Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is creator and screenwriter, Pamela Ribon!

Today, I’m joined by an incredible screenwriter and creator, Pamela Ribon. She’s the creator of the Oscar nominated short film, My Year of Dicks, and wrote on the most recent Disney animated feature, Moana 2! You may also know her work from that other Moana movie- Moana 1, Wreck It Ralph, also Nimona on Netflix which I absolutely loved, her comics, Slam and My Boyfriend is a Bear. And more. She’s so prolific!

We chat about breaking into writing for TV, then features, and how all the other storytelling opportunities fell into place. The back and forth collaboration between writers and artists. How her background in acting continues to be a gift in her creative process. How “having it all” and creating a body of work takes time. 

Head’s up, we recorded this back in August 2024, during the Paris Olympics. That makes it sounds like we were at the Olympics and recorded this. We weren’t, but that would’ve been amazing.

*****

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is animation writer and author of "Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend", Brandon Hoàng! 

He’s written for shows like The Ghost and Molly McGee, the live action Avatar, Monster High, and other projects, some he can’t talk about yet. He was also a development exec at Nickelodeon, and I always love mentioning that because it’s so cool he made that jump to writing! This interview won’t be our typical fare, so to learn more about Brandon and his work in animation, please check out his interview on the visual podcast Creative Block.  https://www.brandonhoangwrites.com/

We'll mostly be discussing the representation in his book this episode. Here's a summary about "Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend":

Gary Võ is one of the few Vietnamese kids in his school and has been shy for as long as he can remember--being ignored and excluded by his classmates comes with the territory. So when the most popular guy in his grade offers Gary the opportunity to break into his inner circle, Gary jumps at the chance. All he needs to do is steal the prized possession of the most beautiful and untouchable girl they know--Gloria Buenrostro.

But as Gary gets to know Gloria, he's taken in by her authenticity and genuine interest in who he really is. Soon, they're best friends. Being part of the "in crowd" has always been Gary's dream, but as he comes closer to achieving infamy, he risks losing the first person who recognizes his true self. Gary must consider if any amount of popularity is worth losing a true friend.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is "Spirit Rangers" creator, Karissa Valencia!

Netflix's "Spirit Rangers" follows Native American sibling trio Kodi, Summer, and Eddy Skycedar, who have a shared secret- you’ll never guess it… ah, you guessed it. They’re the Spirit Rangers. 

Karissa has also written for other adorable, funny shows like Vampirina, The Chicken Squad, T.O.T.S., and started on the production side of the animation pipeline as a script coordinator. We chat about making that switch from production to writing and again from writing to executive producing. About her childhood growing up as a mixed race Chumash and Mexican kid and how rare it was to see anyone on screen who looked like her family or friends and how that fueled her passion to create and pitch and ultimately run her own animated series.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is character designer and visual development artist, Aroona Khiani!

After getting a start in Sheridan College's Animation program, she graduated with honours and went on to work for companies like Titmouse, House of Cool, Wild Brain, and others. 

Find Aroona online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is author-illustrator Nilah Magruder!

Making her living with both art and words, Nilah created M.F.K, a middle-grade graphic novel based on her webcomic, and winner of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity and a picture book called How to Find a Fox. Her writing has appeared in anthologies as well as in projects for Disney-Hyperion, Scholastic, Penguin, and Marvel Comics- one comic of which starred Tippy Toe, Squirrel Girl’s animal sidekick- loved it so much! Also, Nilah created Spider-byte, Margo Kess, for the Spiderverse! 

Needless to say, we have tons to talk about! From working in animation storyboards to transitioning into publishing.

Find Nilah online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s episode, we’re talking all about Peacock’s first adult animated original series, In The Know- a fun satirical NPR romp. 

Lauren Caspian is NPR’s third most popular host. He’s a well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod, just like you and me. He’s also a stop motion puppet. Each episode follows the making of an episode of Lauren’s show In the Know, in which Lauren conducts in-depth interviews with real world human guests. Lauren collaborates with a diverse crew of NPR staff. They are also puppets and nimrods. 

Joining me to talk about it is stop motion animator, Savannah Steiner and Set Dresser KC Englander!

A little about these amazing artists:

KC Englander is a stop motion set dresser and fabricator, sculptor and installation artist. They are a visual creative with deep film experience spanning 15 years. From PBS to Laika’s Boxtrolls, Kubo, and Missing Link, to Shadow Machine/Netflix and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and more, KC knows how to build worlds by hand and collaborate compassionately with fellow makers.

Savannah Steiner is a stop motion animator whose work you’ve seen on many stop motion productions including Guillermo’s Pinocchio, the recent Chicken Run sequel: Dawn of the Nugget, Tumble Leaf, Tiny Chef Show, and more. She even directed Barbie’s first ever stop motion animated mini series for Mattel.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is director, storyboard artist, and creator, Samantha Gray.

Sam has worked predominantly on acclaimed adult shows such as Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth, Tuca and Bertie, and more. She also hosts the podcast, Tired and Thriving! Listen about her animated journey, how she started at a small studio working in various roles, and how she decided what kind of supervisor she was going to be- one that leads with kindness! 

Find Samantha online.

Listen to Tired and Thriving!

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is art director and activist, Andy Garner-Flexner!

Andy (He/They) was the art director at Disney TV Animation on The Owl House and has been a color designer, background painter, and character designer around the animation industry. Having gotten their start in production as an intern, then coordinator, Andy uses skills he developed there even now as an art director. Today, they talk about making the leap from production to color design, the leap into art directing, how the Queer Trans committee began at the Animation Guild and how it's led to a discord channel that nurtures a whole LGBTQIA+ community that spans many creative industries and is 1828 members strong, 245 which are union members.

Find Andy online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist and director, Brianne Drouhard!

Brianne is an artist mainly working in the animation industry.  She has contributed character designs, storyboards and directing for Cartoon Network, Marvel, Sony, Disney, Warner Bros. Animation, and Nickelodeon.   

She directed, designed, and produced the “Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld” shorts for Warner Bros. Animation.

Brianne is also the creator of the webcomic "Harpy Gee," showcasing a brave elf's adventures in a small town full of secrets, new friends, and misunderstood monsters; which can also be viewed in an animated pilot online that Brianne also directed.

Find Brianne online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist and director, Brianne Drouhard!

Brianne is an artist mainly working in the animation industry.  She has contributed character designs, storyboards and directing for Cartoon Network, Marvel, Sony, Disney, Warner Bros. Animation, and Nickelodeon.   

She directed, designed, and produced the “Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld” shorts for Warner Bros. Animation.

Brianne is also the creator of the webcomic "Harpy Gee," showcasing a brave elf's adventures in a small town full of secrets, new friends, and misunderstood monsters; which can also be viewed in an animated pilot online that Brianne also directed.

Find Brianne online.

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is stop motion animator and filmmaker, Fu Yang!

Fu is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Stop-motion is her forte. She creates award-winning animated shorts both on her personal and collaborative projects. 

She brings unique handmade design and combines stop motion, traditional animation and motion graphics in her projects. She draws-- for opening up communications, finding connections with people, and revealing her thoughts on subjects that matter to her. In 2022, she reestablished an animation studio with her husband in St. Louis, MO, and works from filmmaking to teaching.

Fu interviews directors about their personal projects, tips and production processes on Nice Shorts.

Find Fu online.

Learn more about her short film, Fortune Cookie.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

This week is all about the filmmakers behind the film, Titina.

Today’s guest is director, Kajsa Næss!

Based on the thrilling story of polar explorer Roald Amundson and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat, seen through the eyes of the street dog that became the world’s first four-legged celebrity who traveled to the North Pole in a Zepplin.

The film is hand-drawn in 2D, interspersed with real-life footage, and produced in Norway and Belgium.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

This week is all about the filmmakers behind the film, Titina.

Today’s guest is producer, Tonje Skar Reiersen!

Based on the thrilling story of polar explorer Roald Amundson and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat, seen through the eyes of the street dog that became the world’s first four-legged celebrity who traveled to the North Pole in a Zepplin.

The film is hand-drawn in 2D, interspersed with real-life footage, and produced in Norway and Belgium.

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

This week is all about the filmmakers behind the film, Titina.

Today’s guest is art director and production designer, Emma McCann!

Based on the thrilling story of polar explorer Roald Amundson and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat, seen through the eyes of the street dog that became the world’s first four-legged celebrity who traveled to the North Pole in a Zepplin.

The film is hand-drawn in 2D, interspersed with real-life footage, and produced in Norway and Belgium.

Find Emma online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

This week is all about the filmmakers behind the film, Titina.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Dyveke Skøld!

Based on the thrilling story of polar explorer Roald Amundson and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat, seen through the eyes of the street dog that became the world’s first four-legged celebrity who traveled to the North Pole in a Zepplin.

The film is hand-drawn in 2D, interspersed with real-life footage, and produced in Norway and Belgium.

Find Dyveke online. 

