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Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?
Sean Sexton:
Since I was five years old I wanted to be an animator (or a Ninja), but it wasn’t until Don Bluth’s animated video game Dragon's Lair, that I was positive.
I had a lot of support also. My mom encouraged me to pursue animation and my older brother Vincent who was also an artist, encouraged me to draw and was a huge source of inspiration. I think they both would have been supportive of me becoming a Ninja also...
Animation Mentor:
What was your first animation job?
Sean Sexton:
My very first job was storyboarding for Steve Oedekerk on something called Thumbtanic, a spoof of the movie Titanic but with thumbs.
It was one of the best jobs that I've ever had; the project was really crazy and Steve and the producer Paul Marshall were great guys and super open to input and creativity. My first full-time job was on Futurama – not as much fun – lol. The first year was cool, then it turned into a twenty-four hour a day sweat-shop. The show got harder and more demanding, meaning 100 hour weeks and unpaid over-time. Good times.
Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?
Sean Sexton:
I would have bought a car before I moved out to L.A. – the public transportation out here sucks! Lol. Actually I would have quit my part time job while I was in school and taken out a student loan so that I could've concentrated on my animation full-time. I watched many of my classmates progress further than me because they were dedicating much more time to their work than I was able to. I think if I had spent more time working on my portfolio and reel back then, I would have struggled a little less when I came out to L.A.
Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Sean Sexton:
I've had so many great mentors. Kevin O'Hara was the mentor that inspired me the most and the one that I learned the most from. He was my teacher in college and and now he's one of my best friends. He helped me to get into Dreamworks and I was his rough in-betweener on Sinbad...that was like graduate school.
At Dreamworks I've had the chance to work with some really talented people that taught me so many things: Kristof Serrand, Sean Mcglaughlin, Ken Duncan, Steve Horrocks, Fabio Lignini, Jakob Jensen, Simon Otto, Dave Burgess and James Baxter to name a few. Oh, and Yoda.
Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Sean Sexton:
In 2D it was probably Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama. Just a single image of him could make you laugh and he was really fun to draw – he’s basically Homer Simpson with tendrils.
In CG, I would have to say Hammy from Over the Hedge. He had some really nice controls and it was fun to go crazy with him because he was such a pushed character. I got to animate the “But I like the cookie” scene and to this day that’s the most rewarding scene that I’ve done. Not so much because of the animation, but because of the reaction it got in the theaters. Making so many people smile and laugh at that scene was really rewarding.
Animation Mentor:
How has the Animation Mentor experience been for you so far?
Sean Sexton:
Animation Mentor is easily my favorite job. Working with students that are so passionate about animation and watching their work grow is the most rewarding thing to me. Sometimes animating at Dreamworks can be...um...very challenging, and working at Animation Mentor always keeps me inspired.
Animation Mentor:
What is your favorite Animation Mentor tool?
Sean Sexton:
I love the eCritique tool. Being able to draw over students work and quickly show a concept that would be difficult to explain is genius. I also like to draw Dr. Zoidberg on student’s work – I think they find that very helpful.
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