Straight Ahead Animation Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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!

Ashley Chung works as an Associate Animator in the video games industry! In her first job working at Steamroller Studio she was thrown into the deep end working on Mortal Kombat 1! Ashley also talks about taking additional animation classes post graduation really helped her improve as an animator. Tune in and find out more about the world of animating for video games!

Steve Sandoval talks about how he slipped into the cracks of animation. Out of high school Steve started working as a carpenter with his cousins, unfortunately was laid off in 2007 due to a recession. However, Steve took this as an opportunity to go to school to study animation! One of the things Steve loves to do is plein air paint and posting it to social media. Eventually Robh Ruppel came across his works and asked if he wanted to work on Entergalactic. Steve has had an amazing journey into animation, find out more by checking out this episode!

Angela Sánchez is a Xicanx writer and magician with a shining personality. We have a blast talking about their work on Primos, how their work with Latinx in Animation led to the position, and about how cathartic it was to work on a Latine/Hispanic-American show. We dive back into her first gig, her time at school, and how she didn't even know writing for television was a career one could have! We also get to chat about Scruffy and The Egg, their children's book that draws from the times she and her dad were homeless. Scruffy and the Egg is also donated to shelters in the hopes of helping young kids through a difficult and confusing time.

Jose Hernandez is an El Salvadorean-American freelance artist for Visual Development. We chat about how he got his start doing an unpaid internship, how the industry has changed over time, and the reality of getting through the valleys of the industry as a freelancer. He takes us through his artistic journey not being able to go to university out of high school, joining mentorships, and learning on the job. We talk a lot about his time on The Casa Grandes, and sprout a conversation about culture as a Hispanic-American.

Kayse Villalba shares her experience wearing hats in both 2D animation and storyboarding positions. We chat a lot about workflow and expectations when working in rigged animation, grabbing fun shots while working for Studio Yotta, and how animation can differ wildly per production. Kayse also shares insights into how her experiences have informed each other art job she's had, from awareness of animation while boarding scenes to just having a positive attitude when starting a new role. We chat about her personal work, and Kayse shares some inspiring words for growing minds.

Yanna Casey is a Black artist working as a production coordinator in Atlanta, Georgia! We talk about their position as a PC outside of Los Angeles, and the ID she did for Adult Swim before deciding she didn't want to pursue an art role professionally. We also learn about Yanna's background in music production, and how they incorporate that into their personal art. We also talk about getting in touch with your passions, like creating the art that you want, or collecting black funko pops.

Cynthia Furey is a hapa-vietnamese-italian-irish writer and currently a staff writer for Nickelodeon! Follow her journey of building connections through Sesame Workshop, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment, and the CBS writer's program. We chat about her experiences on The Ghost and Molly McGee, Hello Jack!, and Tiny Chef. But before her career in screenwriting, she worked as a food writer for the Orange County register for 8 years! Learn all about her career shift, and the differences between writing for journalism and screenwriting... but also the unexpected strengths that came with that experience. (If you need more incentive, please listen to this episode for the most unhinged inbetween question I've ever heard Ray ask. - Yuki)

This week we are honored to spotlight Rise Up Animation, an organization that offers mentorship and portfolio reviews to burgeoning BIPOC talent. (fun fact: the idea for Straight Ahead was inspired by Rise Up!) To tell us all about this wonderful organization is co-founder and 16-year industry veteran: Frank Abney. We have such a great time chatting with Frank and listening to his wealth of insights into the Industry. We chat about the history of RUA, its goals as an organization, and some common pitfalls of young artists. Mixed into the interview is no shortage of Frank's own experience as both an animator, filmmaker, and black man bringing his voice to his work.

This week we are proud to host Black Card Members' founder Celeste C. Black Card Members is a space meant for empowering creatives of color from all backgrounds. They are an online, international-friendly community that provides a safe space for creatives to grow and bond while providing prompts and events to nurture that creativity. Cel chats with us about her background as an event organizer and creative person themselves, and how BCM began as a humble Zine project. We chat about BCM's events and greatest achievements, including the Black Card Gala we partook in a couple years ago! Check out BCM, and consider joining them for the joy of creativity!

This week we are spotlighting Asian Queens in Animation: an organization dedicated to fostering a community of Asians of underrepresented genders in the animation space. We have the pleasure of talking with co-founders Maansi Sunkara and Shrav Yalsangikar, along with one of their admins, Sanisha Agarwal. We talk about the inception of AQIA, how their built their brand as an organization, and their panel at Lightbox Expo. These achievements are topped by their most successful program, Coffee with a Queen, which pairs-up professionals and those aspiring so they can make real connections.

