Straight Ahead Animation Podcast

Latinx in Animation is an organization that empowers diversity in animation. We were incredibly honored to have co-founders Magdiela Duhamel and Bryan Dimas on to talk about LXiA. From founding to present, we explore the importance of inclusion and how LXiA is building a better future by supporting those currently in the industry and providing education to students as young as 4th grade! Madgiela...

Today we are joined by the wonderful, the bubbly, and the kind Kaila Knight Tryal, she is an African American Prop Designer! Kaila infectious energy will brighten up your day in todays episode as you learn about all the hoops and ladders she had to go through to get her foot in the door at Awesome Inc. Not to mention all the opportunities Kaila created for herself while working at Awesome Inc. to...

Welcome to the final episode of our August Special Speaker Series! We're so excited to cap off this month with Liz Luu, a Talent Sourcer at Netflix Animation. At Netflix animation, the Sourcer is one of three parts to their recruiting team. Learn about the hiring process straight from Liz (and maybe learn a thing or two about portfolios!) Before recruiting, Liz worked for a long time at Cartoon Ne...

We're so psyched to introduce this week's guest, writer, wrestler, and fighting game extraordinaire: Jeff Trammell! If that wild list of titles isn't enough to entice you, then perhaps learning about Jeff's journey as a self-taught writer will. Learn about the Nick Writer's program, and how Jeff's skill coupled with this lucky break brought him from MI to CA. From life as a professional wrestler,...

Round 3 of our Special Speaker Series! This week is the wonderful Montse Hernandez, a latina actress working both live action and voice over roles. She stars in the upcoming horror film Student Body, voices Qiyana from League of Legends, as well as Gwen in the latest Ben 10 reboot. Montse may be young, but she has been working as an actress since she was 4 years old! She has such a wealth of exper...

Welcome to round 2 of our Special Speaker Series! Joining us this week is Crystal Cheng, she is a Chinese-American freelancer currently freelancing as a Graphics Artist for Watcher Entertainment. Crystal talks about how her career started in live-action behind the camera as a PA such as interning for Wong Fu Productions. She also talks about her aspirations in wanting to transition into front of t...

Our special guest this week is the one and only Daniel Rodier, and if that name sounds familiar it should! We credit him at the end of every episode as he is the one who composed the intro and outro of our podcast! Daniel is a wonderful human being who has composed music for several animated short films such as Malinchista, First Born, and the Animated Graphic Novel Sol Naciente! His passion for m...

Today's episode we interview Kameelah "MeeMee" Costa, an African-American Storyboard Revisionist at Cartoon Network and definitely not a pink bunny trying to disguise herself as a human! Sometimes students are faced with the difficult decision of jumping into an industry job or completing their degree. Find out what Mee Mee chose when faced with this exact dilemma! Stick around for her experience...

Join us in today's thrilling episode with Indian-American 2D Animator Maneen Mehta! Listen in as Maneen talks about his first day jitters at Bento Box compared to how he feels day to day now. We also talk about the real life story of how he got bit by a monkey and how that inspired his short film MANKI . Finally we dive into how Maneen eventually wants to transition from animation into character d...

In today's wonderful episode we have the one of a kind Abelle Hayford! They are a Ghanaian American Freelance Illustrator, Character Designer, and Color Stylist. Abelle has worked for a multitude of companies and is constantly advocating for black stories and black artist. You might know them as the creator of the hashtag #DrawingWhileBlack, that was originally started as a way for them to connect...

Join us in todays JAMED PACKED episode with the amazing Marie Lum! She is a Chinese-American Story Artist currently working as an Assistant Director at Disney TVA. We talk about hey journey from being a Storyboard Revisionist on Craig of the Creek to her current position now and what she has learned along the way. We also dive into her role as the Co-Leader of the Deaf, Disabled, and Neurodiverse...

Bryan Bae is a Korean-American prop and character designer, and our first deaf/hard-of-hearing guest! ( Read the transcript of the episode here ) We dive into a bit of his experience on Aquaman: King of Atlantis, his experience job hunting for four years, and his personal project: Chromagik. We also, of course, chat about his background as a hoh artist, and how we can be vigilant and prepared to w...

