Top 10 Best Animated TV Shows From Chuck Sheetz

Christine Griswold Animation, Artist Profiles, Career Advice, Student Resources, Visual Arts

Chuck Sheetz knows a thing or two about careers in animation as an Emmy Award-winning Director of The Simpsons and Professor at UCLA Theater Film and Television. These are his picks for  the top 10 TV shows he thinks young animators should watch and study. Want more animation career advice from Chuck Sheetz? Check out What do UCLA and The …

8 Things I Learned From Singing In Choir

Christine Griswold Career Advice, Music, Performing Arts

Classic interview question: What class or academic experience do you think best prepared you for your career/life? Now I’ve had a varied career that’s ranged from post production on feature films, to heading up production at a boutique animation house, to teaching and writing. Yet the answer to the aforementioned question for all of these things is singing in a …

Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago Celebrates Creativity

Christine Griswold Animation, Film, Opportunities, Performing Arts, Production, Visual Arts

Help Restore Walt Disney Birthplace Home while Celebrating and Encouraging Creativity and Innovation. Join in the Walt Disney Birthplace Indiegogo Campaign. Award-winning Themed Entertainment innovators Dina Benadon and Brent Young of Super 78 Studios celebrate and awaken creativity in others by restoring the home where Walt Disney was born, and establishing The Center for Early Childhood Creativity and Innovation (CECCI) …

How Linda Borgeson Finds Creativity in Post Production

Christine Griswold Career Advice, Film, Post-Production, Visual Arts

Linda Borgeson (Senior Vice President of Feature Post Production at the Walt Disney Studios) has worked on over 200 films in her 25+ years in the film business. Linda spoke with Artzray to help demystify the world of post production, highlighting why it is important for young filmmakers to understand and embrace this integral part of filmmaking. Post-production sits at …

The Heart of a Curator Irene Tsatsos – Armory Center for the Arts

Christine Griswold Uncategorized

Great Galleries are part community, part collaboration, part curiosity, and full of heart – An interview with Irene Tsatsos, Chief Curator and Director of Exhibition Programs at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA. The gallery is closed to the public, but it is a busy day at the Armory Center for the Arts, as the crew is …

Want a Creative Career in Themed Entertainment?

Christine Griswold Career Advice, How To, Performing Arts, Student Resources, Tips, Visual Arts, Writing

Have you ever wondered how to translate your creative talents into a career in themed entertainment? Chances are you’ve visited a theme park (maybe even this summer), but have you ever thought of all that it takes to create these magical spaces that remarkably and enjoyably transport us from our daily lives to fantasy worlds and back again?  For some …

Chris Ayers – A Drawing a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Christine Griswold Artist Profiles, Books, Career Advice, Drawing, Visual Arts, Writing

Check-out Character Designer Chris Ayers’ The Daily Zoo Character designer Chris Ayers has been drawing as long as he can remember, so it’s no surprise that he turned to something he loved (creating amusing and joy-provoking characters) during his fight with acute leukemia a few years ago. It all started a year after his diagnosis when he decided to draw …

Top 10 List of Animated Films (by a real animator)

Christine Griswold Animation, Film, Visual Arts

Top Ten Theatrically-released animated films (in no particular order) according to Chuck Sheetz, Emmy Award-winning Director of The Simpsons and UCLA Theater Film and Television Professor.  1. King Kong (1933) I have watched this film more times than any other. I never get tired of it. It has a flawless script. The smash cut from Carl Denham shouting “Kong, the Eighth …

Nancy Bennett Virtual Reality Producer and Creative Mind

Christine Griswold Artist Profiles, Career Advice, Music, Performing Arts, Visual Arts

“Trust your heart and listen to it.  It takes you to what you’re good at.” Nancy Bennett has worked on the cutting edge of numerous media and tech advances over the past three decades, so it’s no surprise that she’s involved in the developing world of Virtual Reality storytelling. From starting in music videos as they were emerging in the …