This week we are joined by the amazing Jim Mortensen (founder of SFA) and Tristan Cabral (Admin of SFA) as we learn all about their amazing program: Story For All! Volunteer-run and completely free to join, SFA is a mentorship program focused on 1:1 mentorship between industry professionals and budding storyboard artists. The organization helps mentors onboard, guide them on how to touch base with mentees, and even how to finish that mentor relationship in case they have a big gig coming up. For the mentees, SFA gets them into a big meeting with all the mentors in order to pair them up with the appropriate board artist that understands what their goals are and who vibes well together. Jim and Tristan also share their stories, and how they both switched out of full careers outside of animation before entering this creative space.

Kicking off our August Special Speaker series with one of the co-founders of Diverse Toons: Jade Seaberry! Diverse Toons is a East-Coast (USA) based organization and resource dedicated to uplifting diversity in the animation industry. Jade shares the story of how she and Monique Henry-Hudson created Diverse Toons, and how they wanted to foster a community outside of the West coast. We learn more about Jade's own history: forming her own production company, president of Women Against Rape and Sexual Assault, and volunteer for the National Association against Domestic Violence. It all plays so much into the empathy and awareness that guides Diverse Toons' actions. We talk about so many important and amazing things about this wonderful organization, so please check them out!

Joel Zamudio is a Location Designer for Disney TVA! We chat about his "first three starts" in animation: working on the Sony Animation's Mitú project, then as a freelance character designer for Shadow Machine, and then again for Disney TVA. Why so many "starts"? Well, we talk about the clarity of losing your ego after graduation, and continuing your education after school to become industry-ready. Joel also tells us about his time working on The Loud House comics, and how that differed from his experience in animation. Joel also talks about Toon Therapy: a shorts channel on Youtube he collaborates on with his friends. If you're not tired of us talking on education yet, Joel shares his unique experience testing for and attending an art-highschool: the Orange County School of the Arts.

Zharia B Rahn is an African-American artist working as a Model Designer for Disney TVA! This means she works on both props and characters, and she shares her workflow with us and how she makes and meets her own work quotas. She also tells about the multi-platform work she and her team does, and how this emerging department has evolved into this fast-paced age of social media. We also chat about her time as an intern for ImagineX: an indie animation collective headed by an upperclassmen of hers from school. Speaking of school, we have a grounded conversation about how art school isn't for everyone, but if you need that structure it can be a good option. In this episode, you are guaranteed to learn about something you've never heard of before!

Ash Tahilan is a fil-am artist who grew-up in the melting pot of Hawaii. She shares with us her journey of bumping to a few different studios, each time as a revisionist to ease on to the production before promoting into boards. We chat about her incomparable time on Craig of the Creek, the culture of the production, and her foray into writing a fan-comic for a property she worked on. Ash also has a message for you: Don't Hold Back! Write and draw what you love, show your passion in your work! Hear it in her own words on this week's episode... so what are you waiting for?!

We are joined by young Sean Yeung, a member of the Riot Games champion skins team. He shares his experience going from intern to full-time employee, and the expectations within those positions. He shares his process in developing game animations for work by creating pose sheets, a standard practice in the industry. He also talks about going to Worlds 2022 in San Francisco, and how that really put into perspective the audience that enjoys League of Legends, and sees his work. Sean also shares his humble beginnings, and how the Valve Source Maker and his love of TF2 nurtured a love for animation. Last, but not least, we also talk about his love of producing music, and how that feeds him creatively outside of work.

Our guest this week is Devin Yang, a Chinese-American Concept Artist currently working in games. After graduating college Devin found a corporate job as a motion graphic artist. However, after two years he decided to take the leap of faith and jump into freelancing before landing a full-time position in video games! Devin credits twitter and his personal project The Witching Hour which garnered him a lot of attention from future clients that really gravitated toward his artistic sensibilities. Finally, Devin mentioned how his queer identity really helped him shape his artistic voice and stand out to potential clients. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed learning about Devin's journey into videos games!

Thy Võ is a 2D Animator staffed at Primal Screen. While working on a senior film in school, and despite feeling like her quality of work wasn't the best, her attitude and ability to take critique left an impression on her upperclassman, which lead to a recommendation on her first job. For those of you working on your own films, Thy also talks at length about her team's process on their senior film Tutorial>Skip?, a hilarious ode to JRPGs. We get into the impact of working on a crew with a director who is a person of color on Jelly, Ben & Pogo. From Toonboom Harmony to Esoteric Spine to asset creation, Thy talks about her many different hats she's worn. Speaking of different jobs, Thy also talks about her experience working on corporate motion design work, and the difference between projects and studios when working commercial vs entertainment. If this sounds too dense, don't worry, we also have a blast imagining isekai harems and escaping the HOA by running into the wilderness.

