What inspired you to learn animation?

I've always liked to draw, and like a lot of kids, I grew up in love with animation and especially Disney classics. I've always thought that traditional animators are some of the most amazing artists. I never really thought about becoming a professional animator until 1995 when Pixar's Toy Story came out. This movie was so amazing, it had a great story and a brand new way to do animation that I was just immediately enthralled with. . . I had to learn how they made that movie! I took a turn in my education and ended up in graphic design at a community college in St. Louis, Missouri, and rediscovered my love for animation when Ringling School of Art and Design came and showed their work, I immediately thought of how I felt when watching Toy Story for the first time. I had to learn how to animate. I spent the next three years at Ringling and created a short film called Box Racer, but I knew I needed to learn more. After I graduated from Ringling, I got a job but I knew then that I still needed to learn more about animation. Then I enrolled in Animation Mentor. I learned so much from the first class at Animation Mentor and from just watching the other animators around me that I saw an immediate improvement in my work.

What keeps you inspired everyday?

Observing the world around me from an animator's perspective. I'm constantly surrounded by inspiration in the form of people and things all around me. To me, animation is like a magic mirror. You can hold it up to almost anything and what is reflected is somehow much more than what it started out as. For example, a waiter drops a glass in a restaurant. . . on the surface this isn't all that interesting but turn that into an animation and all of a sudden this simple little mistake can explode into a giant hilarious Goofy adventure! I love the ability of animation to transport us to a world where EVERYTHING has potential to be magical and entertaining.

Photography also keeps me inspired. I love to go out and take photos of buildings, nature, and of course my cats at home. Finding different ways to see shapes in close-ups that can transform a photo really keeps the creativity flowing for me.

How has your experience at Animation Mentor been so far?

This experience has been amazing!! Animation Mentor is taught by some of the most amazing and talented animators! The knowledge they bring and their real world experiences they share with us students has been invaluable. It's amazing to see how much my work has improved over time since I've started the Animation Mentor program. The video lectures have also helped. Seeing the different work flows and techniques have helped me find the best way to work through an assignment from creating the reference to polishing.

What would be your ultimate dream job?

My dream job would be to continue working on animation for films and ultimately to move into feature animation. I love visual effects animation, but I have always loved feature animation and would very much like to transition into that as my career progresses.

Who would you like to work with?

There are so many amazingly talented animators out there in the industry it'd be impossible to name them all. . . I would have loved to have worked and learned from Frank and Ollie had I gotten the chance. I'd just love to work and learn as much as possible from all the talented animators out there in the industry.

Who is your favorite animator?

Wow, this is a remarkably hard question. . . I have so much respect and admiration for so many great animators especially the Nine Old Men, Eric Goldberg, James Baxter, Glen Keane. I mean I literally could go on and on and on! Over the years, there have been so many great animators, it's really hard to single out just one.

What is your favorite animated/CG scene of all time?

I think my favorites would have to be from Disney classic 2D Alice in Wonderland when Alice meets the Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, and the Tea party. I love the strangeness of those scenes, how unique the characters are, and how they each have tons of individual quirks that makes those scenes really stand out for me.

Anything else you want to say to your fellow and prospective students of Animation Mentor?

GO FOR IT! My only regret is that I didn't start this program sooner! The mentors are amazing, the students are incredibly helpful and the techniques I'm learning are the best in the world! Don't hesitate, and don't worry!

Completing the Animation Mentor program is the best decision of my career, and I'm sure it will be for you too!

Check out Carolyn's blog: http://carolynanderson-vale.blogspot.com/