What a wonderful day to be joined by Emily Rodriguez a Cuban-American 2D animator based in Atlanta, and Mandalorian enthusiast extraordinaire. She details her journey into the industry, how her homeschooling upbringing and can-do attitude helped her develop a good work ethic. We touch on her seemingly bottomless optimism, and how that is helped by her strong religious faith. This and much more on...

Revathi Kotni is an Indian Production Manager currently working on Netflix Animation's Ghee Happy. In this episode we learn alot about the roles on the production side of the animation pipeline. Being in production was not even on Revathi's radar when she first started attending college studying animation but once she discovered this role excited she knew this was her calling in animation. Since g...

Stella Longfish is a Native American (Seneca/Tuscarora) artist with a passion for color. Learn about the role of a color designer in a television pipeline, and how Stella discovered the position of her dreams. On top of working on Kid Cosmic and The Power Puff Girls, Stella has written and illustrated her own children's book. We touch on representation of Indigenous peoples in the animation indust...

Superstar Li Cree joins us today on Straight Ahead! Currently working as a Storyboard Revisionist for Titmouse on Vox Machina, Li has no shortage of stories her career has already given her. From her experience being in the Nickelodeon artist program, to even being Elmo for a day at the Sesame Street Workshop! We also talk about one of Li’s many passion projects: Power Rangers Go! Her experiences...

Join us as we talk to Denise Chan, a Chinese/Taiwanese American artist currently working as a 2D Retake Animator and Compositor for Titmouse Inc. She talks about how she landed her current position at Titmouse Inc. and how her previous experiences has helped her on their animation journey. We also talk about her Award-Winning Short Film Kaeru, and where the inspiration for story came from. Denise...

Katherine Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American storyboard artist, currently working at DTVA on Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. She talks about the different gigs she’s had from feature to television boarding, and the benefits of not only starting in a story revisionist role, but the benefits of being flexible between a storyboard and revisionist position. Kat dives deep and gets pretty real about her str...

Grace Villaroman is a filipino american animator currently working at Sony Pictures Imageworks! On this week's episode we get into the challenges of a 3D animator at a big studio like Sony and Pixar, but also the perks like relocating from the USA to Canada. We also get to touch on her experience working with Signing Animation, and much, much more! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-villa...

Maaike Scherff is a jack of all trades, though currently a Character Designer, she has previously done work in prop/FX design, storyboard revisions, background paint, and even episode titlecards! She interned at multiple studios both in TV animation, and even in video games at Sony Playstation. However, don't let this intimidate you, Maaike is one of the sweetest people we've had the pleasure of i...

Mellow out with Kristine Lee on today’s episode of Straight Ahead. An enlightening journey, Kristine had to get creative finding classes that would fit the budget of a freshly graduated Electrical Engineer. Learn about the spark that led to her switch to the field of Animation, and about her rocketing success at Warner Brothers Animation. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picture_kris Portfolio...

Phoning in from Sydney, Australia, it’s Brandon Jaisen Louie! Learn about his job as a 2D FX artist at Flying Bark Productions, what inspired him to become an effects animator, and maybe even inspire you! The industry will always be nomadic, but Brandon’s wanderlust took that literally, and he’s moved half a world away. Lots of good topics just jam packed into our little episode. Portfolio: https:...

Animation isn’t always about art, there’s entire teams that keep the production moving! Giselle Grimaldo is a Department Manager at Tonko House. We chat about her experience working in live-action films, what inspired her to pursue animation production, and how her unique perspective as a Person of Color gives her the drive for diversity. P.S. Remember to thank your production team! LinkedIn: http...

Today’s episode features Flora Rees-Arredondo, a bi-racial Latinx artist working as a Junior Art Director! The position may entail being less hands-on the art, and more hands-on communication. We talk about the many rewards and excitement that comes with leadership, a role Flora is all too familiar with from directing her capstone short film Malinchista, to being president of the Shrunken Headman...

This week we are joined by the incredible Maya Mendonça, a black artist and freelance 3D animator. Previously she was the animation director for the Student Academy Award-winning short, "Hamsa". We talk about very important things such as her internship on Infinity Train at Cartoon Network, her time at the School of Visual Arts in New York, and her horoscopic compatibility with Miles Morales. Port...