Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?

Steve Cunningham:
When I was in high school, my art teacher had a couple of boxes of animation cells from a defunct studio and that sparked my interest in animation. Drawing was always something I enjoyed and fine art wasn't for me. I guess you could say that animation was a good fit.

Steve Cunningham:
You can always look back and wish you'd done things differently. I was pretty focused on my goals, although I wish I'd made more of an effort to understand the whole process of movie making and not just my specific part of it. It's always better to have an understanding of the departments that come before and after animation. Animation is all about communication and that goes beyond just the work. Remember, there are 300-500 people dragging a film to the finish line and the more you know about the other departments in a studio, the better you are able to do your job. It helps your cause if you speak the language of another department, especially if you're asking them to make a change for you. The good news is it's never too late to learn.

Steve Cunningham:
I can't say that there is one character I've enjoyed more than others. I do have favorite shots though. I try and put something personal in every shot. Sometimes with success and other times not so much. The shots I'm most proud of are the ones that inspire a reaction from an audience. If I have made them laugh, cry or otherwise feel a connection with the character, then I've been successful. Here are a few of my favorites:

I was very fortunate to have animated some memorable shots in Over the Hedge. Anytime you get an opportunity to animate William Shatner in an exaggerated death scene, you know it's going to be fun! Monsters vs. Aliens also gave me a chance to do some good shots. The shot when the President screams like a girl was a lot of fun, as well as the guy who gets hit with a tranquilizer dart. My favorite shot from Bee Movie ended up on the cutting-room floor, but that's part of life I guess. Still, it would have been nice to see that one lit...

Steve Cunningham:
I was very fortunate to get a summer job after my first year in college. It was a children's show. The studio was in Montreal and I was living in Toronto. The studio manager called on a Thursday morning and asked me to come down for an interview. I caught the next train (about a five-hour trip) not knowing what I was going to do when I got there. Luckily, I had family in Montreal! The job was in the "posing" department and my job was to help the posing supervisor make sure all the drawings were on model before they were shipped to Korea for animation. It was a summer well spent.

Steve Cunningham:
There is something to be learned from everyone you work with, but if I had to narrow down who I consider to be my mentor, three names come to mind. Wayne Gilbert and Charlie Bonafacio were two of my teachers at college. Not only were they exceptional teachers, they are exceptional people. They were very encouraging and inspiring. Troy Saliba is the third. He really got me thinking about animation in practical terms, like how to approach a shot, planning, and then carrying your animation through to a finished stage.

Steve Cunningham:
My experience with Animation Mentor has been great. The global aspect of it is fantastic. Once a week, I get to have a conversation with a group of people living all over the planet. There are times that I wish everyone was sitting in a classroom. The challenge for me is to try and communicate my point with words and small drawings instead of getting in front of a class and acting it out and actually showing how something moves.

Steve Cunningham:
The Question & Answer sessions are what I most look forward to. After all, animation is a very collaborative art form and the discussions that develop at the Q & As are very interesting. I especially like it when a student posts a question from out of left field. There was one time when a student asked me which I liked better, Superman or Spider-Man. How that relates to animation I don't know, but it was a spirited conversation!

I always enjoy when students look at things through different colored glasses. We are artists after all, and it's good to look at things differently. Sometimes, I find we get bogged down with the technical part of what we do, especially when we work with computers all day. Try filming your video reference backwards and see what happens: You might stumble on a happy accident. Ask me about thumbnailing being a truckstop on the animation super-highway! The Q & As also force me to do a little homework, re-read my old animation notes, and try and explain things in different ways. They keep me on my toes.