Straight Ahead Animation Podcast

From storyboarding to making their own comics, Chinook Cartoonist Quinne Larsen is telling their own stories! Tune is as we talk about their graphic novel with First Second Publishing and how that came about. We also chat about their love for storyboarding musical sequences. Did we mention they're also in a band?

IG: @quinnecl

Portfolio: quinnelarsen.net

Edited by Edgar Arellano

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ⁠⁠ko-fi⁠⁠!

Humble and hungry, James imparts a wealth of knowledge from his career path from production to writer in animation. We also get to chat about his dissertation on the Evolution of the Disney Princess he wrote for his Master's of humanities. And finally, we all give the well-deserved flowers to the significant others in our lives.

IG: @rayoflight789

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ⁠⁠ko-fi⁠⁠!

Tune in as we talk to Haruka Sato, a Japanese concept artist working in Japan. Learn about all the different jobs Haruka worked until she landed her Background Painter role on an anime feature film.

Portfolio: https://harukasato.com/

IG: @here_is_haruka

Twitter: @here_is_haruka

Youtube: Make a Graphic Novel with ME! 2024

Edited by Edgar Arellano

Tune in as we talk to JohnTom Knight, a Cherokee Native writer working in animation. JohnTom mentions how the book We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy landed him his Script Coordinator Position on Spirit Rangers! We also talk about how on Spirit Rangers he became known as The Lore Keeper!

IG: @JohnTomKnight

Twitter: @JohnTomKnight

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ⁠ko-fi⁠!

Tune in as we talk to Kiana Khansmith, a Japanese/Jamaican artist working as a Director on Big City Greens at DTVA! We discuss her amazing rise from storyboard artist to director as well as her love for Team Rocket!

Edited by Ashley Itliong

We are still alive! We are back with a brand new season and a brand new look! Tune in as we touch base about our animation journey and our personal lives. We also give our thoughts about the current state of animation and the use of AI.

Ray's IG @radiosilence

Yuli's IG @chuudles

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ko-fi!

Time for a throwback! This is a recording from 2021 of a panel Straight Ahead hosted during Geek Girl Conline. We hosted a round table discussion with Samia Khalaf, Steph Rizo, and Li Cree. We take this rare opportunity to share some of the many different paths one can take breaking into the animation industry. We talk about personal pitfalls in our early years, and how relatable those experiences can be. Samia tells us about her film she painted in VR, Kteer Tayyeb, and why she chose to tell this story. Steph talks about working on the bluesky phase of feature film. Li tells us the "secret" to how she creates so many personal projects. This and so much more as we take a dive back in time!

Many thanks to Alyssa Askew, Alyssa Jones-Comtois, Marina Martinez, and the entire GGC staff for inviting us to host this event.

GGC - https://geekgirlcon.com/

Samia Khalaf - @samsoomfull (instagram)

Steph Rizo - @steph_rizo (instagram)

Li Cree - @li_cree (instagram)

Kelly Lynne D'Angelo (she/they) is a Native—Haudenosaunee Tuscarora and Muscowpetung Cree—writer for animation, live action, and musicals, who also plays D&D professionally. Kelly kicks-off by telling the most insane story about how she met the producers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia... who then gave her an internship! We get to chat about the process of Starry, a musical about brothers Theo and Vincent Van Gogh, and what magic happens in the writer's room before a production even begins. Outside of her career, we get to talk about Kelly's time as a professional Dungeon Master. From an online presence, to personal games run on Cruise ships, Kelly talks about how the storytelling informs her writing and vice versa. We touch on the subject of Native visibility, not only in the industry, but in America at large. Kelly has such a sense of adventure and will to connect with others, we are sure her story will connect with you.

Instagram: @KellyLynneDang

Twitter: @KellyLynneDang

Bluesky: kellylynnedang.bsky.social

Girls, Guts, Glory: girlsgutsgloryrpg.com

NDND (all native DnD campaign) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-XY8JUTCQ0

Starry (instagram): @starrymusical

Nicolette Ray is Native American, Acoma Pueblo, a storyboard artist and currently a game dev artist. She tells us about her strong start in animation, working for Wild Canary on Puppy Dog Pals for 5 years! We talk about work culture at Wild Canary, and the difference between working under Disney vs. Lucasfilm. We chat about her personal Native American Renaissance, as she dove into the history of her own people, and how connecting to those roots helped feed into her experience on Spirit Rangers. Also, Nicolette guides us through her journey struggling with mental health, and how the conversation opening up in society at large helped give her the courage to seek help. We are very fortunate to have had such a vulnerable and honest guest, and we hope her journey can help open up that conversation for you or someone you love.

Twitter: @unbadger

Instagram: @unbadgr

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcast & Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices! If you'd like to support us directly, we have a tip jar open at ⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com/straightaheadap