In 2022, Legendary Disney Animators Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn, and Randy Haycock were looking to train and mentor new animators on the craft of Hand-Drawn Animation at Disney. I was one of the lucky five young animators chosen for the opportunity!

I am a Hand-Drawn Animator! My role is to bring our characters life through drawings on paper.

Before some characters are realized on the big screen, I will sometimes be tasked with creating short preliminary test on how said character would act or behave in a given scenario. This helps to bring characters to life for directors developing them long before the actually production kicks off.

The most memorable Disney Animation project I contributed to is hands down Once Upon A Studio.

I think its any animators dream to be able to work on a project where they get to animate the very characters that they connect with most.

I had the privilege of doing just that when animating a lot of our classic characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pinocchio and Dumbo for the project!

It was the perfect love letter to Disney's 100 year long Legacy.

Always be open to growth. Whether your career is just beginning or you've been in the business for decades, there is always something new to learn to help better ourselves as professionals.

I have found this kind of mindset helps to keep receptive to different perspectives, allowing my self to remain adaptable when working with my many colleagues at the studio.

I often look for a level of Storytelling in a portfolio. In my opinion, its often more interesting to see "How" a character does something in a scene with a defined beginning, middle and end as it showcases ones ability to story-tell effectively, as no character will do something the same way, making for a very unique scene.

Mickey Mouse!

Mickey Mouse is resilience personified. He is often seen as an underdog, but despite the odds he always finds a way to achieve his goals. He is empathetic and cares deeply for his friends and wants to see them succeed as well. Those are qualities I find very admirable and often try to model myself after in my daily life.