Featured Mentor: Nancy Kato
AnimationMentor.com:
How did you get into animation?
Nancy:
I feel that my path into animation was different from most animators, as I didn't have the traditional education that most animators have. My first contact with animation was directly on the computer, and I had to learn my way "backwards" in order to get back to the basic foundations of animation. I started my career in architecture, and I got my degree back in 1987. When I was half-way into my studies, I knew that architecture wasn't the path I wanted to follow. I soon got exposed to some 3D applications for architecture and I developed an interest for computer graphics. I was lucky to find a small studio in Brazil (called CGA) that was producing simple CG work on Amigas and PCs. They took me as an intern and that was my first step into animation.
In 1989, I received a Scholarship from the Brazilian Government to study computer art at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Even though the program at SVA was not specialized in character animation only, I was very lucky to have Chris Wedge as my teacher and thesis adviser. Chris Wedge was the Director of "Ice Age" and "Robots" at Blue Sky Studios. Chris taught an animation class where I did my first bouncing ball and was exposed to the Principles of Animation. Still, that was just a little hint of what I could learn about animation. At SVA I produced two student films that were quite amateur, but that allowed me to get a job at Rhythm and Hues (RandH), in Los Angeles, right after I graduated, in 1991.
I worked for RandH for almost 8 years. Very often I was involved with rigging and more technical stuff, but I really wanted to be more involved with character animation. Fortunately, I was able to work on projects, such as the "Coca Cola Polar Bears" and "Babe." This experience allowed me to grow as an animator, and before I left, I was an Animation Supervisor on "Babe2, Pig in the City." That was a scary situation, as I thought I wasn't qualified for that position at first, but I guess I did ok!
In 2000, I decided that I wanted to work on an animated feature film and learn the real deal in animation. My lucky star hit again. Pixar decided to release "Toy Story 2" to film (instead of direct to video), and they were restructuring the whole story of the movie. They needed to hire experienced animators in a short amount of time. That happened exactly when I was starting to look for a new job. Talk about good timing!
Pixar has been my real school of learning animation. When I arrived here, I felt that I didn't know anything, as I was surrounded by amazing talent. Here I learned (and I'm still learning!) from my fellow animators' work, from the directors, and watching Dailies everyday. I feel blessed to be here!
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animated character?
Nancy:
Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit.
I think that Nick Park is brilliant, his characters are genuine, they have authentic gestures and mannerisms. You can't avoid falling in love with them. His films are a combination of good storytelling, with a blend of suspense and a great sense of humor, and this only helps make the characters even more lovable. My favorite short film with them is "Wrong Trousers." The animation is very simple, but it communicates very well, with very appealing poses, and at no moment did I had any doubt of what was going on. I never got bored. I just loved it!
AnimationMentor.com
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Nancy:
Dory, in "Finding Nemo."
I loved animating Dory. From the start I asked my supervisor if I could animate her, and I was very, very lucky to get some good shots with her. First, the actress, Ellen DeGeneres is so inspiring. Every time I'd hear her dialog, I'd already know what I wanted to do. I'd always laugh! I also love her personality and, in a way, I identify myself a lot with her -- she's very spaced out, she talks in her sleep, and she is clumsy. In fact, my friends have called me Dory many times!
The model that we worked with was very appealing too and we were able to get great facial expressions. It was always a pleasure to animate Dory.
AnimationMentor.com:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Nancy:
I think that I had many mentors in my career, but there were three that really helped me to become an animator. The first was Gilberto Caserta, from a company called CGA back in Brazil. That was the little studio which gave me my first opportunity to learn about computer graphics. I have to say that, if it wasn't for Gilberto, I wouldn't be here today. And that means a lot.
My second mentor was Simi Nallaseth, my classmate and best friend when I was studying at SVA, in New York. Simi came to SVA with a lot of knowledge and experience in animation. She taught me many things that the school lacked and she was my true inspiration to work hard and produce my two student films.
My third mentor was Bobby Beck. You know him, right?! :) As I mentioned before, when I was hired at Pixar, I thought that I knew nothing about animation, if compared with all the talent that surrounded me. It was very intimidating to show any of my work in front of everyone, but Bobby was my officemate (what luck!) and he was always there to give me some advice and good ideas, and make me feel more confident to share my work with others. I always thought that he had to use his amazing talent to teach and help people in a bigger way. Today I'm very happy to see that he has created AnimationMentor and has been able to reach people all over the world!
