Assignment 01 Part 1

Camille Ligon

MA1134 Principles of 3D Modeling

Wednesday 1-5 PM

There are several artists who have influenced me to get in the animation field. Three that stand out to me with the type of work they do and that are currently working in the business are Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, and Matt Groening.

Seth MacFarlane, animator, writer, producer, actor, and creator of various cartoon shows is someone who is doing the type of work I wish to do some day.  Currently working with FOX and his own production company Fuzzy Door, MacFarlane has three shows running now, Family Guy which he created in 1999,  along with American Dad and The Cleveland Show.  Before such success MacFarlane studied animation at the Rhode Island School of Design. Following graduation he received a position with which was then Hanna-Barbera Productions. There he worked as an animator and writer on Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken. He also worked with Disney and Madtv before getting his big break and creating the smash hit, Family Guy. MacFarlane got to where he is by hard work, creativity, and persistence. Advice MacFarlane offers is to build an asset, place your work on blogs and various websites to build an audience, which will help your work spread. His work can be found by going to www.fox.com.

Butch Hartman, animator, animation director, storyboard artist, voice actor, and producer has seen success in the business with the creation of his shows The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, and his current television show T.U.F.F. Puppy which airs on Nickelodeon. Hartman studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts.  Hartman got his first start after graduation as a character designer and storyboard artist for My Little Pony. Hartman has also worked on such shows as Punky Brewster, the Little Dinosaur, Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and Oh Yeah Cartoons. Hartman’s work can be seen on Butchhartman.com.

Matt Groening, who some would say has had a major influence on the cartoon world with which is the longest animated series to date and still running, The Simpsons.  Cartoonist and Producer Groening is someone who has worked his way to the top.  Groening attended Evergreen State College where he studied Liberal Arts.  After moving to Los Angeles he created a comic book called Life in Hell, describing his life in L.A. Those cartoons eventually developed into a book series and also became a comic in the Reader Newspaper.  Groening’s comic was such a success FOX seeked him out to do some animation for the Tracey Ullman Show. But because of fear of losing the rights to his characters and work, at the last minute Groening made up characters based off his parents and family which we know today as the Simpsons. The Simpsons first aired in 1985 and is still running today on FOX. At the time the things the Simpsons did were uncalled, or unheard of, at the time, especially for cartoons, which has paved the way for shows like Family Guy. Groening also created the television series Futurama.  Groening credits Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians for getting him interested in the cartoon field. Groening’s work can be found on www.thesimpsons.com and futurama-episode.com