Claim OwnershipStraight Ahead Animation Podcast
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© Ray Mendoza Landa and Yuki Okamura-Wong
Description
On the Straight Ahead Animation Podcast we interview and spotlight rising Black, Indigenous, and People of Color voices that are breaking into the Animation Industry. We want our guest to share their early experiences working at their first industry job and their transition from being a student to an industry professional. We want to spotlight these rising BIPOC voices because these are the voices that will shape the future of the Animation Industry.
136 Episodes
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Kevin Casas is a Latinx production coordinator and writer working at Nickelodeon studios! He studied Graphic Design in undergrad, and had no idea that production existed in the animation industry. As a graphic designer Kevin built skills in pitch packaging and communication, both of which translated into his role as a production coordinator. Kevin shares what duties are expected of production on CG shows like Max & the Midknights and Star Trek: Prodigy. Kevin strives to join the development team someday, and shares his passion for storytelling and advocating for the stories that people want to tell.
http://kevinjcasas.com/
IG: @heyokjc
X: @heyokjc
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi.com/straightaheadap!
Karolyn Schenewark-Moses is a Mexican-American artists working in Development at Nickelodeon. From intern to Production Coordinator, Karolyn tells us about what it's like to work in development, and what crucial role this department does in an animation company. Having been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, we talk about how her disability has affected her life and goals, but also about how the diagnosis gave her closure and outlets for how to manage it. Karolyn's original industry goals were to be a color designer, but after having much freelancing success, her ideal artistic outlet has evolved into something else. Nowadays she happily enjoys the stability of her role in development while being able to focus on illustrations and working towards creating children's books.
karolynmoses.com
IG: @prismakitty
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi.com/straightaheadap!
Meet Harley Knife, a First Nations (Cree) artist who has been animating for over 11 years. He shares his start going from intern to full-time at YetiFarm Creative (now called Artists Animation Studio). He candidly shares his experience living with depression and grief, and how it has affected his work in the past. We touch on his hopes for the future: to inspire the next generation of Indigenous kids to explore careers in the tech industry (animation, development, or coding).
IG: @thetinyrobotdoesart
Twitch: @thetinyrobotlives
Linkedin: Harley Knife
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi.com/straightaheadap!
Making his way to the ring we have Rajkamal Singh a Punjabi-American Character Designer who is currently working as a Storyboard Revisionist. How does something like this happen you might ask yourself? Well tune in and find out how it all started by attend D23!
Portfolio: https://www.rajkamalsinghart.com
IG: @ruberduckyboi
Twitter: @ruberduckyboi
Cara: @ruberduckyboi
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Joining us this week is Nina Robinson, a black background artist! We talk about how she got her start and how she took any role that came her way and learned and she went. Ultimately she just want to make art for the gorls and we love to see it!
Portfolio: https://www.neens-world.com/
IG: @nii.naa.bean
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Today we have Maritza Louis a Syilx & Secwépemc Character Modeler working in the animation industry! Maritza has experience that spans across Feature Animation, Game, VFX and Cinematics! With all this experience she has been using her knowledge to help mentor fellow native and other BIPOC artist break into the animation industry!
Portfolio: https://maritzalouis.com/
IG: @_punchy_
Linktr.ee
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Vanessa Guvele shares her experience being fully remote for the Pixar 2020 internships, juggling Youtube freelance work, and how she made the most of what seemed to be a fleeting dream... that is, until she was offered the story residency! But first, she had to complete her schooling to fulfill the dreams of her immigrant mother. Learn how Vanessa deftly navigated all these things, and got to play DnD along the way.
IG: @van_guv
Youtube: VanGuv
https://www.vanguv.com/
Edited by Ashley Itliong
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
This week, we are proud to spotlight the Superhero Project: an organization dedicated to empowering youth impacted by serious illnesses, disabilities, community trauma, and other complex mental health or medical need. They interview these youths, and then design a superhero poster of them. We have the opportunity to speak with Taryn Cozzy, a creative director who also shares invaluable experience from her creative career; as well as Maria Jimenez, one of the many volunteers that make the magic happen.
https://www.superheroprojectkids.org/
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Ricardo Scioville is a Latino character designer, story artist, and creator of Cazadores De Estrellas/Star Chasers. He shares his experience creating a pilot in collaboration with Cartoon Network Latin America, and the project's spontaneous creation. Ricardo chats about his time on Rey Mysterio vs. La Oscuridad, shares some emotional motivations about his inner-child, and we get to try out a new icebreaker game...
Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/Rslle
IG: @richiscioville
Twitter: @RichiScioville
Cazadores de Estrellas Pilot
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
From storyboarding to making their own comics, Chinook Cartoonist Quinne Larsen is telling their own stories! Tune is as we talk about their graphic novel with First Second Publishing and how that came about. We also chat about their love for storyboarding musical sequences. Did we mention they're also in a band?
IG: @quinnecl
Portfolio: quinnelarsen.net
Edited by Edgar Arellano
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Humble and hungry, James imparts a wealth of knowledge from his career path from production to writer in animation. We also get to chat about his dissertation on the Evolution of the Disney Princess he wrote for his Master's of humanities. And finally, we all give the well-deserved flowers to the significant others in our lives.
