Animator images (literally).

I’m getting busier each day. For me, that’s a good thing. My summer has been filled with struggle and productivity. I am working a job at Pratt Institute, and I am watching over my Grandparents’ house for the next five weeks. I am still trying to get the story for my thesis down. Although it is not fully fleshed out, I am feeling very confident with the direction it is taking. For the rest of the summer, I intend to do a lot of artwork in preparation for this project, which I often refer to as the “8-month pregnancy.”

In the meantime, I am finding some motivation in a new webpage. Animator David Nethery created a web page with nothing but images of animators at work at their animation desks. So far, it is a marvelous mixture of commercial and contemporary animators. And I’m told that the site is still being updated, which is even better. Here are four of the images they have so far.

Ken Harris.
Warner Brothers animator. Also worked with Richard Willams.


Eric Goldberg.
Disney animator. “Genie” in Aladdin, and “Rhapsody In Blue” from Fantasia 2000.


Richard Williams.
Animation director for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.


Mark Kausler.
An animator whose travelled from Ralph Bakshi to Spumco to Disney.

Just watching the process of animation being done is inspiring. Even though I am more focused on being an director, the dedication and focus these artists have is still inspiring.

In the meantime, I am practicing my own cartoon drawing by copying other cartoons. Apparently, this has been recommended by several people, and I am only now starting to understand why I should do this. I did this last night, just looking at my laptop. I looked at images of John Kricfalusi, Katie Rice, and Mark Kausler.

Copying these keep me learning about how cartoons can be designed. Of course, I have to stay focused on what I can do by myself.