I have posted before about artistic influences, artists who I did not work with personally, but had a strong influence on my own work. This time, I write about artists of my generation. In the past 30 years, I have worked with hundreds of artists, and many have influenced me in some manner. Here is a list of five artists who, for me, had the greatest impact, in chronological order.
1. Dan Jeup –
Dan was my roommate during my freshman year of CalArts, in 1981. I knew next to nothing about Disney
animation, though Dan was already
animating at a professional level, and was an encyclopedia of Disney animation
knowledge. His passion for the
medium was contagious, and I felt lucky to be asked along when he studied
Disney film prints in the school library, pointing out different animation
techniques. Dan taught me about
editing and match cuts and animating a character with weight. And I taught him how to drink a lot of beer.
