Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
As a kid, growing up in a small town in the Central Valley of California, watching cartoons was a big part of my life. Racing home, grabbing an after school snack, and catching my favorite show at 3 p.m. was filled with happy memories and a fascination with drawing and cartoons. My dad would bring stacks of recycled paper home from work for me and inspired me to keep drawing. When I got older, my high school art instructor asked us to put together a personal art project, and naturally I wanted to make a cartoon. At that time, no one around me knew much about how animation was made, including myself, but I knew I wanted to do something involving it. I decided to create a clay animated short. I used a small video camera, kids clay, and weird and wonky timing. It wasn’t very good, but it was fun and possibly the one project that led me into a lifelong passion for animation and design.
After high school, with the tremendous help of my family, I took various art and art-related classes in community college before I was accepted to CalArts, where I received a degree in Character Animation.
Since then, I’ve continued to live in SoCal and have had the opportunity to work for some really amazing studios. Over the years, I’ve taken on various roles in animation, such as Animator, Character and Prop Designer, Traditional and Digital Painter, Illustrator, Background Designer, and Background Painter, and I have also held the positions of Art Director and Lead. I’m currently a Background Designer for Disney TVA, but my previous clients and studios have included Netflix, DreamWorks, Universal, Bento Box, Nickelodeon, Titmouse, and more. I have learned so much over the last two decades, and it has been a fun and interesting journey filled with new experiences and many friendships.
In addition, over the past 10 years, in combination with my love for comics and animation, I developed and created my character HamCat and best friend, Rockwell the worm. It’s an original character that is featured in a weekly comic, in collaboration with my husband as a small family business. I have fun creating comedic situations and simple backgrounds for these characters and enjoy developing the personalities between them and creating new products for our shop.
When I first started out, just out of college, I felt rough and new to it all, but I’ve been very grateful to have opportunities where I can be creative and improve as I go. Today’s challenges, for so many, can take a lot out of you. A lot of artists are introverted and some are extroverted, but I feel I fall somewhere in-between, willing to be a leader but with butterflies in my stomach. It’s not always easy navigating through various personalities and pitfalls in this industry, but I try to stay positive, be nice, and work hard to get ahead.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
So many to list, but I grew up with traditional art and animation inspired by my high school and college mentors. Francie Caracker, Mike Mitchell, Corny Cole, and Frank Terry all taught me about patience, timing, and to love what you do. There are so many brilliant artists in animation right now, it’s tough to select just a name or two. However, I can say that I am really inspired by indie animated shorts and indie games. I feel both of these areas demand a lot of work, dedication, and courage. They create such beautiful moments, detailed stories, and at times, very innovative animation. I’m always excited to see more.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
I hope to improve and collaborate on fun, colorful projects as a Supervisor or Art Director. I also want to help create better working environments as a team, where everyone is able to contribute something and feel proud of it.
On the personal front, I would love to pitch my ideas for new shows and/or children’s books. Whether it’s a HamCat children’s book or a horror, comedy, sci-fi short, I would be excited to see a finished piece with my crazy ideas mixed in.
What does being in the Union mean to you?
It means to have connections with other artists and a support group in the industry. The Union provides great health insurance, benefits, and strives for fair wages for animation workers, and that is something that is so important in today’s world.
Learn more about Dee at her website.
Follow her on Instagram.
And follow the adventures on HamCat Instagram, as well.
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