Why are you an animator? I always say I fell into it by accident, but the truth is I came to it by drawing. I did some stop motion in a summer camp and made my own flip books. I took a film class during high school. I just knew I wanted do to something creative and tell stories that would make people laugh.
How did you get your first break in the industry? Working interactive CD-ROMs — this was the mid-1990s. I met a couple of professors running a business making interactive educational ones out of their home. A few years later, the opportunity came along to meet with a producer for the Discovery Channel, and I spent four years working on comedic animated interludes for a show called The Sex Files.
Who are your animation influences? Definitely a lot of National Film Board animators: Lynn Smith, Wendy Tilby, and Stefan Anastasiu — all teachers of mine at Concordia. Norman McLaren, Cordell Barker, Tim Burton, Ronald Searle, Saul Steinberg and Jonathan Amitay. Yellow Submarine. And of course Monty Python ... I can’t forget Monty Python!
How do you put your animation together?
Just about all my animation begins on paper even if it’s something that’s going to be done in a technique other than drawing. I always start with thumbnails planning out the story or the idea. Once that’s done I’ll start spending time on character design. And then I’ll plan the timing. I’ll either directly ink the pencil drawings done on paper. Or I’ll scan the pencil drawings and trace the lines with a tablet in some sort of vector drawing program — usually in Flash or Illustrator. I also spend time pencil testing my drawings, so there’s always a lot of scanning and testing to make sure the animation is working before I do any inking.
I’m also meeting with clients along the way, keeping them up to date on my progress. I may need a client’s approval at different stages of production — maybe at the storyboard stage, or the character design stage. But I mainly work from home.
What reaction are you looking to inspire from the viewer?
I’m looking for the viewer to either laugh or experience some sort of delight. Some surprise is also good.
What are the elements behind your style?
Simple. But also quirky.
What are the unique benefits in working the way that you do?
I’m using what I consider to be a low-tech approach. It’s cost effective. I have control over what I’m doing, at least to the extent that I’m able to handle drawing or animating a scene. And now, with tools like GarageBand and SoundEdit and a microphone, I’m even able to record sounds and add dialogue.
How do your personal experiences contribute to you being an animator?
Anyone who knows me will know that there’s a little bit of me inside each of my characters. I’m really putting myself into the work — although my characters are probably more mischievous and wilder than I am in real life. I can have fun letting them get up to doing all sorts of naughty things.
What has been your career highlight so far?
There is nothing like seeing your own work projected in front of an audience, as I most recently experienced with a short film I made called Nice Jewish Boys. The film festival organizers thought it would be a good idea to have me stand up and answer questions about my personal life as part of the screening — I was as amused as I was embarrassed.
Animation for Documentary television series The Sex Files Season 2 (2001)
This animation illustrates the importance of a woman's waist to hip ratio in order to attract a mate. Concept, storyboard, animation by Janice Schulman for Discovery Channel Canada