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

This week is all about the filmmakers behind the film, Titina.

Today’s guest is animator and animation director, Marie-Laure Guisset!

Based on the thrilling story of polar explorer Roald Amundson and Italian engineer Umberto Nobile, Titina tells a true-ish story of glory and defeat, seen through the eyes of the street dog that became the world’s first four-legged celebrity who traveled to the North Pole in a Zepplin.

The film is hand-drawn in 2D, interspersed with real-life footage, and produced in Norway and Belgium.

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Nate Carvalho.

Christy is a lighting artist with many years of experience in animation and film. She graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design and has since worked at places like Industrial Light and Magic and Dreamworks Animation, working on movies like How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Croods, Rise of the Guardian, Captain Underpants, Boss Baby, Trolls, and Kung Fu Panda!

Find Christy online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is supervising director, Sarah Johnson.

Sarah Johnson has been working in the animation industry for over a decade, honing her skills as a Director, Storyboard Artist, Writer, and Animator. She currently is the Supervising Director on Frog & Toad at Titmouse, involved with most aspects of production from script story breaks to final delivery. Prior to Titmouse, Sarah was a Director on WB Animation’s first preschool production of “Little Ellen” for HBO Max. Originally from the cold boonies of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Sarah now resides in sunny Los Angeles.

Find Sarah online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is storyboard supervisor and director, Karine Charlebois.

Karine has been drawing since she could hold a crayon and her favorite subjects were the cartoons on TV. She originally started working in animation in 1996 doing storyboard cleanup and revisions, moving up to storyboard artist, and today she’s a supervisor and director and has worked on 40 different properties and counting. In this episode, she’ll share her incredible journey with us, what it’s like to work in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, how she fell into teaching storyboarding, and how she deals with burn out to rekindle her artistic passion.

Find Karine online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

Today’s guest is storyboard supervisor and director, Karine Charlebois.

Karine has been drawing since she could hold a crayon and her favorite subjects were the cartoons on TV. She originally started working in animation in 1996 doing storyboard cleanup and revisions, moving up to storyboard artist, and today she’s a supervisor and director and has worked on 40 different properties and counting. In this episode, she’ll share her incredible journey with us, what it’s like to work in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, how she fell into teaching storyboarding, and how she deals with burn out to rekindle her artistic passion.

Find Karine online.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Except for today. Enjoy our ally edition.

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Cassie Soliday.

Today we announce the winner of a new award we completely made up for fun: the Token Man with Talent award!

We spent a grueling amount of hours shortlisting who should win this prestigious award. And as you know, there are not enough men in the industry, so we really need to do our due diligence to highlight them. But now, we are ready to announce the winner of 2022’s Token Man with Talent. 

He’s an animator! A visual development artist! An art director working in development! And best of all, he’s an ally! It’s… drumroll, please… Bobby Pontillas! Yayyyy!!!!!

All jokes aside, we’re so happy Bobby’s here today because he’s gonna let us inside his head and give us great tips and insights on how to get into the industry, what to put in your portfolios, and all that good stuff! The goal of this episode is to take the breadth of his experience and give it to you.

Find Bobby online.

More about Rise Up Animation.

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is Nickelodeon Intern and Storyboard Artist, Garnet Garcia!

When the pandemic hit, Garnet was active in various animation circles like Rise Up Animation, RAD Artists Network, Lightbox Expo, just to name a few. Her drive and passion eventually led her to a production internship at Nickelodeon Animation in 2021. In this episode, we discuss how she honed in on her craft, how she broke in, and how she was able to take care of her mental health while doing so. 

Find Garnet online

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garnetdraws/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garnet-garcia/

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is Television Writer and Storyboard Artist, Angela Entzminger! 

You may remember her from her last interview I did years ago when she was working in production at Nickelodeon animation with big plans of navigating over to working as a Storyboard Artist. Well, guess what. She did it! And then she also started writing for TV Animation.  She’s now boarded and written for shows at Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max! We’re excited to check in with her today and hear all about how she did it and how she continues to thrive.

Find Angela online

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is Writer and Production Coordinator, Alyssa Harden!

Alyssa is a production coordinator at DreamWorks and freelance animation writer. She’s worked at companies like Illumination, Laika, Grayscale, and more. In our chat, she talks how saturday morning cartoons helped shape her worldview and how she finds joy in doing that for today’s kids, what it took to relocate for work, east coast to west, LA to Oregon and back again, finding romance in the puppet department, being the only artist in a family of scientists, and more.

Find Alyssa online

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is background painter, Bonnie Branson! Originally from Kentucky but raised in Connecticut, Bonnie now lives and work in the Los Angeles area painting backgrounds for animation. Currently, she’s a background painter on the sweet and adventurous Nick Jr show “Santiago of the Seas.” Her previous experience includes stage scenic painting, and doing early stage visual development for virtual reality, television, and animated features. Today, we chat about starting a new full-time animation job during the pandemic, how she pivoted from teaching art for middle school students into animation, the specifics about painting for a CG show that you may not have thought about before, and why it’s never too late to go after your dreams.

Find Bonnie online:

http://www.artbonnie.com/

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is background painter, Bonnie Branson! Originally from Kentucky but raised in Connecticut, Bonnie now lives and work in the Los Angeles area painting backgrounds for animation. Currently, she’s a background painter on the sweet and adventurous Nick Jr show “Santiago of the Seas.” Her previous experience includes stage scenic painting, and doing early stage visual development for virtual reality, television, and animated features. Today, we chat about starting a new full-time animation job during the pandemic, how she pivoted from teaching art for middle school students into animation, the specifics about painting for a CG show that you may not have thought about before, and why it’s never too late to go after your dreams.

Find Bonnie online:

http://www.artbonnie.com/

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is background designer, Grace Wong!

Grace went to the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, taking a BFA in Concept Art at the beginning of her journey. She graduated and took up matte painting freelance before transitioning to becoming a fully-fledged background designer that she is today. Grace is also an amazing social media supervisor with Rise Up Animation and spearheads many of their projects that you see on the Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. In this episode, she will share her journey from how she transitioned from being a matte painter to a background designer, her self growth along the way, as well as tips and tricks if you want to pursue the route of a background designer in the animation industry.

Find Grace online:

https://gracewongart.com/

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is development assistant and founder of Asians in Animation, Lexie Chu!

Lexie started her journey by breaking in at Cartoon Network as a production intern working on The Powerpuff Girls (2016). In 2020, she moved to Netflix Animation as a production assistant in the film development sector where she assisted in a handful of movies as well as founded the Asian at Netflix Animation community. Now as a development assistant at Skydance Animation, she'll be sharing valuable tips that she wish she knew in school, as well as tips on what she looks for in potential candidates in the recruitment process. Lexie is also the proud founder and president of the organization, Asians in Animation, and she shares how she was inspired to start the organization, her growth, and the importance of sparking these conversations in the animation industry.

Find Lexie online:

https://twitter.com/lexiechu_

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is writer and story editor, Taneka Stotts! Taneka is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter who’s written for Steven Universe Future, Craig of the Creek, Young Justice, and is currently the Story Editor of Pinecone & Pony. Before animation, Taneka created platforms to showcase diverse and LGBTQ voices with no limitations to their imagination in comics. One of my personal favorites is Casual Hex and Deja Brew was hella good, too. Point is, Taneka’s an amazing storyteller and change maker and you should know who they are. In this episode, we discuss growing up with a medium that has now become their life, how the collaborative process can make your crew feel like a family, how to talk about what you’re doing when you can’t actually talk about it due to NDAs, and how to improve diversity inclusion initiatives to make real change that lasts more than a year.

Find Taneka online:

www.tanekastotts.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is writer and story editor, Taneka Stotts! Taneka is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter who’s written for Steven Universe Future, Craig of the Creek, Young Justice, and is currently the Story Editor of Pinecone & Pony. Before animation, Taneka created platforms to showcase diverse and LGBTQ voices with no limitations to their imagination in comics. One of my personal favorites is Casual Hex and Deja Brew was hella good, too. Point is, Taneka’s an amazing storyteller and change maker and you should know who they are. In this episode, we discuss growing up with a medium that has now become their life, how the collaborative process can make your crew feel like a family, how to talk about what you’re doing when you can’t actually talk about it due to NDAs, and how to improve diversity inclusion initiatives to make real change that lasts more than a year.

Find Taneka online:

www.tanekastotts.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is development and story artist, Sharon Bridgeman!

Sharon was born in Ireland and worked as an animator, supervisor and character designer for studios in Dublin, London, and Berlin before making her way to California. She’s currently a story artist at a newer studio called Spire Animation, but her first job in animation was as an in-betweener on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Ireland and her titles only get more fun and impressive since! Having worked in feature and TV, you may recognize some titles:  "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," "Boss Bay" , "Abominable", Kung Fu Panda:"Secrets of the Scroll", Kung Fu Panda 2", "Rise of the Guardians" and "Spirit." Today, Sharon will talk with us through her journey, share her secret to pitching and how it’s okay to not know everything, it’s okay to be soft spoken or not have big energy when pitching, and how no idea is stupid and every voice deserves to be heard.

