. Biggest challenge of our short: The entire process was challenging, but the art direction presented the greatest difficulties. With only a small team of two, myself and Miguel [Ortega], and limited resources to reference, we faced many limitations. While designing the characters was manageable, creating the aesthetic of the world proved to be a significant challenge. We experimented with various color schemes, starting with pastel tones and then moving on to desaturated hues, and finally settling on highly saturated colors. The design of the foliage also underwent multiple changes.

Best career advice: You need to persist and work hard. Nothing in this world is easy.

Miguel Ortega

Writer, Director, The Voice in the Hollow (Half M.T. Studios)

Age, Birthplace: 43; Bogota, Colombia.

First time I knew I wanted to work in animation/VFX: The day I saw Return of the Jedi in theaters; I was never the same after seeing Jabba and the Rancor.

Biggest animation heroes: Walt Disney, Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippett, Henry Selick.

First job: Burger King, where I was fired for drawing. In visual effects: Luma Pictures.

Why I love animation: It gives storytellers endless possibilities.

What I love about my current project: That we made an uncompromising animated African horror film in Swahili. Inspired by The Old Testament, Serio Corbucci and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Biggest challenge: We created the short using Unreal, despite only having four weeks of experience with the program.

Future plans: To create beautiful new worlds and rich likable characters, and then torture them for the duration of the film.

Best career advice: Create unique stories that would not have been told without your existence.

Wayne-Michael Lee Director, Pinecone & Pony (Atomic Cartoons/DreamWorks/Apple TV+)

Age, Birthplace: 37; Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: Dragon Ball and Batman: The Animated Series. I think those two were foundational for me in many ways. They’re the kind of genre extremes I like to bounce between —.big, fun, goofy adventures with some subtle, dark drama.

I knew I wanted to work in animation when: I would watch behind-the-scenes features on animated shows or movies. As rare as those instances were in the ‘90s, I ate them up and was just enamoured with the process of making a show.

First job in animation: I worked as an animator on the first season of Wild Kratts for PBS KIDS. The first thing I got to animate for the job was a baby rhinoceros! (I’ll never forget that little guy.)

What I love about my current project: My current directing project for Atomic Cartoons is in the very early stages, but the early stages are kind of my favorite part of the process. It’s all kind of fair game, and I think of it as a big blue sky that feels a bit limitless. Just prior to this project, I directed Pinecone & Pony, and similarly, getting to work with a wonderful team and collaborate with Kate Beaton to adapt her book was an all-time highlight for me.

Biggest challenge: Time/schedule/budget and where it intersects with creative or technical issues. It can be a moving target at times, but you aim to make the best decision in the middle of all the noise and hope it pays off.

Best career advice: Persevere. And I don’t mean it solely in the “work hard” sense, because we all work so incredibly hard in animation. It’s the most basic thing, but it’s taking care of yourself — both mentally and physically, whatever form that may be. Just take care of yourself, so you can take care of others to persevere on a project.

Brett Nystul

Production Designer, Spellbound (Skydance Animation)

Age, Birthplace: Ridgecrest, Calif. (only lived there for a month!)

Cartoons/movies I loved as a kid: Growing up, we didn’t watch much TV and rarely went to the movies. We did a lot of reading and art and family adventures like museums and travel. Looking back, it was an amazing path to creativity. But when I did go to the movies, I loved the epic adventures like Indiana Jones or an underdog story like Rocky. Some of my favorite animated movies are The Iron Giant and more recently, Klaus I knew I wanted to work in animation when: I saw the first Toy Story And then when I saw Monsters, Inc. and Sully’s fur, I was enamored with the technological breakthroughs in CG animation. Today, the drive to find new ways to create an animated movie is just as strong. Funny, but back then it was to make a movie more and more realistic with textures, fur or lighting. Today it is trying to find a way to pull away from the realism we automatically can do and find a more artistic look.

First job in animation: Visual development artist on DreamWorks’ Shark Tale

What I love about my current project: I love the diversity and talent of the people on this movie. Skydance Animation is fairly new, but the talent and experience is vast and from all over the world. Collaborating within this wide spectrum has been a blast. I feel very lucky being part of the connecting thread amongst us all.

Biggest challenge: Finding the right moment to say “approved.” It’s tough to stop noodling when time constraints call. I’m afraid that in the final stretch, I will have to let more and more things I want to fix slide. However, I have an amazing crew and I’m confident whatever result will be great. Best career advice: Be resilient. Animation and art is subjective. You must keep believing in yourself and the work you put out. Be open to the critiques. One of the ways to lessen any kind of negative ones is to have vastly different options. This opens the doors for discussion and can better lead to a direction the director is looking for. Many times, a director does not know what they want. Having one art concept presented only gives a director the option of saying “yes I like it” or “no.” Having options leads to, “Wow, so many great ideas and I’m feeling this could be the way to go.”