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SUSAN MC KINSEY GOLDBERG is a renowned animation Art Director and Designer whose work has graced numerous feature films and theme park attractions in the United States, England, and Hong Kong. Her interest in the medium of animation reflects her encyclopedic knowledge of many other artistic disciplines, including Japanese art and textile design, children’s book illustration, costume design, wildlife painting and drawing, and graphic design for film and print.

In school, Susan won many local painting awards and competitions. Her interest in the animal kingdom (both artistic and conservation-oriented) led her to the Florida chapter of the National Audubon Society, where she served as Editor of their magazine. During her college years she received a scholarship and attended the fledgling Character Animation program at California Institute of the Arts. There she was taught first-hand by several of the great Disney animation artists, including director Jack Hannah, designer and story artist T. Hee, layout artist Ken O’ Connor, concept artist Elmer Plummer, and designer Bill Moore, who was among the first to notice Susan’s flair for design and color. This was followed soon by a stint in New York, working as a Background Artist for legendary MGM animator Jack Zander at his popular commercial production house, Zander’s Animation Parlour. It was during this time that she met her future husband Eric, on holiday from working in London, and since their marriage they have often had the enjoyable opportunity to work as a team on a variety of animation projects. (more…)

Toonin to the World of Animation with Robh Ruppel

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Robh Ruppel

Visual Development Artist, Art Director and Teacher Robh Ruppel has designed for film, television and print. He attended Art Center College of Design and has worked for a varied clientèle including Walt Disney Animation Studios, TV Guide, Boss Films, Naughty Dog and TSR.

“I love inventing worlds and the things in them. The thrill of seeing appear before you is pretty hard to match. In inventing things that don’t exist you’re part architect, part painter and part cameraman. It never gets boring.”

While at Disney Robh art directed Brother Bear and Meet the Robinsons. He’s currently working on conceptualizing a next-gen game at Naughty Dog Studios in Santa Monica California.

Artwork for Treasure Planet by Robh Ruppel

Robh Ruppel can be reached through his CTN Webpage.

ToonIn to the World of Animation “An Artist First”

A graduate of Cal Arts in the 70’s Mike Giaimo went through the training program at Walt Disney Feature Animation and held many creative positions culminating after his 18 collective years at the studio as Art Director and Production Designer. Join us with Annie Award winner Mike Giaimo while he talks with Tee Bosustow from ToonIn to the World of Animation about being an artist first in this new collaborative podcast series “From the Drawing Board Level”.

Mike Giaimo and Joe Ranft 1983 G Wing at Walt Disney Feature Animation
(Photo Care of George Scribner)

Click below listen to this great interview.

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“Inside UPA is a fantastic time-tripping device! The book’s rare candid and posed photos of the creators of those classic films, at work and at leisure, gave me a feeling of being at the UPA studio in its heyday.” ~John Canemaker

Click here if you are interested in purchasing “Inside UPA” and for more on this and many other artists from the world of animation please visit Toon In to the World of Animation .