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is stop motion animator and producer, Eileen Kohlhepp!

Eileen has been working since the 90s on cult classics like Daria, Celebrity Deathmatch, Robot Chicken, and the list continues to grow today. Animation is already a niche corner of the Entertainment industry, but Stop Motion is an even more tight knit community! Eileen shares what it’s been like to navigate such a specific industry over the years, gives us insight on how she pivots between animating and producing, and talks about how being an animator makes her a better producer. 

Connect with Eileen:

https://www.instagram.com/EileenKohlhepp/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-kohlhepp-00732b6/details/experience/

Eileen recommends:

Kangmin Kim,

Yizhou Li 

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is stop motion animator and producer, Eileen Kohlhepp!

Eileen has been working since the 90s on cult classics like Daria, Celebrity Deathmatch, Robot Chicken, and the list continues to grow today. Animation is already a niche corner of the Entertainment industry, but Stop Motion is an even more tight knit community! Eileen shares what it’s been like to navigate such a specific industry over the years, gives us insight on how she pivots between animating and producing, and talks about how being an animator makes her a better producer. 

Connect with Eileen:

https://www.instagram.com/EileenKohlhepp/

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-kohlhepp-00732b6/details/experience/

Eileen recommends:

Kangmin Kim,

Yizhou Li 

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is production coordinator, storyboard artist, and host of the Creating in Color podcast , Kaybe Wood!

Well, she does quite a bit more than that, too. She’s also an illustrator - with an etsy shop called Star Rain Studio a streamer - catch her on Twitch as MaybeItsKaybe - and a podcaster - the host of the Creating in Color podcast where she interviews creative BIPoC professionals to inspire and give guidance to students, kids, and people looking for a career shift. 

She believes that animation is a powerful storytelling medium and that it’s never too late to do what you’re passionate about. Since breaking into the industry, she’s worked in productions at Dreamworks TV and Netflix Animation. While she’s a coordinator at the moment, she’s working hard on her portfolio and skills to make the transition to storyboarding. Hear all about it and how she hopes to make her dreams a reality!

Find Kaybe everywhere online:

https://linktr.ee/MaybeitsKaybe

Listen to her podcast:

https://creatingincolor.buzzsprout.com/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is animator and production coordinator, María Azellea!

María Azellea at a young age realized there was a need to help diverse, new, and outdated companies who strived to be part of the social media shift in the new multimedia marketing world. From that need she established Menacing Marketing in 2013 with the focus of empowering the voices of these businesses.

Her belief in empowering the Next Generation brought her to work with several Non Profits & Organizations. Together they build great platforms, media content and strong membership participation.

In addition to her volunteer positions María created and is the owner of Hustle - N - Heart, a non profit virtual landing page that is a way to bring resources & information to aspiring professionals so they can have their own starting line as they begin their professional journeys.

As an animator her philosophy is “To create new, innovative, and diverse media that empowers the next generation of creatives to tell their own stories.”.

This passion and drive led to her short film ” La Concha Mágica” to debut at San Diego Comic Con Children’s Film Festival. Which is a step in her continued journey to learn, discover, and create new stories everyday as an Animator while also working in Production.

Find María online:

www.azellea.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is comic/story artist and full-time lecturer, Deda Daniels!

Deda grew up in Italy, studied in San Francisco, worked in Los Angeles, and now teaches in Singapore. While Deda is a retired storyboard and visual development artist, she is still deep in creative work with her comics and teaching young minds. She feels empowered to choose what she works on now- inspiration for us all! In today’s episode, she shares why there’s no such thing as art block, how she balances comics and teaching, how teaching inspires her to continue learning, how she used art to process grief, and more.

Find Deda online:

www.instagram.com/dedasaur/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is animation director and illustrator, Fernanda Frick!

Fernanda is the creator of the short film, “Here’s the Plan”, the graphic novel, “Trazos”, with many more stories in development. In this episode, she shares with us how she finds motivation to push through big projects, how she learned how to write and develop a tv series with no prior knowledge of how to do it, why it’s good to have multiple ideas in our back pocket, and how every pitch is practice for the next.

Find Fernanda online:

https://fernandafrick.com/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is animation director and illustrator, Fernanda Frick!

Fernanda is the creator of the short film, “Here’s the Plan”, the graphic novel, “Trazos”, with many more stories in development. In this episode, she shares with us how she finds motivation to push through big projects, how she learned how to write and develop a tv series with no prior knowledge of how to do it, why it’s good to have multiple ideas in our back pocket, and how every pitch is practice for the next.

Find Fernanda online:

https://fernandafrick.com/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s topic is #PayAnimationWriters and #NewDeal4Animation!

And today I’m joined by fellow writer, Chad Quandt to talk to you about #NewDeal4Animation and #PayAnimationWriters.

You may have seen these hashtags on social media where folks are sharing some harsh truths and inequalities about working in animation. And to be honest, it’s been really depressing to realize that some things that have been challenging for me or my colleagues have also been challenging to many! Cassie and Chad break down what writers want addressed at negotiations in this episode, but every animation craft has their own action items they're fighting for, too.

Support us all by signing the #NewDeal4Animation petition: https://t.co/tLY2dNFubA

If you're local to Burbank, attend our rally on March 20th! More info here: https://twitter.com/TAGwriters/status/1502331283581460480

To hear stories direct from the folks who make animation, check these links out:

The Animation Guild (TAG): https://twitter.com/animationguild

TAG Writers: https://twitter.com/TAGwriters

TAG POC Writers Committee: https://twitter.com/TAG_POCWriters

TAG Color Designers: https://twitter.com/colordesign839

TAG Story Artists: https://twitter.com/TAGStoryGroup

TAG Queer Committee: https://twitter.com/QTag839

TAG Young Workers Committee: https://twitter.com/TAGYoungWorkers

*Also check out their "What's the Union Got To Do With Me?" comic: https://twitter.com/TAGYoungWorkers/status/907728106743488513

Len Uhley's thread about why animation writers are not part of Writer's Guild of America (WGA): https://twitter.com/LenUhley/status/1461523983761911815

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is Jasmine Katatikarn, Co-Founder of the Academy of Animated Art!

Jasmine has previously been a guest on the show and was excited to come back because a lot has happened! For 10 years, she was a Senior Lighting Technical Director at Blue Sky Studios. But now… Blue Sky is closed. What do you do? While it’s a chapter closed, Jasmine’s here to share how she stays optimistic and focuses instead on the exciting moves happening within the industry. Jasmine’s now a CG Lead at Framestore and she still loves helping new artists break into animation and VFX. In today’s episode, she’ll share some stories and valuable takeaways she’s learned through all this, discuss the state of the industry within the health crisis and WFH orders, and more.

Update* Jasmine has moved on from Framestore and is now the 3D Tech Artist Manager at Amazon!

Learn more about the Academy of Animated Art:

https://academyofanimatedart.com/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues

Today’s guest is Visual Development Artist, Nate Carvalho!

Nate’s career is just getting started in their home country of Brazil. They balance freelance work in viz dev and children’s book illustration, while still continuing their education as they’re eager to better their skills. They believe that animation is a tool that brings out magic and this keeps them moving forward. Nate chats keeping 9-5 hours as a freelance artist, how they keep focused while managing ADHD, and is ready to beg you to have hobbies alongside your work! Nate’s cheerful optimism is infectious and I’m so excited for you to meet them.

Find Nate online:

https://nathfuryc.artstation.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is Veteran Creative Producer and CEO of Frogbot Films, Monica Lago-Kaytis!

She’s worked in the animation industry for over 25 years, 23 of them with the famed Walt Disney Feature Animation where she started as a production assistant on Pocahontas. Since then, she’s climbed the production ranks managing and producing some of your favorite Disney films such as Hercules, Wreck-It Ralph, and Zootopia… okay, so those are a few of my personal favorites! But she was never looking to break into animation, it was a pleasant surprise! Growing up with an artsy mother, Monica was used to managing and making space for artists. Today, she shares her personal experiences, struggles, and how she evolved to the person she is today and gathered the courage to break away from the biggest animation studio to start her own production company, Frogbot Films.

She’s also an active mentor volunteer and the president of the non-profit organization, Rise Up Animation, which we also chat about in the ep!

Check out Rise Up Animation, and be sure to learn more about Frogbot Films!

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Megan Ferguson

Today, we discuss the fear of BLACKLISTING.

Learn more about Megan:

​​https://megan-ferguson.com/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is director, Megan Ferguson!

By this time, who hasn’t seen Hilda on Netflix? If you have, you’ve seen Megan’s work! She’s also worked on Wander Over Yonder, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Stella and Sam, and Jimmy Two Shoes and all produced at Mercury Filmworks in Ontario, Canada. Out of college, she worked as an animator, she now supervises other animators as she’s climbed the ranks to directing. Today she shares how she believes we have to be actors and filmmakers- not just animators, how you don’t have to be passionate because stubbornness is just as useful a driver, and how fear plays a role in our learning experience that can stay with us our entire career.

