It was a special day back in 1976, sitting in the scorching sun, my six-inch platform shoes protruding from underneath my black robe, and the tight cardboard hat on my head, preventing the blood from circulating into my face. Yes folks, I had finally graduated from the CLASSICAL ANIMATION PROGRAM at SHERIDAN COLLEGE, in Toronto. Excitement filled the air as the next generation of Disney toon artists received their diplomas. Our one-way tickets to Hollywood! Screen credits…and BIG money! The heat was causing delirium to set in. I looked up to catch my breath when the unthinkable happened right before my eyes. Fairy dust began falling from the sky. This truly was a magical moment!
Three years later, animation work in Toronto did not look promising. I remember sitting on the sofa wearing my new construction boots, considering a career in heavy machinery, when I got the call. HANNA-BARBERA was looking for Assistant Animators, but I had be in LA in three days…so I packed up the car and moved to Beverly…Hills that is…. Movie stars…Fairy Dust!
After a quick tour of the studio, I was led to an unlit room consisting of a plywood desk and a lamp. Finding a light bulb proved to be a monumental task, and one that would be repeated numerous times during the following twenty-five years. Moments later Ken Muse, legendary Tom & Jerry animator, informed me that I was to be his new assistant as he dropped a huge stack of un-punched animation paper and a box of blue pencils onto my desk, followed by 200 feet of the roughest stick figure drawings I had ever seen. My animation career had officially begun in the dark, on a series called THE FLINTSTONES.
Two weeks later my hands were smudged in blue lead, and eraser shavings and off-model drawings of Fred and Barney covered the floor under my desk. Business was booming, and during the next twelve months I put pencil to paper on over ten thousand drawings for numerous other shows such as, JOHNNY QUEST...THE JETSONS, CASPER THE GHOST, FANTASTIC FOUR, THE SMURFS, THE SCHMOO and SCOOBY-DOO, to name but a few. I freelanced in LA for various studios after that gig, and within eighteen months I was back in Toronto illustrating children’s books, painting motorcycle gas tanks, and considering a career as a crossing guard when I got the call. Hanna-Barbera was looking for…Well, you know the rest…………..
So I packed up my bags and flew to Madrid, Spain where I worked for six months as an animator on a project called LUCKY LUKE. The flexible hours at the studio allowed me to enjoy a relaxed Spanish lifestyle. Good friends, the endless flow of red wine, and late night snacks of calamari were in abundant supply, and the afternoon siesta quickly became a way of life. Six months later my wife and I hopped into a Fiat and began navigating the narrow country roads and mountain-top villages that dot the south of Spain. The following eight weeks were spent drawing, painting and loading countless rolls of film into my 35mm camera. The Spanish became very receptive to the barter system, and when they could understand me, many watercolour sketches were exchanged for gallons of sangria.
The years from 1983-1985, were spent in Toronto working as an Assistant Animator on various projects for NELVANA, such as COSMIC CHRISTMAS, INTERGALACTIC THANKSGIVING, MY PET MONSTER, FAMILY DOG, BEETLEJUICE and most notably the cult classic, ROCK and RULE. To this day I still don’t own a copy!
I spent the first eleven months of 1986 in Seoul, Korea where I was employed as an ASSISTANT ANIMATION SUPERVISOR on THE CHIPMUNK GREAT ADVENTURE feature, produced by BAGDASARIAN STUDIOS. Living in Asia for 11 months was certainly an adventure, but being able to spend time in the Philippines, Hong Kong and the UK with my wife eased the pain a little. I returned to Toronto and devoted the following two years illustrating children’s books, and in '89 I returned back to Korea as an ANIMATION SUPERVISOR for DIC ENTERTAINMENT. Six grueling months later, 52 eleven-minute shows of THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS were finally viewable, and I left.
The years 1990-1996 were spent working exclusively from home on various illustration projects. I also began watercolour painting on a regular basis, and was excited to display my work in a few galleries. Animation projects soon began to surface in Toronto from big LA houses, such as Disney, Don Bluth, and Creative Capers, and smaller studios became a hot commodity. I was soon on a first name basis with the Fed X driver, and traffic jams became a thing of the past. Important functions such as the playoff hockey pool held annually at YOWZA ANIMATION, was an event not to be missed, and blasting tennis balls at the Chiasson brothers in full equipment after pizza and a few suds, was a sight to behold.
In late 1996 I reluctantly hung up my housecoat to join the commuting world, and once again began working for Nelvana as an ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, on shows such as THE NEVER ENDING STORY, RUPERT THE BEAR, BABAR, BLAZING DRAGONS, FLYING RHINO JR. HIGH and many others. Numerous changes in animation were beginning to emerge, and I was soon relocated to the newly formed 3D department as an AD on the first season of DONKEY KONG, followed by a lineup of others including six seasons of the award winning ROLIE POLIE OLIE, PECOLA, and the one hour Christmas special, The SANTA CLAUS BROTHERS.
I am currently submitting story ideas for a stop motion series being produced by the CBC, and I am also in the process of developing, OUT OF BOUNDS, an adult written comedy animated series through my company MigTOONS.
A word of advice to any newcomers entering the business. Become passionate about what you do, and try not to think about fairy dust. It blew away long ago! |
