Who's Who?

Six Practitioners:

1. Francis Glebas - Storyboard Artist
   He has worked for many companies but most notably Disney for the preproduction of Pocahontas, Aladdin, Treasure Planet and Hercules. Another major animation company he has illustrated storyboards for is Blue Sky Studios for some scenes in Ice Age 4.
   Pocahontas was a turning point for Glebas' work, as the director challenged him to evoke more emotion through his expressions and shapes.
    
2. Akiko Takase - Character Designer
   Prior to achieving key animation roles in several projects (for example the series Free! and the film A Silent Voice), Takase debuted her carer as the character designer for the Violet Evergarden series. Character design was an effective stepping stone for Takase's career as it allowed her to demonstrate her creative skills and get her name all over the series. Her attention to detail and world building skills are apparent in the fact that all the characters in the crowd scenes are individually designed in order to fit in with the rich opulence of the world setting. Takase has worked primarily for Kyoto studios.
    
3. H. R. Giger - Concept Artist
   Already an established artist, Giger's concept work for the Alien movie would become the highlight of his career. His illustration style is dark and evocative. Since the large body of work created for the alien franchise, Giger moved on to creating album art until his death in 2004. Alien was the only film he worked on but the overall aesthetic and mood of the sci-fi film could be largely attributed to his work.
    
4. Sihanouk Mariona - Character Animator
   Having taught an intensive animation programme in the 2000's, Mariona went on to have a varied career in the industry, working namely for Cartoon Network/Adult Swim and Starburns Industries. He specialises in stop motion character animation. Over the years, he has taken on director roles and is currently the lead animator on Robot Chicken.
    
5. Christian Ibarra - Model Making
   Ibarra has worked on many projects as a model maker and fabricator; for instance, he constructed the wire armatures for Disney XD's holiday stop motion promos for Ducktales. He went on to sculpt the main character in the Hasbro Play Doh commercial and taking on many other roles such as prepping sets and rigging the characters in Lego Batman (DVD Originals) for flying. Currently, he is working on his personal portfolio while being the assistant animator for Supermansion (season 3) by Sony Crackle.
   
6. Kazuo Oga - Background Artist
   Famously known for his background paintings in many Studio Ghibli films (Howl's Moving castle, Ponyo, Spirited Away, etc) Oga has a rich career in background painting. Having worked for a multitude of production companys (Studio Ghinli, MadHouse, Warner Bros, Production I.G, etc) Oga has repeatedly achieved art director roles in other films/series which allowed him to also go on to direct a very personal piece about mountain farming life. It is his success that permitted him to get funding for his personal project.