Find Megan online:

​​https://megan-ferguson.com/

Local to Ottawa or wanna join in on virtual events? Join OATS!

https://www.ottawaanimators.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is storyboard artist and director, Liza Singer!

Liza has worked across TV, feature, games, and, honestly, they've done a little of everything! From working at Warner Brothers on “Harley Quinn” and "DC Super Hero Girls" to "Disenchantment" at Rough Draft Studios, and even some preschool titles. But before all this, they got their start animating and illustrating for clients like Coca Cola, Prudential, and the Broadway Musical “Big Fish”. Today, Liza shares how they broke into animation, focused their storyboarding portfolio and skills, overcame a hand injury to continue doing what they love, and transitioned from storyboards into directing. So much to share today! Dive in when you're ready.

Find Liza online:

http://www.liza-singer.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is animation artist and junior producer, Kira Rodrigues!

Kira is a recent graduate from Singapore with internships under her belt and endeavoring into her first full-time film and animation industry job. She has big hopes and dreams and is excited to share how she plans to get there. In our chat, she shares how she managed her time in college when more and more piled onto her plate, how she pushed past shyness to interact with other like-minded animation lovers online, how she became involved with Rise Up Animation and even volunteers for them now.

Find Kira online:

https://kcjrofficial.wixsite.com/portfolio

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hello Stop Mo! is an educational limited podcast series to empower you with introductory knowledge of the stop motion industry to help reduce barriers of entry for newcomers as well as demystify how to navigate this career. And it's all guided by the contagious passion of the creator-hosts, Alexis Deprey and Casey Follen.

For show notes and a glossary of terms, please visit our website: https://animationwildcard.com/hellostopmo

Ink and Paint Folk will return to its normally scheduled run next week, so be sure to keep up to date and follow Hello Stop Mo! on Spotify, Stitcher, or Apple Podcasts.

Love, Cassie

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is storyboard artist and director, Kathy Jo Larson.

She’s worked for companies like PBS Kids, Joe Murray Studios, 9 Story, PrimalScreen, and more, doing all sorts of roles like storyboarding, directing, animating, and anything else she could use her artistic skills for. Today she’ll share how she survived the lean times after college, started her art LLC to begin her freelance business, the wild ride to moving from Georgia to Los Angeles, getting a fantastic storyboarding opportunity on the adorable show, “Let’s Go Luna” and how she eventually got to direct on it, too. It took years to get there, but she did it, and she knows you can, too.

Find Kathy Jo online:

https://www.hellokathyjo.com

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is associate producer, Romney Marino!

Romney enjoys working with teams and creative problem solving so it’s perfect that she loves working in production! With many years experience under her belt, you’ve undoubtedly seen titles she’s worked on like DC Super Hero Girls, Green Lantern, Astro Boy, Finding Nemo, and so many more. In our chat, she shares what it’s been like to work from home during the pandemic, how lucky opportunities can sprout into a fruitful career, and what it takes to become a good manager.

Find Romney online:

https://twitter.com/RomneyTM

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Jessie Juwono and Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Elissa Sussman!

She is the author of the upcoming book, DRAWN THAT WAY published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

The story follows highschool student, Hayley Saffitz who lands a spot in renowned animation director Bryan Beckett’s once-in-a-lifetime summer program. She has a plan: snag one of the internship’s coveted directing opportunities, dazzle Bryan with her talent, and secure a job post-graduation. 

Except she doesn’t actually land a directing position. All of those go to the boys. And one of them is Bryan’s son, Bear.

Despite Bear’s obvious apathy for the internship, Hayley soon realizes that there’s more to him than she expected. As they work together, the animosity between them thaws into undeniable chemistry and maybe something… more.

But Hayley can’t stop thinking about the chance she was refused.

Will she conform to the expectations of her idol, or will she risk her blossoming relationship with Bear- and her future- to prove that she’s exactly as talented as she knows she is?

I was so hyped to read this book since learning of its existence. And it’s even better knowing that Elissa used to work in the animation world herself at studios like Nickelodeon, Disney, Dreamworks, and Sony Imageworks on films like The Croods, Hotel Transylvania, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled. So she knows the ups and downs of this industry intimately and makes it personal to teen readers.

In this interview, she shares what went into writing her new book, what it took to pivot from animation into publishing, that eager beaver energy you have when you’re first starting out, and the realization that your dream job or industry has a dark side.

Find Elissa online:

https://elissasussman.com

Learn more about her book:

https://bookshop.org/books/drawn-that-way-9781534492974/9781534492974

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is the project director and co-author of “Talking Threads: Costume Design for Animation, Games, and Illustration”, Jessie Kate Bui!

Jessie is an author, designer, and educator who specializes in costume design! She also uses personality psychology to inform her design decisions and loves to share that passion with others. She teaches at Art Center College of Design and also mentors groups and individuals in her own online program for animation, games, and comics. She shares how her new book came about, what went into researching it, how she stays motivated to share her passions, and walks us through what it takes to use psychology to make decisions in her design work.

Find Jessie online:

https://www.jessiekate.com

Learn more about her book:

https://designstudiopress.com/fall-winter-2020-preorders/talking-threads/

Order her book:

https://bookshop.org/books/talking-threads-costume-design-for-animation-games-and-illustration/9781624650482

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Producer, Suzanna Olson!

As a dedicated animation production professional she has committed herself to supporting creatives and finding ways to be always improving the production pipeline, ways to improve herself and her interactions with others, as well as ways of lifting up those around her. We discuss her passion and drive, the politics of being a production person and reading a room of creatives, and how she was promoted right after returning from maternity leave (something that rarely, if ever, happens!!!). Suzanna is a delight, and I’m so excited for you to meet her!

*Please note that this interview was recorded in 2018.

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Storyboard Artist, Michelle Rincon Eloren!

Michelle got her start as a production assistant on "Let’s Go Luna"! But it this isn’t your usual PA gig because she also did storyboard revision work. That’s right, it was a hybrid position- both artistic and production oriented! She’s also a charter member of LatinX in Animation (LXiA) which represents a diverse group within the Animation, VFX, and Gaming industries dedicated to uniting a talented pool of innovators with a heart to create exceptional stories across multiple platforms.

In this interview, She shares how she finally broke into animation after years of trying, what it was like working in production and storyboard, how she got promoted, and so much more.

Find Michelle online:

https://www.michellerinconart.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Storyboard Artist, Michelle Rincon Eloren!

Michelle got her start as a production assistant on "Let’s Go Luna"! But it this isn’t your usual PA gig because she also did storyboard revision work. That’s right, it was a hybrid position- both artistic and production oriented! She’s also a charter member of LatinX in Animation (LXiA) which represents a diverse group within the Animation, VFX, and Gaming industries dedicated to uniting a talented pool of innovators with a heart to create exceptional stories across multiple platforms.

In this interview, She shares how she finally broke into animation after years of trying, what it was like working in production and storyboard, how she got promoted, and so much more.

Find Michelle online:

https://www.michellerinconart.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Storyboard Artist and Production Coordinator, Ashley Lam!

Ashley has worked for studios like Stoopid Buddy, Joe Murray Studios, and Walt Disney Animation- which means she’s worked in both TV and Feature- and even more than that, she’s worked as a production assistant and coordinator as well as a storyboard revisionist. In our conversation, she shares how she navigates both avenues within Animation, how she cultivated management skills as she was promoted from assistant to coordinator, what she’s aiming for in the future and how she plans to get there.

Find Ashley online:

https://www.ashleylamstory.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Director, Sabrina Cotugno!

This is part 2 of our interview. Be sure to check out part 1!

Sabrina has been a storyboard and/or director on shows like Gravity Falls, Star vs the Forces of Evil, The Owl House, as well as had an overall deal for their own development work. But everyone has to start somewhere! And while they had internships with Pixar and Disney Feature under their belt, Sabrina still didn’t get hired right away! They share how they stayed motivated to keep moving forward, testing for shows, and finding freelance before finally breaking in. Sabrina also talks about working on their web comic, The Glass Scientists,  even when they was gainfully employed.

Find Sabrina online:

http://www.seegoatrun.com/galleries/

Glass Scientists Comic:

https://www.theglassscientists.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is Director, Sabrina Cotugno!

Sabrina has been a storyboard and/or director on shows like Gravity Falls, Star vs the Forces of Evil, The Owl House, as well as had an overall deal for their own development work. But everyone has to start somewhere! And while they had internships with Pixar and Disney Feature under their belt, Sabrina still didn’t get hired right away! They share how they stayed motivated to keep moving forward, testing for shows, and finding freelance before finally breaking in. Sabrina also talks about working on their web comic, The Glass Scientists,  even when they was gainfully employed.

