Straight Ahead Animation Podcast

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

IG: @devinscribbles

Twitter: @devinScribbles

Art Station: https://www.artstation.com/scribblecat

Portfolio: http://devinscribbles.com/

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!

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

Tik Tok: @Milk_Thy

Instagram: @Milk_Thy

Tutorial>Skip?

Website: ⁠http://thydvo.com⁠

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!

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

Twitter: ⁠@yusrarts⁠

Instagram: ⁠@yusrarts⁠

Website: ⁠yusra.myportfolio.com⁠

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!

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

IG: @elliollin_

Twitter: @elliollin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliot-hs/

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!

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

Instagram: @ameetoe

Twitter: @ameetoe

Tumblr: ameetoe

Website: https://amiesanchez.wixsite.com/portfolio

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!

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

Meesh the Bad Demon: ⁠https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667597/meesh-the-bad-demon-1-by-michelle-lam/⁠

Instagram: @mewtripled

website: https://www.mewtripled.com/

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!

Najja Porter is a half-black, half-white artist working as a supervising director on Craig of the Creek. We talk about her time on a long-running project like Craig (4 years!) and the highs and lows that come with such a unique production. Najja also tells us the whirlwind tale of how she began moving from Tampa, Florida all the way to Los Angeles, California without even a job secured! She tells us all about her experience in the Nickelodeon Artist Program, and how that trained her to be an industry-ready professional. Aside from that, we get to chat about Phoenix Blade, her fantasy collaborative comic with Dashawn Mahone; and her slice of life comic, Falling Apples, an introspective look into her personal life on topics such as being poor, or micro aggression's as a mixed person of color. There's so much packed into this week's episode, so come have a laugh with us!

Instagram: @bloochikin

Twitter: @najja_porter

Tumblr: https://bloochikin.tumblr.com/

Website: http://www.najjaporter.com/

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!

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

Instagram: @tim3lesz_eddie

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.

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

IG: @harron_alexander

If you enjoy our podcast, please share it and rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. We want to expand our platform and amplify these BIPOC voices!

Meet Corinth Boone, a black artist from New Jersey who works as a Prop Designer for Cartoon Network! Although she lives in Los Angeles now, Corinth originally had to turn down CN's first offer since she wasn't ready to relocate. That opportunity would have been lost if Corinth didn't follow the #1 rule of job hunting: Always Follow-Up! During her time at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Corinth took a semester off to hone her portfolio and inadvertently did a little growing-up. As a prop designer, she not only draws hand-held props, but also furniture and even effects! So many adventures with Corinth on this week's episode of Straight Ahead!