Recently I had Teacher in Residence appointment at The Harrisburg Academy. It has been long term goal for me to pursue a career in teaching. Being a product of Independent School Education, I recognize the value of excellent and attentive instruction.
Most importantly, my intension is to inspire children to have the desire to think creatively, and hopefully they will have this to take away from the experience.

I Gave a presentation of a body of my work which represented projects and productions that I have worked on during the course of my career. Including fun shows for some major networks like Nickelodeon.

I tried to share with the students the joy I find my work. But also, the importance of collaboration in the creative process. Which is so important in the professional environment.

My first job in Animation came quite unexpectedly, as I had never planned to get involved in this field. It came as an opportunity which I pursued without hesitation. I expressed to the students the importance of connections in the professional world. It was through such contacts in my University alumni directory, that the path was paved for me to apply for a position at a major studio.

I described the structure of the art department for a studio production; including the types of duties that I had as a character designer. Such as designing character expressions and poses.

Emphasizing the importance of developing ones craft, working on such fundamentals as drawing. Keeping a sketchbook is key to an artists success!

Klasky Csupo is famous for the “Rugrats” and The wild Thornberrys”, and was where I got my start as a Character designer on “Aaaah Real Monsters”. I had no idea what I was doing, but this is where my on-the- job training taught me the fundamentals of my craft. More importantly, I was now getting paid to draw silly pictures!

“Anatomy of a Design Job” : Here I demonstrated the process of designing a character for a children’s publication in Beijing, China. Taking the students through a series of designs which finally developed into the final character. Describing adjustments I made in order to meet the client’s needs.

“Anatomy of a Development Project”: From the blank page to the screen. A project invariably begins with only a script, and perhaps a few designs. I explained to the students that all studios have development projects that may eventually become shows or movies, but that many of them are never seen by the public! Here I gave them a tour through the visual development Stage of a 3D animated project that I Art Directed at a Studio in Beijing.

Development starts with a pencil and is followed by lots of drawings. The challenge is always to make the characters interesting, and to develop their individual personalities!

We also paint environments to decide what approach to use when designing their world…

We then took the final designs and modeled the characters in 3D Studio Max. The final result was a success, and a satisfying conclusion to so much creative collaboration.

I expressed to them the challenges of starting a project; collaborating with writers, producers the clients and most importantly the director. How we must deside on character concepts and the overall design approach. Not to mention working with an all Chinese Design crew, for whom I needed to learn to describe design concepts in Chinese!

We will always be challenged in the workplace. However, through this process there is so much to be learned. A process of growth that will never end.

Always back to the drawing table with new designs and ideas. I love the drawing table!

The in-class workshops were quite a success. We designed a Character and “sidekick”, discussing there names, character traits, and the nature of their symbiotic relationships. How enthusiastic they were after hearing about the process I described in the presentation. I even showed them my villain and sidekick!

The outcome of my teacher in residence was quite a success. Who would have guessed that so many students would be interested in cartoons. They asked intelligent questions throughout my presentations and workshops, even stopping me in the halls outside of class. The feedback from students, faculty and parents continued even after the workshop was over.

I am so pleased with the response, as I truly enjoy working with young people, and sharing their fresh ideas and perspectives.

As an aside, I also shared with the students the importance of developing your craft. As an artist there will always be a need to be flexible, and adapt to new job opportunities in the ever-changing job market. To accept new challenges, and take risks will only open new doors of opportunity. Here I showed some of my other work.

I am excited to mention that "The Hero of Color City" is in pre-production, and will be a feature length movie! It will feature the voice talent of Hollywood actor Christina Ricci as the lead character "Yellow". I have recently completed design for all the characters, which I did from my home in Hummelstown. All of the work and correspondence was exchanged through the internet. The Company had a virtual studio to where we could post and view work for the production.