Find Sabrina online:

http://www.seegoatrun.com/galleries/

Glass Scientists Comic:

https://www.theglassscientists.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is 3D Character Animator, Mylene Santos!

She was pursuing fine art, graduating college with a BFA when the animation industry was hit with a new form of animation: 3D! And the studios needed CG animators, stat! Recently graduated and in need of a job, Mylene entered the studio’s training program and discovered her new passion: bringing characters to life! Following her passion for the craft has led her to work in tv animation, feature, and games from the Philippines to Canada then Los Angeles. She’s animated for projects like Call of Duty, World War Toons, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George 2, Hoodwinked, and more!

Find Mylene online:

https://santosmylene.wixsite.com/mysite

Links referenced in interview:

https://www.fudgeanimation.com/2018/06/the-best-websites-for-animation-inspiration-and-communities/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is storyboard artist, Apoorva Gaitonde!

Apoorva has worked at companies like Gold Valley Films, Nickelodeon, Rooster Teeth, Wild Canary Animation,  on tv projects like “The Casagrandes” and the upcoming Disney Jr show “Chicken Squad”, as well as the feature film, “Ella and the Secret Prince”. With her international background, she brings experience and a deep appreciation of different cultures to her work. She believes that diverse perspectives can only enhance and help develop great stories! Be sure to check out her short film, “Fitting In”, which is inspired by her story as an immigrant trying to ‘fit in’ in a different country.

Find Apoorva online:  www.apoorvagaitonde.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is animation writer and story editor, Kendall Haney!

Kendall is an emmy-nominated TV writer who has worked on Disney’s The Lion Guard, Disney Jr’s Rocketeer, an upcoming show for HBO Max titled Little Ellen, and is currently story editing on an unannounced show for Mattel.  But writing wasn’t her first gig in animation. She spent years in production management, too! She’ll share with us how she made the leap from production to writer, as well as how she’s managed to let go of the pursuit of perfection in her writing and just enjoy the doing.

She’s also the creator and host of the podcast, “Typin’ Toons”. If you want to pursue tv writing, specifically for animation, I highly recommend checking her podcast out. It’s fantastic, full of wisdom, and she and her guests take deep dives into specific areas of the craft.

Typin' Toons: https://www.typintoons.com

Find Kendall online: Twitter + Instagram + Website

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Katya Bowser and Cassie Soliday

Today's guest is creator, Elizabeth Ito!

With experience in both TV and Feature animation, Elizabeth shares her journey from storyboard artist to supervising director to developing her own short at Cartoon Network to creating and running her own series at Netflix. She shares what it’s been like to create something out of the box to what a typical kids show is, how she learned to embrace what makes her unique and develop her voice, as well as her thoughts on life, art, comedy, motherhood, and everything in between.

Find Elizabeth online: Twitter + Instagram + Website

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about Dino Ranch!

Today's guest is producer, Anna Keenan!

Working from the ground up in production, Anna used every experience to become the brilliant producer she is today. She shares with us how she sees production as a creative role full of creative problem solving, how she hires with potential to grow in mind, and how once she gave herself permission to make mistakes, the process became more fun! With lots of shop talk and references to Pixar’s Soul, we hope you’ll enjoy our conversation!

Find Anna online:

https://www.instagram.com/annakeenan_photography/

https://www.instagram.com/revealing_2020/

www.annakeenan.com

Who She Wants You to Check Out!

https://www.instagram.com/missjullyblack/

https://www.instagram.com/cathy.keenan/

https://www.instagram.com/tocacu/

https://www.instagram.com/elicserelliott/

https://www.instagram.com/dino_ranch/

Additional amazing women, you might want to check out:

https://www.instagram.com/gabriellelasporte/

https://www.instagram.com/saginesemajuste/

https://www.instagram.com/denoshbennett/

https://www.instagram.com/drlisejanelle/

https://www.instagram.com/ayanna_sealey/

https://www.instagram.com/nasiathomas/

https://www.instagram.com/andreanne.your.osteopath/

https://www.instagram.com/stateofsate/

https://www.instagram.com/smyogini/

Some Additional Resources:

https://www.producinganimation.com/

https://www.creativityincbook.com/

https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about Dino Ranch!

Today's guest is animation supervisor, Caitlin Menard!

Obsessed with Disney movies, World of War Craft, and Lord of the Rings, Caitlin found herself wanting to work in CG- but not as an animator. That was a surprise! But she wouldn’t trade her luck for the world. She shares that experience of pivoting career expectations, how she transitioned from college into the workplace, and what her workload looks like as an animation supervisor.

Find Caitlin online:

www.caitlinmenard.com

Who she encourages us to check out:

Erica Worthylake - https://www.instagram.com/eworthylake/?hl=en

Sarah Anne Davis -  https://sarah-anne-davis.com/?page_id=38

Anastasia Boguslavskaya -  https://www.instagram.com/anastasia_bogu/

Scott Ferguson - https://www.instagram.com/scotthferguson/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation. and Diverse Toons.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about Dino Ranch!

Starting with today’s guest: production coordinator, Andrea Serralde!

Amazingly, Andrea saw Dino Ranch at its earliest development stages. Interested at the first mention of dinosaurs, she later found herself working on the show as a production coordinator! In this interview, we discuss how she became an accent coach to Miguel’s voice actor, how she stays organized and on top of her responsibilities, along with her best kept Google productivity secrets, and how she determines priorities when everything is a priority.

Find Andrea online:

LinkedIn

Instagram

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about Dino Ranch!

Starting with today’s guest: animation writer, Caitlin Langelier!

Falling in love with TV at an early age, Caitlin kept that fire alive well into adulthood. She shares how she transitioned from stand up comedy to animation, how she pitched herself as a writer, how an elusive writers summit invite turned into her pitching her own ideas for future episodes, and the joys of working as a production coordinator and writer on the adorable preschool show, Dino Ranch!

Find Caitlin online @catelangelier 

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This is part 2 of my interview with writer, Mia Resella!

From studying at UC Santa Barbara to getting their MFA at UCLA, Mia went on to write for studios such as Nickelodeon, Disney, Wild Canary, Dreamworks, Bad Robot, and more! They also participated in the Nickelodeon Writing Program! We discuss why getting to know yourself is super important in the creative process as well as why we should note our personal privileges when thinking about how to pay it forward to others. They also believe we should not only mentor new voices, but follow through in promoting them!

Find Mia online:

https://www.miaresellaisagrownup.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, and LatinX in Animation.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is writer, Mia Resella!

From studying at UC Santa Barbara to getting their MFA at UCLA, Mia went on to write for studios such as Nickelodeon, Disney, Wild Canary, Dreamworks, Bad Robot, and more! They also participated in the Nickelodeon Writing Program! We discuss why getting to know yourself is super important in the creative process as well as why we should note our personal privileges when thinking about how to pay it forward to others. They also believe we should not only mentor new voices, but follow through in promoting them!

This is part 1!

Find Mia online:

https://www.miaresellaisagrownup.com

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, and LatinX in Animation.

Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media: Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

*Note: With the name change, the transitioning of the title may be inconsistent across the web for a bit. Thanks for your patience!

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is post-production supervisor, Meghan Caporali!

After seeing How to Train Your Dragon, Meghan knew she wanted to work in Animation. But how would she get there? When there’s so much that you can’t control when looking for work, the one thing you can control is what you do- how you choose to prepare for what you want. Meghan shares what she’s learned through the winding road of internships, post-college classes, gigs in live action, and the moment she finally broke into animation. And you best believe, the learning doesn’t end there.

Find Meghan online:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghanecaporali/

---

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is writer and creator, Sandra Payne!

Sandra is a multi-faceted talent who has written for print, web, film, and TV, with titles you may have heard of like Barney and Friends, and Puppy Dog Pals. She shares how she found the writing path after a winding road of uncertainty, how she learned to give herself permission to greenlight her own projects to develop and create, as well as why she believes you should never give up.

Find Sandra online: www.spwrite.com

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Jean Kang!

With credits under her belt from companies like Dreamworks TV, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, IDW Publishing, Oddbot, and so many more, she shares what she’s learnt about staying sane while working hard! She believes we should take care of our mental health and remember that you don’t always have to be pushing self development. It’s ok to take time for yourself and have other interests and hobbies! It’s such a nice reminder! She also shares her love for various anime as well as how she’s accepted that she’ll constantly be evolving as a creative the more jobs she gets and things she learns about her craft and herself.

Find Jean online: https://www.jeandrawsstuff.com

-----

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guests is May Grehan, Writer and Director of the film, "Zombie Bro"!

May is an actor turned writer and director, who saved up her own money to produce her debut indie feature film, Zombie Bro. She shares how she found mentorship, how she figured out how to make a film along the way with the help of like-minded and passionate people, and she gives us tons of behind the scene details that went into the making of her indie film, "Zombie Bro."