Yusra Shahid is a Background Designer and Painter, who holds her Indian heritage in high respect. Yusra shares her experiences working for A24 on the upcoming "#1 Happy Family USA", and the connection between her South East Asian and Muslim peers on the production. We go back through her time working on a variety of styles, from the child-like "Frog and Toad", to the more modern cartoon adaptation for "Night at the Museum". She shares many nuggets of wisdom, and we all reflect on the struggle of juggling freelance work with full-time work. Yusra also shares her experience attending the University of Hertfordshire in England, a decision she made after researching both American and Canadian schools, and her insatiable hunger to explore and learn more of the arts.

Joining us this week is Elliot Salgado a Mexican Assistant Animatic Editor currently working on Big Nate at Nickelodeon! Elliot entered the world of animation as an Intern at Nickelodeon not fully knowing what specfically in animation he wanted to do. His journey then took him to becoming a Production Assistant at DreamWorks where he got the chance to be a part of every part of the pipeline. It was there when he discovered his calling... Animatic Editing! He recounts that is was listening to the conversations between the Animatic Editors and the Directors that really sparked his interest as they talked about storytelling on a grander scale. We also dive into Elliot being a DACA recipient and how it changed his outlook on life. We hope you enjoy this episode and learn more about the different roles in Animation!

Amie Sanchez is a Latina Storyboard Artist working at Nickelodeon. Straight out of school, Amie's first job was actually a full-time storyboard artist. We talk about her lucky break in 2D boarding, and the changes that came with the shift to boarding for a 3D show, Rugrats (2021). We have a candid conversation about having gaps in your education, and ways to fill them when your school doesn't have all the resources you need. Amie also talks about how she connects with her art outside of professional work through fan art and her friend-formed art group: Studio Rana.

This week's guest is Michelle Lam, story artist and now, graphic novelist! She shares her experiences on so many different productions, and reflects especially fondly upon her time as an Assistant Episodic Director for Tonko House's Oni: a Thunder God's Tale. We also chat at length about her experiences at Cal Arts, how she found her voice, and how that also lead to her many different internships. Michelle also shares her new experience diving into the world of publishing, and working with Penguin House Knopf on Meesh the Bad Demon. Finally, we get the chance to talk a lot about her perspective growing-up Chinese-Cantonese-American, and how that influences her storytelling choices. There's so much wisdom and fun in this episode, don't miss out!

Meet Eddie Clark, an African American Storyboard Revisionist currently working on The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder! After graduating from SJSU Eddie felt burnt out from school and decided to take a step back from animation. Outside of animation Eddie was heavily involved in theatre and started acting more. His love for acting really strengthened his skills as an animator and story artist. Eventually Eddie came into contact with Bruce W. Smith and the rest is history.

Meet Harron Atkins, a black writer currently working freelance. Harron is also an alumni of the Sesame Street Writers Workshop and raves how much that experience helped him in his animation career. One of Harron's most recent gigs was being a Staff Writer for Craig of the Creek! That experience helped him gain a greater appreciation for artist and has helped take the artist into consideration when he writes his scripts. He also hopes to create his own production company to help POC voices tell their own stories. Learn this and a lot more by giving this episode a listen!

Our guest this week is Jaylen Tate-Lucas a black storyboard artist currently working at Warner Bros. Animation. We talk about what it is like storyboarding on a show like Teen Titans Go! Jaylen also talks about his love for the Horror Genre and how it is inspiring him for his own personal project. We hope you enjoy this episode and find it insightful.

Ray and Yuki are back with Season 3 of the Straight Ahead Animation Podcast! We reflect back on Season 2 by talking about the most played episodes. We also talk about our past 3 years working in the Animation Industry. We finally wrap up by talking about what you should expect in Season 3 of the podcast!

Thank you so much for your continued support and if you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices!

Our guest this week is Da-Hee Im, a Korean-American Cinematic Animator currently working at Bungie. Learn what gravitated Da-Hee towards working in the games industry over the animation industry. Learn about the ins and outs between Cinematic Animation for games and Gameplay animation. We also discuss how you should consider every opportunity that comes you way because you never know where it may lead you.     

Joining us today straight out of Colombia is Juan Montoya! Juan applied and applied to several job postings until he finally got his start at Awesome Incorporated. We also dive deep on the inner workings of the H-1B Visa and how residency could be achieved. Juan also shares what he enjoys about being a background artist and the little easter eggs he leaves when given the chance. Hope you enjoy as we continue celebrating Hispanic Heritage month!