Animation Alumni

I am currently a visual effects compositor at Industrial Light and Magic.
Graduating from LCAD in 2010, I found my first break into the industry working on the stereo conversion of several films, such as "Transformers 3" and "Titanic." Afterwards, I moved on to Sony Pictures Imageworks. For a few years there, I composited on projects like "Oz: the Great and Powerful" and the "Spider-Man" films.
It's been an extraordinary journey working with great teams on such high profile projects. My biggest takeaway so far from both from school and working is to surround yourself with people more talented than you are. Learning happens exponentially faster and you are constantly inspired to improve. And as a mentor once told me, "Work hard, be nice and good things will happen."
www.curtiscarlsonart.com

Since graduating from LCAD, I've animated on a banner ad for "Ren & Stimpy" creator John K., animated and storyboarded on several projects with Hero4Hire Creative near Boston, and made a few animatics to stay in the public eye and keep the gears in my head from getting rusty. I'm currently working full-time on the hit Netflix series "All Hail King Julien".
Coming from virtually no animation education, but a deep-seated passion for classic Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons, I benefited profoundly from the company of my fellow students, my professors, and other legendary animators that I met by association while at LCAD. The animation business is no different. Master one facet of filmmaking or draftsmanship and you've still got a dozen to go! Thankfully, I'm still thirsty for knowledge and practicing to get better at my craft every day, and my coworkers and supervisors are treasure troves of insight.
If you want to pursue a career in animation, especially where storytelling is concerned, here's a tip: Go to LCAD. I'll bullet-point a few tips as well, for those who are comforted by seeing numbers at the beginning of paragraphs:
1. Play to your strengths. Are you likely to tell a story whose main character is Rapunzel? Luke Skywalker? Batman? Daffy Duck? You'll definitely want to branch out and test your skills with something new or daring as you move forward, but don't lose sight of the stuff that gets you most psyched in storytelling.
2. Favor the simplest, most direct approach (to a point). Don't skimp on expressions, construction, or nuanced action - if characters behave differently, they should be drawn differently. Their actions will sure as heck be timed differently. That said, a character always makes his/her point more clearly with a few simple gestures than flapping and twirling his/her arms about.
3. Don't stop! After completing my senior film "A Little Hitch" and in between freelance assignments, I continued to make animatics and limited-animation skits to stay active and prove that I was not a one-trick pony. I have a feeling that all that work combined landed me the DreamWorks gig. After all, if you love what you do, you should be prepared to do it at least 40 hours a week!
mikepelensky.tumblr.com

I came to America from St. Petersburg, Russia, when I was 17. In 2005, I attended Laguna College of Art and Design, where I learned as much as I could about making animated films. In 2010, I attended Gobelins animation
school in Paris, France. After graduating in 2014, I started working at Warner Bros. Animation as a storyboard artist for the TV series, "Be Cool Scooby Doo".
Filmography:
"Tom and Jerry" 0:45 1998
"Happy Birthday" 0:56 2000
"Love and Bears" 1:30 2001
"Nevlyashka" 1:50 2002
"Black and White" 2:18 2003
"Lazy Song" 3:05 2003
"Alaska" 6:20 2005
"Overshoot" 1:20 2006
"My Lovely Pet" 1:50 2007
"Global Warming" 0:30 2007
"Time to Go" 2:10 2008
"Sharfik" 13:30 2010
"La Vida" 1:00 2011
"Holy Sheep" 1:00 2012
"Spotted" 3:30 2013
karinagaz.blogspot.com

So far, my career has been short and sweet. Almost immediately after graduating from LCAD, I landed a job as a Storyboard Artist on "Family Guy." Together with a team of incredibly talented artists, I'm responsible for creating and orchestrating all of the visual components for various episodes of "Family Guy", including character designs, backgrounds, props, layouts, and acting poses. I owe as much of my professional success to good timing as I do to hard work, and I've been working hard not to get fired ever since. The 5 Most Important Things I Learned From LCAD: Outwork Everyone - The animation industry is fiercely competitive and there's no room for slackers. Develop a diehard work ethic and hone your craft. Network - Open yourself up to new people and new opportunities and always conduct yourself in a friendly and professional manner. Take The Initiative - Utilize every conceivable resource at your disposal to solve your problems and learn new things. Respect Your Body and Mind - Make the time to exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well. Be A Light To Yourself - Always listen and be grateful for advice, but trust your instincts. Only you know what's best for you. rbousaab.blogspot.com

Though my roots in this professional world are still very young, my career in this industry has already started to sprout from the creative soil LCAD planted me in.
When I graduated in 2013 I was quickly scooped up by a local video game company in Irvine, CA called Obsidian Entertainment. There, I was brought on as an Art and Animation Intern for "South Park: The Stick of Truth" to help finish up the project. I was even labeled "The intern to just get stuff done." Shortly after, when South Park was wrapping up, Obsidian gave me my big break in to this industry by hiring me on full time as a 3D Junior Animator in 2014. Since then I have been queued with a couple more of the company's current projects. One of those projects being the CRPG "Pillars of Eternity. "
At Obsidian, I have the opportunity to push my ever-growing skill set by sampling different hats and learning different software in the 3D animation pipeline. By me being able to do this, my creativity and my skill set level seems endless - just like the endless amount of imaginative people that I am very fortunate to work with. These creative people push me to do my best every day, just like the talented people I worked with and learned from during my time at LCAD.
cathy-nichols.blogspot.com

After graduating from LCAD, I continued my studies at Gobelins l'ecole de l'image for one year. After graduating from Gobelins in 2012, I started, and still continue to work at Warner Brothers Animation as a background designer/painter on the TV series "TeenTitansGo."
todddejong.blogspot.com