"Francine is a normal ten-year-old girl living with a not-so-normal family. Teddie, her older brother, is a zombie.  When Francine catches her brother, biting someone, she doesn’t know what to do. But when people all around Francine start turning into zombies, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the family tries to stop the apocalypse armed with her father’s impressive blowgun collection and not-so-impressive policeman’s expertise, they must work together to save the town!"

Zombie Bro available on digital now! https://www.zombiebromovie.com

Find May online: https://www.maygrehan.com

-----

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guests are from Animation Wild Card!

Alexis Deprey, production designer designer and art director from Threadwood

Cami Kwan, creative producer from Apartment D

Casey Follen, assistant director and production manager from Catalyst Castle

All from boutique animation studios prolific in their work and driven by their love of animation!

When the pandemic shut down most of the entertainment industry back in March 2020, this group of stop motion creatives found themselves stuck at home in quarantine and decided to band together to create Animation Wild Card- a light-hearted collection of animated short-shorts curated into episodes and streamed online which you can view on their YouTube channel. 

The animated shorts range in styles and flair. They’re all very unique and will be a welcome joy in your day!

Find Animation Wild Card online: https://animationwildcard.com

-----

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Keely Propp!

With a handful of animated features under her belt like “The Addams Family,” “The Willoughbys,” Guillermo del Toro’s brutalist fable-take on “Pinocchio,” and others, Keely is a storyboarding machine! But just because she’s talented and prolific, doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to work through rough drawing days like the rest of us. She shares how she gets jobs, keeps them, and how you can, too. She’s always looking to improve her working habits and greatly believes in the power of mentorship.

Find Keely online: https://keelypropp.squarespace.com

-----

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about the writers and artists of the Amazon series “PETE THE CAT” produced at Surfer Jack.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Fadia Alhallak!

Fadia’s journey has taken her from being a child of war in Syria to an animation professional in America. She shares how having survivor’s guilt from the war torn area inspired her emotional college thesis film, Jasmine, and she continues to carry the weight of the people she wants to give a voice to. While she’s at the start of her career, she is proud to have made it this far! In our conversation, we discuss why quitting was never an option, how she adapted along the way, how every experience- success or failure- leads you to becoming a stronger person-- they don’t call it growing pains for nothing.

Find Fadia online:

https://www.fadiaalhallakart.com

-----

This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about the writers and artists of the Amazon series “PETE THE CAT” produced at Surfer Jack.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Patricia Pham!

She straddled academics and pursued animation in college until she was sure she could follow her heart and commit full throttle. While she didn’t quite know where she wanted to be inside the industry, an internship at Nickelodeon exposed her to all the variety of roles there are that aren’t always discussed in college. Though she never thought she wanted to be a storyboard artist, she found herself crossing over from production to art clean up and a couple gigs later, she’s a storyboard artist!

Find Patricia online:

https://www.artbypatriciapham.com/

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about the writers and artists of the Amazon series “PETE THE CAT” produced at Surfer Jack.

Today’s guest is storyboard artist, Whitney Tang!

In college, she was undeclared, starting out in industrial design until she found her way to animation. She’s worked on projects for Warner Brothers like Young Justice and some of the Lego DC movies like Aquaman - Rage of Atlantis, and DC Super Hero Girls, as well as Amazon’s “Pete the Cat.” In our chat, she shares why networking is so important to thriving in the industry, how she boards action sequences, pre-school song sequences, and why she enjoys both!

Find Whitney online:

http://www.whitneytang.com

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about the writers and artists of the Amazon series “PETE THE CAT” produced at Surfer Jack.

Today’s guest is writer, Lexie Kahanovitz!

From New York to Los Angeles, Lexie climbed the ladder from production assistant to story editor over the course of working on various animated tv shows. She shares how creating her own show, The Super Fun Show with Learning, along the way opened doors, about her long journey to getting a foot into the industry, and the joy of working on the adorable Amazon Prime show, Pete the Cat.

Find Lexie online:

@superfunshowwithlearning

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

This week is all about the writers and artists of the Amazon series “PETE THE CAT” produced at Surfer Jack.

Today’s guest is writer, Eva Konstantopolous!

Eva’s journey from development assistant to staff writer for beloved preschool animated shows is a winding one. One that includes a horror novella and a film adaptation along the way that you can now see on Netflix. She shares how she won’t stay in one lane, how writing genre is similar to writing for animation, as well as her optimistic and healthy views on rejection.

Find Eva online:

@robot_eva

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is Senior Lighting Technical Director, Jasmine Katatikarn!

Jasmine currently works at Blue Sky Studios and her lighting credits span multiple projects that include Ferdinand, Peanuts, Rio 2, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Rio, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Ghost Town, and The Nanny Diaries. But the project that really lights her heart up is the online school that she created along with fellow lighting artist, Mike Tanzillo, called The Academy of Animated Art. 

This is a different way of educating students on the non-animation disciplines of animated features and visual effects. Their Academy is designed to be affordable and accessible to everyone looking to get started in computer graphics or expanding their existing knowledge in this ever-changing industry.

Find The Academy of Animated Art online:

https://academyofanimatedart.com

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is producer, director, writer, and artist, Thandiwe Mlauli!

Thandiwe founded Studio Yezi to focus on developing animated stories for African audiences and is passionate about equalising the playing field for black creatives on the continent & in the world. Her first development is a short film called "Sola"!

In this episode, we discuss her thoughts on not seeking permission, leadership as a role of service to others, animation as play, the importance of having a support system, why it's important for us to show up for ourselves and be willing to transform, and so much more.

Here’s how you can help make Sola happen!

1. Donate to their fundraising campaign on Jumpstarter
2. Follow @StudioYezi and share their Sola graphic and tag your post with #makesolahappen

If you’re unable to make a donation, sharing the word with your friends is free and still helps!

Find Thandiwe and Studio Yezi online: https://www.studioyezi.co.za

@studioyezi

@heythandi

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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation womeninanimation.org

"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is background painter and illustrator, Jessica Kleinman!

From pre-school to adult animated series, Jessica has worked on shows like "Disney Jr. Nursery Rhymes" to "We Bare Bears" to "Thundercats Roar" to "Bojack Horseman" and more! She talks about hoping for freelance to lead to in-house gigs, moving to LA with her significant other who’s also in animation, as well as how she’s been able to adapt to each new experience along the way in this ever unpredictable landscape of animation.

*Please note that this interview was recorded in December 2019

Find Jessica online: jessicakleinman.com

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Women in Animation Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Adam Holmes

This is part 5 of our Anime & Manga conversation with Vivian Lee and Vanessa Yee!

Vanessa Yee is a Chinese American female and third generation Angeleno. She directed "The Laundromat", a documentary about issues of silence, shame, and cyclical family dynamics for Asian Americans and hosts "The Bull and The Badger" podcast which further explores this conversation. Vanessa is passionate about giving tools to the Asian American community!

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com/podcast

Vivian Lee was born in Japan and grew up reading manga and watching anime. She is an associate producer at Walt Disney Imagineering and is passionate about storytelling and animation!

https://www.instagram.com/vyumemi/

Adam Holmes is a storyboard artist working in the Animation industry. He and our guests met in college at UCLA where they bonded over anime and manga, and brought us all together for this series!

http://www.superadamworld.com

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Women in Animation: Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Adam Holmes

This is part 4 of our Anime & Manga conversation with Vivian Lee and Vanessa Yee!

Vanessa Yee is a Chinese American female and third generation Angeleno. She directed "The Laundromat", a documentary about issues of silence, shame, and cyclical family dynamics for Asian Americans and hosts "The Bull and The Badger" podcast which further explores this conversation. Vanessa is passionate about giving tools to the Asian American community!

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com/podcast

Vivian Lee was born in Japan and grew up reading manga and watching anime. She is an associate producer at Walt Disney Imagineering and is passionate about storytelling and animation!

https://www.instagram.com/vyumemi/

Adam Holmes is a storyboard artist working in the Animation industry. He and our guests met in college at UCLA where they bonded over anime and manga, and brought us all together for this series!

http://www.superadamworld.com

-----

Women in Animation: Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Adam Holmes

This is part 3 of our Anime & Manga conversation with Vivian Lee and Vanessa Yee!

Vanessa Yee is a Chinese American female and third generation Angeleno. She directed "The Laundromat", a documentary about issues of silence, shame, and cyclical family dynamics for Asian Americans and hosts "The Bull and The Badger" podcast which further explores this conversation. Vanessa is passionate about giving tools to the Asian American community!

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com/podcast

Vivian Lee was born in Japan and grew up reading manga and watching anime. She is an associate producer at Walt Disney Imagineering and is passionate about storytelling and animation!

https://www.instagram.com/vyumemi/

Adam Holmes is a storyboard artist working in the Animation industry. He and our guests met in college at UCLA where they bonded over anime and manga, and brought us all together for this series!

http://www.superadamworld.com

-----

Women in Animation: Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Adam Holmes

This is part 2 of our Anime & Manga conversation with Vivian Lee and Vanessa Yee!

