Featured Mentor: Matthew Russell
Bio of Matthew Russell
Matthew has been with DNA Productions for the last 6 1/2 years. He started with DNA on the Emmy nominated "Olive the Other Reindeer." Matthew went on to be a character animator and the supervising vehicular animator on the Academy Award nominated "Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius." Later he would spend 2 1/2 seasons as a supervising animator on "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" before moving on to lead animator for the latest feature, "The Ant Bully," from DNA Productions. Matthew is a firm believer that coffee is the nectar of the gods and that chocolate should be its own food group.
Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?
Matthew Russell:
When I was about 6 or 7 I found this show on our local PBS station called "Saturday Morning Matinee". The whole morning would be nothing but old cartoons, serials and then a double feature. That's where I fell in love with Ray Harryhausen's films. Mighty Joe Young was it for me... I wanted to do that. As I got older I was drawn to special effects as a whole, I was a huge Rick Baker fan but my heart was still drawn to animation. But since I grew up in East Tennessee, the idea of getting out, heading to Hollywood and making "movie magic" was just completely beyond me. Like a lot of folks, it wasn't until Jurassic Park that I finally decided to take that leap and see how I landed.
Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Matthew Russell:
The first folks that had the biggest affect on me were Troy Saliba and Renato Dos Anjos. They're both at Sony now but back when they came to DNA for the Jimmy Neutron feature I was blown away. Both are incredible traditional animators, but just as important, the animation advice they gave me was about the industry... like how to take direction and why it's so important, how to take and give constructive criticism... things outside of just "making stuff move" that are just as important for a career animator.
Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?
Matthew Russell:
I would have gotten to it sooner. I was too caught up in the idea of a stable job and paycheck. The ability to pay your bills by doing something you love... impossible. Now I just try to be as good at what I love as I can and hope the paycheck follows... so far, so good.
Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Matthew Russell:
I had the good fortune of animating on a teaser short called "Nanna and Lil Puss Puss". It was extremely violent and over the top, and an absolute blast to work on. Nanna's cat Puss Puss was just awesome. A great character with a wonderfully simple design. He's nothing but line of action... plus he has nine lives so you can be really mean to him. Maybe I'll post the trailer on my site again someday, but it's not for the faint of heart...you have been warned.
Matthew has been with DNA Productions for the last 6 1/2 years. He started with DNA on the Emmy nominated "Olive the Other Reindeer." Matthew went on to be a character animator and the supervising vehicular animator on the Academy Award nominated "Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius." Later he would spend 2 1/2 seasons as a supervising animator on "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius" before moving on to lead animator for the latest feature, "The Ant Bully," from DNA Productions. Matthew is a firm believer that coffee is the nectar of the gods and that chocolate should be its own food group.
Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?
Matthew Russell:
When I was about 6 or 7 I found this show on our local PBS station called "Saturday Morning Matinee". The whole morning would be nothing but old cartoons, serials and then a double feature. That's where I fell in love with Ray Harryhausen's films. Mighty Joe Young was it for me... I wanted to do that. As I got older I was drawn to special effects as a whole, I was a huge Rick Baker fan but my heart was still drawn to animation. But since I grew up in East Tennessee, the idea of getting out, heading to Hollywood and making "movie magic" was just completely beyond me. Like a lot of folks, it wasn't until Jurassic Park that I finally decided to take that leap and see how I landed.
Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Matthew Russell:
The first folks that had the biggest affect on me were Troy Saliba and Renato Dos Anjos. They're both at Sony now but back when they came to DNA for the Jimmy Neutron feature I was blown away. Both are incredible traditional animators, but just as important, the animation advice they gave me was about the industry... like how to take direction and why it's so important, how to take and give constructive criticism... things outside of just "making stuff move" that are just as important for a career animator.
Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?
Matthew Russell:
I would have gotten to it sooner. I was too caught up in the idea of a stable job and paycheck. The ability to pay your bills by doing something you love... impossible. Now I just try to be as good at what I love as I can and hope the paycheck follows... so far, so good.
Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Matthew Russell:
I had the good fortune of animating on a teaser short called "Nanna and Lil Puss Puss". It was extremely violent and over the top, and an absolute blast to work on. Nanna's cat Puss Puss was just awesome. A great character with a wonderfully simple design. He's nothing but line of action... plus he has nine lives so you can be really mean to him. Maybe I'll post the trailer on my site again someday, but it's not for the faint of heart...you have been warned.