Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?

Ethan Hurd:
It's hard for me to narrow it down to any one thing.  I was inspired by a lot of things as a kid, I grew up on classics cartoons: "Loony Tunes," "Silly Symphonies," "Scooby Doo," and "The Flintstones."  I was also really into Terry Gilliam's cutout animation in "Monty Python's Flying Circus," and I can still remember the day that I discovered "Robotech" on one of the far flung cable channels.  But I think the real turning point for me was when my mother took me to the theater to see "The International Tourney of Animation." It was a collection of short animated films from around the world.  My Mother could see that I was into cartoons a little more than most other kids my age, so she took me to see it.  I don't think she realized how much it would change me.  It was a great year for short films, that was the year that "Balance,"  "Knick Knack," "Creature Comforts" and "On Land, at Sea and in the Air" came out.  It blew my mind. I liked it so much that I made my mother sit through it twice.  It made me see that animation could be so much more, that you could tell any story you wanted to and you could do it in any style.  After that experience I pretty much developed a one track mind toward becoming an animator.

Ethan Hurd:
I would have drawn a lot more.  Drawing has never come natural to me.  It's always been a struggle to get ideas on paper.  I think if I drew a lot more as a kid I would be a lot better at it today.   Computers have definitely helped me work in animation, but I still try and draw as much as possible.  I mostly use drawing to plan out my shots and to explore ideas visually.  Animation is such a visual art form that the better you are at drawing the better you will be at animation no matter what your final medium is.

Ethan Hurd:
My first real animation job was at Rhythm & Hues.  It was great, they treat their employees really well and they work on such diverse projects.  Every month it felt like you were doing something new.  While I was there I worked on theme park rides, commercials, pilots, feature FX, and short films.  I got to work with a lot of different directors and animators.  Everyone I worked with had a very different style and had something to learn from.  It was a real education and a great way to start off.  I still use some of the things I learned there today.

Ethan Hurd:
There are two people who I would call my mentors in animation.  When I was at school my mentor was definitely Corny Cole.  Not only was he a great teacher but he was a great source of encouragement.   He also kept me thinking about animation as Art and not just something for the demo reel.  After school my mentor was Chris Bailey.  I worked with him at Rhythm & Hues on "It's Tough to be a Bug."  He taught me how to be an animator on production schedule.  He taught me how to break my acting down into phrasing and how to push my poses. 

Ethan Hurd:
The film I'm currently working on, "Bolt," has a character named Rhino.  He's a great sincere little character with lots of energy.  He also has a great voice.  I find that most of the films I've worked on have at least one character that I can latch on to.  Toy Story 2 had Bullseye and Shrek had Donkey.  Most of the time I find it's the character who is sincere but without a whole lot of brain power if you know what I mean.  I guess that's the kind of character I like, dumb and honest.

Ethan Hurd:
It's been amazing.  Before I started teaching I worried about how hard it would be to come home from a full day of animating to an evening of teaching.  But the students are so excited about animation.  All that excitement rubs off and gives you a boost at the end of the day.  Helping students to see their animation better helps me to see my own work better too.  In a way we end up helping each other out, I'm sure I learn as much from the experience as they do.

Ethan Hurd:
In traditional animation, the animators would learn how to animate by doing tests and giving their drawings to the senior animators to draw on top of.  It's really a basic idea and it's the way that most of the great animators have learned their craft.  I love the fact that the e-Critique tool allows me to do just this, to draw over my students’ work.  In order to animate well you have to train your eye to see your own mistakes.  It's so much easier to correct my student's work by drawing over the top of it then trying to talk about it.  The fact that I'm able to do this with a student who is thousands of miles away still blows my mind.