Vanessa Yee is a Chinese American female and third generation Angeleno. She directed "The Laundromat", a documentary about issues of silence, shame, and cyclical family dynamics for Asian Americans and hosts "The Bull and The Badger" podcast which further explores this conversation. Vanessa is passionate about giving tools to the Asian American community!

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com/podcast

Vivian Lee was born in Japan and grew up reading manga and watching anime. She is an associate producer at Walt Disney Imagineering and is passionate about storytelling and animation!

https://www.instagram.com/vyumemi/

Adam Holmes is a storyboard artist working in the Animation industry. He and our guests met in college at UCLA where they bonded over anime and manga, and brought us all together for this series!

http://www.superadamworld.com

-----

Women in Animation: Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday and guest host, Adam Holmes

This is part 1 of our Anime & Manga conversation with Vivian Lee and Vanessa Yee!

Vanessa Yee is a Chinese American female and third generation Angeleno. She directed "The Laundromat", a documentary about issues of silence, shame, and cyclical family dynamics for Asian Americans and hosts "The Bull and The Badger" podcast which further explores this conversation. Vanessa is passionate about giving tools to the Asian American community!

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com

https://www.thelaundromatdoc.com/podcast

Vivian Lee was born in Japan and grew up reading manga and watching anime. She is an associate producer at Walt Disney Imagineering and is passionate about storytelling and animation!

https://www.instagram.com/vyumemi/

Adam Holmes is a storyboard artist working in the Animation industry. He and our guests met in college at UCLA where they bonded over anime and manga, and is who brought us all together for this series.

http://www.superadamworld.com

-----

Women in Animation: Website womeninanimation.org

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

This is another interview in our Parenting in Animation series!

Hosted by Katya Bowser

Today’s guest is visual development artist, Xochitl Thienes!

With the long term goal of breaking into the animation industry, Xochitl found herself 8 months pregnant when she got the phone call that she got a prop designer job on Nickelodeon’s "The Casas Grandes." She shares with us the emotional rollercoaster of getting pregnant when you haven’t made it to your goals, how she handled the eternal question: to take a maternity leave or not, and how she asked for what she needed from her partner, friends, and even production team.

When people say you can’t have both, Xochitl recommends to not listen. You can have both. It’s hard work, but stay positive.

Foot note: This interview was recorded in late 2019.

Find Xochitl online: www.xochitlthienesart.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is script coordinator and writer, Christina Kishpaugh!

What I adore about Christina, is that she is herself in any room she walks into. But in a professional environment where others can sometimes try to put you in a box of how an assistant should act or speak, it’s a challenge to be yourself! She shares with us how she manages others' expectations while living up to her own, how she began her Hollywood journey at an agency and landed on the Disney Jr show, “Mira,” and how she uses her personal podcast projects as research and development for her writing career.

Find Christina online: @stinakish on Instagram!

Her podcasts:

Drinks and Disney

Dreadful Dames

Jammiest Bits of Jam

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday with guest host, Stephanie Meyer!

Today’s guest is director and animator, Careen Ingle!

With experience as a freelance and in-house artist, Careen has done work for Dreamworks TV, Warner Brothers, and even for late night shows like Conan O’Brien and Samantha Bee! She even teaches a film workshop at CalArts where she guides students to make their film in a year. We discuss her rise from freelance filmmaker/animator to storyboard artist to director, getting your projects done even when you’re working full-time, and being respectfully outspoken.

Find Careen online: www.careeningle.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is creator, Ashlyn Anstee!

Ashlyn is an amalgamation of all that she loves. She’s a writer, author, illustrator, and storyboard artist- not only writing and storyboarding for animation, but she writes and illustrates her own adorable kid’s books. With a reservoir full of stories she wants to tell across these mediums, one has to wonder how she can stay so productive! She shares with us her journey from Canada to LA, and how she protects and manages her time as well as her mental health. 

Find Ashlyn online: www.ashlyna.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is production manager, Tiara Little!

She’s worked for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and is now at Netflix. With a bright eyed bushy tailed beginning as an intern at Nick, she went on up the production path from production assistant to coordinator to where she is now as a production manager. She shares what drives her to be better every single day, how she transitioned from being managed to managing others, and how she came to create her mentoring services called “No Hiatus” as well as her podcast, “The Animated Question.”

Find Tiara online: https://www.nohiatus.org

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is character designer, Melany Altuna! 

Melany currently designs on the Disney Jr. show “Puppy Dog Pals” at Wild Canary, and has worked for clients such as Nick Jr., WB, Sesame Street, and Spin Master, to name a few. Originally from Venezuela, she shares with us her journey to becoming an artist and to moving to LA to make her dreams come true. But even though she’s left, she shares with us why it’s always on her mind and what she can do in it’s time of turmoil and political upheaval while still creating loveable pre-school characters at work.

Find Melany online at www.melanyaltuna.net

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is storyboard revisionist, Kristen Pileri! 

She shares how she went from production assistant to storyboard revisionist and how she pushed herself forward even when she felt all her hard work wouldn’t pay off. 

Some people love working in production, but it just wasn’t for her. She did her job the best she could, but at some point, she decided to stand up for herself and not to let anyone forget that she wanted to be an artist. Meanwhile, she is a champion of camaraderie among the crew and loves to promote a healthy work/life balance as much as possible.

Find Kristen on Twitter!

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

Today’s guest is writer and creator, Emily Brundige!

Emily is a writer and creator, having created the hit Shut Up! Cartoons series “Pubertina” for YouTube, as well as most recently developed “Harvey Girls Forever!” for Dreamworks TV and Netflix. But her accolades don’t stop there, she’s also voiced the character of Sara in the Cartoon Network mini-series “Over the Garden Wall.” A prolific writer working in development and staffed on series, she even made time to create and produce the animated short film, “Goldie.” An hour isn’t enough time to pick Emily’s brain, but we can try.

https://www.emilybrundige.com

Watch her short film "GOLDIE" here!

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday

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Today's guest is Lizzie Waterworth! She's a BAFTA nominated voice artist, for her title role in the British animated series, “Horrid Henry.” With various animation credits including Team Jay, Alphablocks, and Bob the Builder to name a few, she shares with us how she found her way into this industry, what keeps her creative, and the exciting new project that drops on Digital and DVD today, on April 7th called STRIKE.

STRIKE is a stop-motion film, produced by GiggleFish studios, and is a coming of age, heart warming story of the struggle for Mungo to save not only his family, but his community and achieve his dream of playing Soccer for his country in the Wild Cup in Russia. 

For more info on this film, visit: https://strikethefilm.com/about

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

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Today’s episode is about International Artists and navigating the Visa Process from two amazing artists who have been through it themselves. Storyboard Artist, Yvonne Hsuan Ho and Prop Designer, Nooree Kim, are passionate animation professionals from Taiwan and Canada, who have moved to the U.S. to plant their roots, but have found that being residental aliens certainly has its restrictions. Curious? Let’s get into it!

Find Nooree & Yvonne online:

https://www.hsuanho.com

https://nooreekim.tumblr.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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Today's guest is background painter and visual development artist, Audrey Gonzalez.

“Be prepared. Be genuine.”

These words are my favorite take away from speaking with Audrey, and I can’t wait for you to take a listen! We discuss being in the right place and right time and how it really doesn’t matter if you’re not prepared for that opportunity. She shares the research process that goes into working on an animated series inspired by latin cultures, how she came up with personal rates for freelance opportunities, and how she’s used social media to connect to a community when she wasn't near one. Audrey started the portfolio day hashtag on Twitter and Instagram where she promotes artists who are ready for opportunity and looking for work! She’s genuine and lovely and I can’t wait for you to meet her.

A wonderful interview to get you pumped for 2020.

Find Audrey online: https://www.thatsaud.com 

Find Portfolio Day online: https://twitter.com/PortfolioDay_

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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Today's guest is Kate Moran, freelance writer and production secretary. She worked her way from barista to temp positions to finally production secretary on beloved Disney shows like Gravity Falls and Mickey’s Roadster Racers where she’s often found in the writers room! Among many topics, we discuss how she doesn’t wait for an invitation or permission to create, why it’s so important to be a midnight donatello (also the name of her podcast about creativity!), and how kindness is a strength.

Find Kate online: www.thewildhuntstudios.com

Find her podcast, Midnight Donatellos, online: https://anchor.fm/midnight-donatellos?fbclid=IwAR3tV0f7ofQKnAvK6O7VS5cNLENEr_69t89DUBCuik8f5NX9GpaUVcv19v4

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

This is another installment of our "Parenting in Animation" series.

Hosted by Katya Bowser and Cassie Soliday.

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From India to Los Angeles, Pragya Tomar has been working in CG animation at places like Disney Feature and Nickelodeon for over a decade.  As a working parent, she’s open about the successes, struggles, and what she likes to call, “happy compromises.” We discuss how she makes creativity a bonding experience with her daughter, how she is plotting a career change into writing for TV and children’s books, and how to ask for what you need from your production to live your best family life at home.

