Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Hi, I’m Kati Prescott and I’m a Background Designer, Background Painter and Background Supervisor based in Glendale, California. I am a native Angeleno who grew up in the North Hollywood/Valley Glen area.
Growing up in Los Angeles, I had some exposure to animation at a young age since my mom worked in the legal department at Walt Disney Television Animation. I was always excited to visit her office and see adults acting silly while also making beautiful art. I knew I wanted to do something like that but wasn’t sure what.
I ended up moving to San Francisco to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art Painting at San Francisco State University. I’m so thankful for this training because it really pushed and informed my abilities as a painter. However, I kept feeling drawn toward animation and ended up returning to it with an internship at Disney in 2007, and later landing my first animation gig there as a background painter for Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
At first it was just getting my foot in the door. It took a while to return to the industry full time after my first few opportunities ended—especially since I started my career in 2009, right as the recession was happening and jobs were pretty scarce.
Later my challenges were centered around keeping up with the fast pace of TV animation. I’ve lost a few job opportunities due to time management struggles. I was only recently diagnosed with ADD, and it was honestly such a relief. For years I blamed myself for my shortcomings. But ever since my diagnosis, I’ve been able to let go of much negative self-talk and focus more on adjusting my workflow around my neurodivergent habits. It’s been freeing to better understand myself and how I relate to work.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
Stylewise, my main influences are Mary Blair, Eyvind Earle, and Scott Wills. I love how they push the medium to be more painterly and exaggerated with color and shape. I’m a big fan of how Kali Ciesemier and Chris Turnham paint with such a graphic style while also being so detailed, really saying so much with less. I’m also eternally grateful to have spent time and been mentored by so many amazing artists growing up at Disney. Jose Zelaya, Jim Schlenker, and Alan Bodner were all huge influences to me.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
Of course I want to continue to develop as a Background Painter and Designer. I’d also love the opportunity to be a BG Supervisor again—I learned so much being BG Supervisor on Praise Petey. It gave me the ability to share my experience with newer artists just starting their career journey.
In addition to that, I want to help create more welcoming and encouraging work environments for future artists. My career has been such a journey—starting, stopping, and starting all over again, really triggering an imposter syndrome that I think a lot of us share. But I’m grateful for the animation community and all the people I’ve met that encouraged me to keep going and persevere. I’ve always loved how animation continues to be a team sport where cool people get together to make cool things. I want to extend the positive work environments I’ve experienced over the years to new artists entering the industry so we can continue making cool and inspiring work.
What does being in the Union mean to you?
Being part of a community and having more protection in the entertainment field. I feel less vulnerable knowing that I’m not alone and there is some collective power behind us to keep studios more accountable. The Union has had a positive impact on my pay rates, my health insurance, and my overall work/life balance. Also, coming out of lockdown just highlighted how valuable community and social connections are and not to take them for granted. I love reconnecting with friends/former co-workers at Guild meetings and events. It’s a nice reminder of how valuable it is to be a part of something much bigger than myself.
See more of Kati’s work at her website.
Follow her on Instagram.
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