How did you get into animation?
Nancy:
I feel that my path into animation was different from most animators, as I didn't have the traditional education that most animators have. My first contact with animation was directly on the computer, and I had to learn my way "backwards" in order to get back to the basic foundations of animation. I started my career in architecture, and I got my degree back in 1987. When I was half-way into my studies, I knew that architecture wasn't the path I wanted to follow. I soon got exposed to some 3D applications for architecture and I developed an interest for computer graphics. I was lucky to find a small studio in Brazil (called CGA) that was producing simple CG work on Amigas and PCs. They took me as an intern and that was my first step into animation.
In 1989, I received a Scholarship from the Brazilian Government to study computer art at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Even though the program at SVA was not specialized in character animation only, I was very lucky to have Chris Wedge as my teacher and thesis adviser. Chris Wedge was the Director of "Ice Age" and "Robots" at Blue Sky Studios. Chris taught an animation class where I did my first bouncing ball and was exposed to the Principles of Animation. Still, that was just a little hint of what I could learn about animation. At SVA I produced two student films that were quite amateur, but that allowed me to get a job at Rhythm and Hues (RandH), in Los Angeles, right after I graduated, in 1991.
I worked for RandH for almost 8 years. Very often I was involved with rigging and more technical stuff, but I really wanted to be more involved with character animation. Fortunately, I was able to work on projects, such as the "Coca Cola Polar Bears" and "Babe." This experience allowed me to grow as an animator, and before I left, I was an Animation Supervisor on "Babe2, Pig in the City." That was a scary situation, as I thought I wasn't qualified for that position at first, but I guess I did ok!
In 2000, I decided that I wanted to work on an animated feature film and learn the real deal in animation. My lucky star hit again. Pixar decided to release "Toy Story 2" to film (instead of direct to video), and they were restructuring the whole story of the movie. They needed to hire experienced animators in a short amount of time. That happened exactly when I was starting to look for a new job. Talk about good timing!
Pixar has been my real school of learning animation. When I arrived here, I felt that I didn't know anything, as I was surrounded by amazing talent. Here I learned (and I'm still learning!) from my fellow animators' work, from the directors, and watching Dailies everyday. I feel blessed to be here!
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animated character?
Nancy:
Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit.
I think that Nick Park is brilliant, his characters are genuine, they have authentic gestures and mannerisms. You can't avoid falling in love with them. His films are a combination of good storytelling, with a blend of suspense and a great sense of humor, and this only helps make the characters even more lovable. My favorite short film with them is "Wrong Trousers." The animation is very simple, but it communicates very well, with very appealing poses, and at no moment did I had any doubt of what was going on. I never got bored. I just loved it!
AnimationMentor.com
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?
Nancy:
Dory, in "Finding Nemo."
I loved animating Dory. From the start I asked my supervisor if I could animate her, and I was very, very lucky to get some good shots with her. First, the actress, Ellen DeGeneres is so inspiring. Every time I'd hear her dialog, I'd already know what I wanted to do. I'd always laugh! I also love her personality and, in a way, I identify myself a lot with her -- she's very spaced out, she talks in her sleep, and she is clumsy. In fact, my friends have called me Dory many times!
The model that we worked with was very appealing too and we were able to get great facial expressions. It was always a pleasure to animate Dory.
AnimationMentor.com:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?
Nancy:
I think that I had many mentors in my career, but there were three that really helped me to become an animator. The first was Gilberto Caserta, from a company called CGA back in Brazil. That was the little studio which gave me my first opportunity to learn about computer graphics. I have to say that, if it wasn't for Gilberto, I wouldn't be here today. And that means a lot.
My second mentor was Simi Nallaseth, my classmate and best friend when I was studying at SVA, in New York. Simi came to SVA with a lot of knowledge and experience in animation. She taught me many things that the school lacked and she was my true inspiration to work hard and produce my two student films.
My third mentor was Bobby Beck. You know him, right?! :) As I mentioned before, when I was hired at Pixar, I thought that I knew nothing about animation, if compared with all the talent that surrounded me. It was very intimidating to show any of my work in front of everyone, but Bobby was my officemate (what luck!) and he was always there to give me some advice and good ideas, and make me feel more confident to share my work with others. I always thought that he had to use his amazing talent to teach and help people in a bigger way. Today I'm very happy to see that he has created AnimationMentor and has been able to reach people all over the world!