Find Pragya online: Portfolio: https://www.penmagicbooks.com

*Please note that this interview was recorded in 2018.

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Katya online: Portfolio: http://www.katyabowser.com

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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Today's guest is Laura Hohman, CG texture artist and supervisor. Originally shooting for the stars and dreaming of being an astronaut at NASA, Laura pivoted to working in 3D still fueled by her affinity for physics. She got her first job on Nickelodeon’s 2012 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and she has been texturing ever since. We discuss the ebb and flow of CG and 2D in the TV Animation Industry, how she supervises a team, how to use bad advice to motivate you, and much more.

Find Laura online: Portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/laurahohman

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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Today's guest is Mary Bellamy, author, illustrator, and animator! With over 14 graphic novels and 1,000 comic pages under her belt, Mary is the epitome of a self-made independent publisher with her titles such as Faux Facts and Ah, Heck! This drive to produce a huge body of work has brought Marvel and My Little Pony knocking on her metaphorical door. We discuss how she boiled her creative process down to a science, how she was tired of the typical girl tropes in stories so she created her own graphic novels to show what she wishes she could have read when she was growing up, and how she speaks into her own pain by creating honest and authentic work in hopes of connecting with others so they know to keep hope alive. 

Find Mary online: http://www.marybellamy.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is Christa Carr, 2D animator and character designer!

Christa shares how she went from Buffalo, NY, to Los Angeles and the stops in between, how she thoughtfully chose what film festivals to submit her thesis film, with the audience in mind, and why it’s important that she be the role model she wished she had growing up and watching animation.

Find Christa online: https://www.christa-carr.com

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is 2D animator, Jessica Honore!

Jessica shares how she went from a small city in Texas to studying animation and interning at Titmouse in the Big Apple, New York City, how she takes a storyboard and goes into animation, and about her transition from paper to digital.

Find Jessica online: https://vimeo.com/user1711392

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

-----

To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

---

This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is animator, Leah Coleman!

Leah discusses the animation process for the documentary, how she balances grad school with working on it, and how she tries to not compare her timeline with anyone else’s. Afterall, she runs on Leah-time.

Find Leah online: https://www.leahcoleman15.com

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

-----

To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

---

This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is Ariel Paxton, 2D animator and storyboard artist!

Ariel discusses how she works on her graduate thesis while working a job while animating on this documentary, how she researched Sammus before diving into the project, and how she applies her passion to work.

Find Ariel online: https://www.arielpaxton.com

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

-----

To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

---

This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is Brooklyn Lee, animator and character designer!

Brooklyn discusses how she made a sketchbook her safe haven to be herself and explore her feelings, how she left retail to find a day job that allowed her mind space to create, and how she creates with her little sister in mind!

Find Brooklyn online: https://www.bmoranlee.art

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday.

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This week is all about the animators of the inspiring documentary about rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, also known as Sammus, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo! With 12 minutes of hand-drawn animation, I just had to have these animators on the show.

Today's guest is Shammah McCoy, storyboard artist, animator, and associate producer!

Shammah discusses the animation process for the documentary, her longing to see herself represented in the media when she was growing up and how it fuels what she creates today, as well as how she learned to be kinder to herself because she is not an art-making machine!

Find Shammah online: https://hellochamah.tumblr.com

https://vimeo.com/190128289

For more information and to contribute to the ENONGO animation fund, check out their Indiegogo page:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/enongo-animation-fund#/

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Do you love the pastel look of the Chernabog and the whole sequence of Night on Bald Mountain in the animated film Fantasia?

Do you love hearing about women in the ink and paint department getting promoted to assistant animation and inbetweening?

Do you love horror and monster movies? 

Or maybe the Gil-man from The Creature from the Black Lagoon haunts your dreams...

Get ready to meet the creator of that creature as we fly back through history in celebration of MILICENT PATRICK!

Hosted by Rebecca Nelson and Cassie Soliday.

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The episode artwork of Milicent was created by Cassie Soliday.

http://www.casassy.com

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BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RESOURCES USED

Books: O'Meara, Mallory (2019). The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick. Toronto: Hanover Square Press. ISBN 9781335937803.

Websites: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/books/review/creature-from-the-black-lagoon-lady-mallory-omeara.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milicent_Patrick

https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-lady-from-the-black-lagoon-review-20190301-story.html

http://blog.calarts.edu/2019/03/19/honoring-chouinard-alum-and-legendary-monster-designer-milicent-patrick/

https://spinemagazine.co/articles/mallory-omeara

Hosted by Cassie Soliday with guest host, Yvonne Hsuan Ho.

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Today's guest is Nooree Kim. She’s been a character designer, prop designer, storyboard revisionist, animator, and ultra-talented gif creator, and has worked on shows like We Bare Bears, Adventure Time and PAW Patrol. Originally from Canada, and graduated from Sheridan College, she made her way to the American hub of Animation, Los Angeles. We discuss how she keeps her passion lit and creative well filled, how she developed her sense of humor and how that affects her design process, and so much more!

Find Nooree online: https://nooreekim.tumblr.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Yvonne online: Portfolio: https://www.hsuanho.com

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Hosted by Cassie Soliday with guest host, Nooree Kim.

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Today's guest is Yvonne Hsuan Ho, a storyboard and comic artist, currently storyboarding on Cartoon Network’s “We Bare Bears." She also makes super cute-funny comics about her life. We discuss the journey from living in Taiwan to making the move to America, how she mixes cute and gross to make hilarious comics and storyboards, and how she mines her life for her storytelling.

Find Yvonne online: https://www.hsuanho.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Nooree online: Portfolio: https://nooreekim.tumblr.com

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

The "Parenting in Animation" series will be sporadic interviews with parents working in Animation, deep dives into topics as they relate to the industry, as well as Q&As from YOU, our listeners.

We want to have a loving home life with kids, and not worry that our careers will suffer because of it. Let's explore the subject together!

Hosted by Katya Bowser and Cassie Soliday.

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Today's guest is Teri Cusumano, color supervisor and background painter extraordinaire! Not only do we talk parenthood with her, but also about her journey into animation. Having over 11 years experience working in the Industry, you can see her work on shows like Final Space, Bunnicula, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, The Life and Times of Tim, and most recently is working over at Bento Box. We discuss transparency about your pregnancy with your producers, how to ask for what you need (whether it's to work from home or a room at work to pump), and why it's important to stand up for what you think is right-- lifting others up in your same craft.

Find Teri online: https://www.tericusumano.com

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To submit your questions for future episode Q&A or to recommend someone to be interviewed, please email inkandpaintgirlspodcast@gmail.com!

Find Katya online: Portfolio: http://www.katyabowser.com

Find Cassie online: Portfolio: http://www.casassy.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter @InkNPaintGirls Instagram @inkandpaintgirls

Monica Orange loves animation, studied it in college, currently works at Disneyland in creative costuming, but she is dead set on getting a position in TV animation as a background artist. Listen in as we discuss the steps she is taking to get to her dream job, how she cultivates friendships (aka networking), and how she bounced back after going down a detour to Florida. 

Monica's website: https://www.monicaorange.com

Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

If you’re like me, you’re gonna wanna bust out the travel palette and go paint some New Mexico sunsets after listening to the passions and thoughts of today’s guest, Chloe Bristol. Visual Development Artist who has worked in TV and Feature animation at places like Disney, Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, Duncan, as well as the kids book series “Winter House”. I can’t forget to mention she worked on the animated sequence in the new Mary Poppins Returns! If you have’t seen it yet, you’ll have to check it out! A life-time fan of design who dreams of Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo, and Southwest landscapes, Chloe shares how much pure and uncontrollable chance can play in your career, the benefits of knowing your habits and patterns, and how to play to those instead of forcing yourself into a mold.

Find Chloe online: www.chloebristol.com

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Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Storyboard Artist and all-around lovely person, Lila Martinez has come a long way in distance and perseverance to make her childhood dreams of animation a reality. Leaving Mexico City to study in Vancouver, Canada, and then bouncing between Mexico City and Los Angeles to build her career, we have plenty to talk about on today’s episode! We discuss her experience working in both the Mexican and American industries across Feature and TV Animation, her personal storyboarding process and creative strategies, as well as how she navigates the visa process.

Find Lila Martinez on the web! www.lilastory.com

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Ink and Paint Girls on Social Media: Twitter: @InkNPaintGirls Instagram: @inkandpaintgirls

Today we tease the season as well as do a personal check-in with our crew of producer/hosts, Katya Bowser, Rebecca Nelson, Breana Williams, and Cassie Soliday.

Katya Bowser ("Parenting in Animation" series producer)

www.katyabowser.com

@katyabowserart

Rebecca Nelson (history profile series producer)

@happyquips

Breana Williams (storyboard co-host)

www.breanawilliams.com

www.blacknanimated.podbean.com