Shadi Petosky is the co-founder of interactive media and animation studio, Puny Entertainment. She co-created the fast-paced, incessantly funny kids series, Danger and Eggs, for Amazon Prime. Chris Hardwick is an executive producer for the program. Danger and Eggs has been nominated for a Critic’s Choice award, an Annie Award, and a GLAAD award. It’s been widely praised for the inclusion of LGBT characters and themes. Shadi also has a number of other projects in production, notably the just announced animated series Twelve Forever, coming to Netflix in 2019.
Dominic Lewis – Composer, “DuckTales”, “Peter Rabbit”
Composer Dominic Lewis studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music, and has worked with Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman. His animated work includes Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph, and How to Train Your Dragon. He scored 3 seasons of Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, and soundtracks for Rough Night, Fist Fight, and Money Monster. He contributed music to Captain America: Winter Soldier, and X-Men: First Class. He’s currently composing for Disney’s XD’s DuckTales, and working on the upcoming feature film Peter Rabbit.
Rachel Vine – Animation Writer, “DuckTales”, “Rainbow Brite”
Rachel Vine is a Los Angeles-based freelance screenwriter with credits on 15 animated programs, including My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Wander Over Yonder, Dawn of the Croods, and Doc McStuffins. She helped develop the Rainbow Brite 2014 reboot mini-series for Hallmark, writing all 3 episodes. And her most recently aired script was the season premiere of the new Disney XD relaunch of DuckTales. We talk about her work on DuckTales, how she transitioned from an early career in feature films and television into animation with Rainbow Brite, the challenges of writing for shorter form programs and kids shows, and lots more.
Mike Collins – Animator, “The Mr. Peabody and Sherman Show”
Our guest this episode is illustrator and digital clean-up artist Mike Collins. His resume includes Adventure Time, Sym-Bionic Titan, Class of 3000, and several iterations of Ben 10. He worked on TV movies for The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, and on the award-winning Electric City series from Tom Hanks. Currently, he’s a digital clean-up artist at DreamWorks Animation, where he worked on four seasons of The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show for Netflix.
Victoria Ying – Illustrator, “Moana”, “Big Hero 6”, “Frozen”
In the first official episode of Animation Invasion, we talk with Victoria Ying, an author and illustrator who spent a number of years working for Disney Animation Studios. Her film credits include the recent hit Moana, as well as Big Hero 6, Wreck It Ralph, Tangled, Frozen, and the brilliant animated short, Paperman. She also spent a year as a visual development artist at Sony Pictures Animation. Victoria moonlights as an instructor who teaches art classes online at Brit.co, through the roving animation training academy Schoolism, and at Art Center College of Design. Outside of animation, Victoria provided the artwork for the tabletop game Bargain Quest, which just successfully funded on Kickstarter.
Linda Ballantyne – Voice Actor, “Sailor Moon” [Rebroadcast]
In this interview from the Nerd For A Living archive, we talk with Linda Ballantyne, a Canadian voice over artist who’s been working professionally in animation since the late 90s. She’s best known to fans of cartoons and anime as the voice of Sailor Moon, from the latter half of that series run in 2000. You can also hear her work in Avengers: United They Stand, Mia and Me, Toot & Puddle, Yin! Yang! Yo!, and the Care Bears. Linda currently balances a full slate of voice work in the busy Toronto media scene with convention appearances alongside several of her former Sailor Moon cast-mates.
Sarah Marino – Animation Artist, “Shimmer and Shine”, “The Book of Life” [Rebroadcast]
In this episode, we revisit our conversation with illustrator and animation artist Sarah Marino. Sarah currently works at Nickelodeon Animation Studios as a color supervisor on the Nick Jr series, Shimmer and Shine. She has also been a character designer and background painter on Shimmer and Shine, which is now in its third season. Before moving to Nickelodeon, Sarah was a visual development artist on the stunning animated feature film The Book of Life, from Reel FX. Sarah’s painted art appears both in the film and a number of the promotional materials and product tie-ins. We talk about Sarah’s education and artistic background, and how she transitioned from an early production coordinator gig into an artistic career.
Introduction to Animation Invasion
Animation Invasion examines careers in animated media through interviews with working industry creators. We talk with the people who make your favorite cartoons, films, and anime – including showrunners, artists, voice actors, writers, and more. Whether you’re trying to develop your career or just love learning about the medium, Animation Invasion gives you access to the knowledge and experience of professionals living the animated life. Hosted by Adron Buske. Part of the Nerd For A Living family of podcasts.