Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?

Nick Bruno:
It’s really hard to say that ONE thing has inspired me to be an animator. I think it began with my parent’s refrigerator.  As a kid I liked to draw and whenever I drew something fun or funny my parents put it on the fridge for everyone to look at and hopefully enjoy.  This spawned a love for making people laugh and the need for attention. (Hehehe)

My main inspirations were The Far Side comics by Gary Larson, Ren and Stimpy, and most importantly, The Looney Tunes. I love the Looney Tunes.  As a kid Looney Tunes made me laugh more than anything else.  It was the only place you could see someone get their beak blown off their head from a shotgun blast, or fall 50 stories just to get back up to catch the cocky roadrunner.  The timing, style and humor of all those shorts ultimately steered me into the direction of animation.

Nick Bruno:
My first animation job was working as an animator for a small commercial company in NYC named Brand New School.  It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.  I really got to get my hands dirty on a lot of stuff, and most importantly was learning the pipeline. 
By being a generalist (lighting, rigging, modeling, texturing, etc) you really gain an appreciation for all the hard work that every department has to do. 
With that knowledge I kind of understand all the hard work everyone has to do, and I can truly appreciate the accomplishment of pulling together a feature animated film.

Nick Bruno:
Nothing and everything.  Ultimately doing everything wrong led me to the right place. 

I think animation is a process of bumps and bruises.  I believe that the best way to learn, is to do everything wrong.  That way you can say to yourself,
“OK…don’t do what you’ve been doing, and your animation will turn out just fine.”

I don’t think it is about doing things differently or the “right way.” It’s having the desire to learn how to animate well that will ultimately get you to where you want to be.  I could sit here all day and think of things that I could have changed or done differently along the way. I could say I wish I practiced drawing more, or focused more on timing, but I think those things just click into place through trial and error, and that’s when you get those “uh huh, I get it!” moments.

Nick Bruno:
Before Animation Mentor began, I was lucky enough to be mentored outside of school by none other than Animation Mentor’s Mike Walling.  Without the very handsome, very red-headed extraordinaire, I do not know where I would be today.

He came to NYU (where I was at school at the time) to give a small lecture on his animation workflow.  Mike was nice enough to talk to me after the class and then he was even nicer to offer to mentor me outside of school.

He put me through the ringer, but rewarded me by setting me up with an interview with Blue Sky.  Now we are carpool buddies. 

Being a part of one of the best animation teams EVER, I would also have to give credit to everyone I work with.  There is not one animation that I have worked on that has not been picked apart, inspired by, or evolved, without their talents.  I can’t wait for Horton Hears a Who to come out, so everyone can see what they’ve been workin’ on.  They are really making some inspiring stuff.

Nick Bruno:
This is a tough question. It’s like you’re asking me to pick who’s my best friend when I have so many good ones.  Ummm?  I think it’s a toss up between the Scrat, and the Mayor of Whoville. 

The scrat was great to work on because he livens up a crowd whenever he makes his grand appearances.  It’s really a privilege to get to work with him, but the real reason why I loved to animate him was because Scrat gave me the chance to animate in the style (Chuck Jones/Tex Avery) that inspired me to animate in the first place.

As for the Mayor of Whoville, he is a character and a half.  What I really love about animating him is his contrast in character. In some scenes he’s really goofy and very Looney Tunes, while in other scenes there is a strong demand for great acting.  A lot of his style is inspired by the classic Chuck Jones’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon and driven from the great voice performance by Steve Carell (The Office, 40 Year Old Virgin).

Nick Bruno:
Animation Mentor has been an unbelievable experience so far.  On top of making some new friends, I feel most importantly that I have learned so much from the experience. 

Animation Mentor is becoming a cesspool of talent.  How can I not learn from it?  I’m able to see so many different styles, techniques, and thought processes from so many different talented people.

Also, being a mentor, you start to develop a stronger eye for what does and doesn’t work in animation.  Another thing that comes from seeing tons of animation is that you also get to see all of the common pitfalls an animator goes through, so you learn how to avoid them for yourself and for your mentees.

So a big thank you goes out to all of you that I’ve worked with.

Nick Bruno:
My favorite Animation Mentor tool is one that I do not use-- the Forums.  It’s my favorite because the students that use them get so much out of it that it makes critiquing easier and more fun for me.  It takes courage to put your work on the forums for everyone to pick apart, but for the students that dare to do it benefit so much from it.  Even though I’ve only gone through 1.5 terms with Animation Mentor I can see a big difference in the students that use it, and the students that don’t.

SO USE THE FORUMS!!! Get as much critique as you can while you’re here.