Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
Hello there! My name is Maggie (they/them)—I am a first-generation Polish American and a chaotic-good story artist. I graduated in 2020 (what a year, am I right?) and broke into the industry in 2021 after refocusing my creativity from CG animation to storyboarding. I moved out to L.A. that same year and have been on the west coast since. I have worked on projects at Warner Bros. Animation and Nickelodeon, including Baby Shark’s Big Movie! and Monster High. I am also a TTRPG (tabletop role-playing game) master and am often worldbuilding when I am not storyboarding.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
Truthfully, my biggest challenge has been the recent job drought. The slow pace of new job openings just as I entered the industry has been a hard obstacle to work around. I have only worked a handful of jobs, and each of them came with long unemployment periods in between. Though it has been tough, I have been taking the time to help The Animation Guild through the Storyboard Committee, learn a few new skills, hone the ones I have, and maybe work on a personal project here and there. I am still facing the challenge (like many others in the industry), and maybe I will have to adapt to it in the near future, but I won’t let it stop me from telling stories.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
There are so many out there to list, but my earliest inspiration was Rankin/Bass’s The Last Unicorn. It was a movie that I watched as a kid and has stuck with me since I rewatched it as an adult. I’m also inspired by Polish folklore and stories that dive into the struggles of the real world through the fantastical.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
I dream of bringing voice to stories with nonbinary and gender nonconforming characters. I want to work on cartoons that little me would have benefited from, something that would have screamed: “Hey! You aren’t the only one feeling this way! You aren’t alone!”
What does being in the Union mean to you?
It means everything. When I joined the Union in 2021, I realized that I was joining a community. Everyone I have met through work and Union events has been so uplifting, and I have seen how ready we are to fight for one another’s livelihoods. The Union has brought me a lot of hope recently, and I cannot be more grateful for it. I feel lucky that I was able to find a community through TAG, especially through the Queer TAG Committee and Storyboard Committee.
Learn more about Maggie at their website.
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