Tell us a little about yourself and your career.
I’ve worn many hats: Animator, Animation Director, Designer. Most recently, I’ve worked as a Compositor and Color Designer on shows like Scavengers Reign and The Mighty Nein. I also like to use my art for causes I care about. I founded Left Cliq, a volunteer organization that connected nonprofits with artists, and produced our own political art. I’ve been focusing my personal work more on design and illustration, because I love how much story you can tell with just a few images. It’s too easy to take my artwork so seriously, it takes the fun out of it, so I like to have lots of hobbies. I play clarinet, write, cook, bike, ski, SCUBA dive, and paint rocks to hide around my neighborhood.
What challenges have you faced in navigating a career in animation?
I spent years doing so many random freelance gigs, I don’t even remember them all. Some good, mostly bad. I learned a lot, and I don’t regret a single one. My first real “job” was Quibi, of all places. I had started talking to my co-workers about unionizing our production when we all got laid off. I finally got a Union job when a friend of mine recommended me for a job he was leaving. I’ll be forever grateful to him. It’s nearly impossible to get a job with a cold-call application. Artistic communities are vital, and undervalued, for the trust required to build a good team.
Who are your inspirations in the field of animation?
I grew up in Sebastopol, California, the longtime home of Charles Schulz. The Schulz Museum in neighboring Santa Rosa has an interactive zoetrope exhibit allowing kids to draw their own animation strips. I’ve always wanted to create the kinds of stories that brought me joy and helped me understand what it is to be a person in this world. Peanuts did that, and knowing Schulz was just a person drawing on paper every day inspired me to try to give that joy back to others.
What do you hope to accomplish as an artist in the animation industry?
I don’t know what the future of our industry holds. I’d love to continue working on meaningful shows with such amazing artists. If the small handful of consolidated companies holding access to capital hostage don’t want to keep connecting audiences with great art, we must roll up our sleeves and figure out ways to do it ourselves. I’m working on figuring out how to be a producer of animated features so I can help make that happen. I’m also working on illustrations for a book and a board game that I hope to publish.
What does being in the Union mean to you?
I believe in democracy. A radical idea these days. We shouldn’t just vote for a king every four years, we should have more say in the forces controlling our everyday lives. The Animation Guild allows us some say in our workplace conditions and career prospects. Unions are an important mechanism for workers in our current economic system. I was proud to help with the most recent TAG Executive Board elections. I feel in the future, though, we artists and workers must form democratically run, worker cooperatives to be the masters of our own destiny.
Learn more about Connor at his website.
