I grew up in small town Hartland, Wisconsin, which I am really proud about. Growing up there taught me to appreciate nature and being outdoors. Also taught me the value of hard work; always seemed like there was something to be done, especially shoveling. I of course played a lot as well, usually was running around outside or inside playing video games. My family was extremely supportive of my love for the arts, my siblings my biggest fans. I always loved to draw and really appreciated film from a young age. As soon as I learned Animator was a profession, I knew that was it for me!
At 18 years old I packed up my ’87 Toyota and moved across the country to San Diego where I attended the Art Institute. During my schooling I got an internship at Nickelodeon which was my first in-studio experience. After graduating I got an internship at a video game studio, High Moon, which turned into a staff position in the Cinematics Department. I was still hungry for learning everything I could about animation so I signed up for Animation Mentor. It was the best decision I could have made for my career at that time since it filled in so many holes in my animation education and pushed my skills further beyond I could have imagined. Shortly after graduating I moved up to the Bay Area, and for three years jumped back and forth between Tippett and ILM. Worked on the following films during this time: Twilight Saga, Ted, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, Season of the Witch, Rango, Iron Man 2, and Cats & Dogs Revenge of Kitty Galore. I then moved to Dallas for almost three years to work at Reel FX on Free Birds and The Book of Life. Then on to Blue Sky Studios to help finish up Peanuts, then got brought on as staff and just finished animating on Ice Age: Collision Course and currently Ferdinand the Bull.
Even though I have been working as a professional Animator in films for many years, I still love being a student. I take figure drawing when I can, have taken a couple drawing classes at Schoolism, have recently taken an Expert Animation class at AnimSquad and am always reading up on something. That is one of my favorite things about Animation and Film, there is always something to learn and always ways to push and grow.
Being in a nurturing environment and part of an encouraging, supportive team is something I hold to great value. I have learned so much from each project and every team I have worked with. I feel so grateful for my journey so far!