IG: @rayoflight789
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Tune is as we talk to Manuela Escolar Gonzalez a Colombian animator who is currently working at Powerhouse Studios. We also discover that her love for How To Train Your Dragon is the reason why she decided to study at Sheridan College!
Portfolio: manuelaescolargonzalez.weebly.com
IG: @artisminerva
Twitter: @Artisminerva
Short Film: Mi Pukita
Edited by Ashley Itliong
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Tune in as we talk to Haruka Sato, a Japanese concept artist working in Japan. Learn about all the different jobs Haruka worked until she landed her Background Painter role on an anime feature film.
Portfolio: https://harukasato.com/
IG: @here_is_haruka
Twitter: @here_is_haruka
Youtube: Make a Graphic Novel with ME! 2024
Edited by Edgar Arellano
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Tune in as we talk to JohnTom Knight, a Cherokee Native writer working in animation. JohnTom mentions how the book We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy landed him his Script Coordinator Position on Spirit Rangers! We also talk about how on Spirit Rangers he became known as The Lore Keeper!
IG: @JohnTomKnight
Twitter: @JohnTomKnight
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Tune in as we talk to Kiana Khansmith, a Japanese/Jamaican artist working as a Director on Big City Greens at DTVA! We discuss her amazing rise from storyboard artist to director as well as her love for Team Rocket!
IG: @kianamai
Twitter: @kianamaiart
Edited by Ashley Itliong
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
We are still alive! We are back with a brand new season and a brand new look! Tune in as we touch base about our animation journey and our personal lives. We also give our thoughts about the current state of animation and the use of AI.
Ray's IG @radiosilence
Yuli's IG @chuudles
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!
Time for a throwback! This is a recording from 2021 of a panel Straight Ahead hosted during Geek Girl Conline. We hosted a round table discussion with Samia Khalaf, Steph Rizo, and Li Cree. We take this rare opportunity to share some of the many different paths one can take breaking into the animation industry. We talk about personal pitfalls in our early years, and how relatable those experiences can be. Samia tells us about her film she painted in VR, Kteer Tayyeb, and why she chose to tell this story. Steph talks about working on the bluesky phase of feature film. Li tells us the "secret" to how she creates so many personal projects. This and so much more as we take a dive back in time!
Many thanks to Alyssa Askew, Alyssa Jones-Comtois, Marina Martinez, and the entire GGC staff for inviting us to host this event.
GGC - https://geekgirlcon.com/
Samia Khalaf - @samsoomfull (instagram)
Steph Rizo - @steph_rizo (instagram)
Li Cree - @li_cree (instagram)
Kelly Lynne D'Angelo (she/they) is a Native—Haudenosaunee Tuscarora and Muscowpetung Cree—writer for animation, live action, and musicals, who also plays D&D professionally. Kelly kicks-off by telling the most insane story about how she met the producers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia... who then gave her an internship! We get to chat about the process of Starry, a musical about brothers Theo and Vincent Van Gogh, and what magic happens in the writer's room before a production even begins. Outside of her career, we get to talk about Kelly's time as a professional Dungeon Master. From an online presence, to personal games run on Cruise ships, Kelly talks about how the storytelling informs her writing and vice versa. We touch on the subject of Native visibility, not only in the industry, but in America at large. Kelly has such a sense of adventure and will to connect with others, we are sure her story will connect with you.
Instagram: @KellyLynneDang
Twitter: @KellyLynneDang
Bluesky: kellylynnedang.bsky.social
Girls, Guts, Glory: girlsgutsgloryrpg.com
NDND (all native DnD campaign) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-XY8JUTCQ0
Starry (instagram): @starrymusical
Nicolette Ray is Native American, Acoma Pueblo, a storyboard artist and currently a game dev artist. She tells us about her strong start in animation, working for Wild Canary on Puppy Dog Pals for 5 years! We talk about work culture at Wild Canary, and the difference between working under Disney vs. Lucasfilm. We chat about her personal Native American Renaissance, as she dove into the history of her own people, and how connecting to those roots helped feed into her experience on Spirit Rangers. Also, Nicolette guides us through her journey struggling with mental health, and how the conversation opening up in society at large helped give her the courage to seek help. We are very fortunate to have had such a vulnerable and honest guest, and we hope her journey can help open up that conversation for you or someone you love.
Twitter: @unbadger
Instagram: @unbadgr
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi.com/straightaheadap
Entering the ring this week is Joey Clift, a Native American enrolled Cowlitz tribal member, currently working as a freelance writer. Not only has Joey worked as a Staff Writer and Consulting Producer for Netflix's Spirit Rangers, he has also wrote and directed his own animated digital series Gone Native for Comedy Central. Joey has a love for comedy and has a unique sense of humor that has helped him pitch and sell shows. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!
IG: @joeycliiiiiift
Twitter: @joeytainment
Portfolio: http://joeyclift.com/
Gone Native: https://gonenative.tv/
If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi.com/straightaheadap
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