Bazin. Truffault. Godard. Varda. What do they all have in common? They were part of the French New Wave. What are they doing on this podcast? Plenty. All creatives can learn from the the audacity of their convictions that created a movement th

Reflecting on Lessons & Life in Animation with Chris Wieme

Apr 28th, 2019 25m 34s

Chris Wieme is an incredibly capable and efficient animator, and he has carved out a lifelong career in 2D animation in central and western Canada. In this episode Chris talks about some of the key lessons he's learned as an animator. For anyon

Animating from Saskatoon to Kelowna with Chris Wieme

Apr 22nd, 2019 41m 44s

Canadian animator Chris Wieme trained in animation and fashioned an early career in the most unlikely of places: the prairie provinces of Canada. Yet his work is as strong as any who have trained at the more prestigious animation schools or wor

The Steadfast Animator - Phil Lockerby Part 2

Apr 15th, 2019 25m 8s

Phil Lockerby has managed to carve out a long and successful career as a character animation outside of Hollywood. And though he has long distinquished himself in animation, he still works hard to grow in his craft, and can find child-like joy

Surviving 20 Years as a 2D Character Animator Phil Lockerby

Apr 8th, 2019 31m 44s

Animator Phil Lockerby is a highly talented animator who has survived some of the roughest years for 2D character animation. From humble beginnings training at Michael Mills Studio, Phil is among the best animators working today. He was an ani

Recreating History in Painting with John Stobart

Apr 3rd, 2019 26m 30s

I've always admired people who do one thing in life and they do that one thing well. It's even more admirable when they still have that same spark of passion in their twilight years. Maritime painter John Stobart is just such a man.In this ep

Maritime Painter John Stobart

Mar 24th, 2019 23m 10s

My guest is John Stobart. John studied painting at the Royal Academy of Art in London, and has enjoyed a long and successful career painting pictures of ships, focusing period harbor scenes during the age of sail. He is meticulous with the hist

Disney & The Death of 2D Animation: Mike Surrey Part 5

Mar 17th, 2019 29m 55s

Mike Surrey lived through one of the most unthinkable moments in animation history -- the day that Walt Disney Feature Animation would close it's door to an 86 year lineage of hand drawn animation. The Princess and the Frog was the 49th, and fi

From Disney to Dreamworks with Mike Surrey

Mar 10th, 2019 25m 2s

After the huge success of The Lion King, Mike's involvement with Disney began a slow decline, beginning with his next role of Clopin on Huntchback which took him to Paris. From there the roles and shows became a tiring grind that eventually le

The Lion King with Mike Surrey

Mar 4th, 2019 20m 27s

Mike's big break came on Disney's animated production of The Lion King, but it wasn't smooth sailing for Mike to land the role. The Lion King wasn't expected to perform well at the box-office, the big film was Pocahontas where all the heavy hit

From Sheridan to Disney, A Conversation with Mike Surrey

Feb 24th, 2019 18m 57s

From the Sheridan Animation program to Supervising Animator on The Lion King. Michael Surrey's fascinating journey continues in part 2 of our conversation. BECOME A PATREON FOR THIS PODCASTPATREON: www.patreon.com/shaffercreativeFOLLOW SHAFF

A Conversation with Disney Animator Michael Surrey

Feb 18th, 2019 28m 50s

He was Supervising Animator for Timon on The Lion King, Clopin on Huntchback, and Ray on Princess and the Frog. In the first part of my conversation Mike talks about his development as an animator, his years at Sheridan, and his first contact w

Carrying the Hensche Vision with John Ebersberger

Feb 10th, 2019 26m 34s

Henry Hensche believed he was part of the painters of the future who took the lessons of the Impressionists to the next level, and John Ebersberger has spent his career trying to carry Hensche's vision forward with his own art. This is part 3

The Hensche Influence with John Ebersberger

Feb 3rd, 2019 24m 47s

The second great artistic influence in John's life, was a man who not only shared Charles Hawthorne's perspective on color, he took it to a new level. Get ready for a fascinating look at color and an artistic lineage in the grand history of Ame

A Conversation with Oil Painter John Ebersberger

Jan 27th, 2019 22m 46s

One of the things that fascinates me about artists is how they got to where they are a creative professionals. What were the formative influences that shaped them as artists, and What were the major challenges they faced, and what drove them t

The Value of Personal Animation Projects with Michael Greenholt

Jan 20th, 2019 21m 2s

In this episode, Mike shares with me a sneak peak at a personal animated project that he wants to make into a feature film. The beauty of this project is not just in it's artistry, but also in it's leveraging of today's technology to achieve it

Navigating the Studio System with Animation Supervisor Michael Greenholt

Jan 13th, 2019 18m 23s

Michael Greenholt has been working in animation for some time and has lately become a sought-after Animation Supervisor among the bigger studios. His career path is fascinating, and in this episode Mike shares some very helpful words of wisdom

Straight from Ringling School of Art to Disney: Animation Supervisor Michael Greenholt

Jan 6th, 2019 28m 46s

Michael Greenholt is a CG Supervisor on an upcoming TV series for Disney Toons, and was a 2D animation supervisor on a soon-to-be-released series for Warner Bros. that you are going to hear a lot about very shortly. A Ringling grad, Mike was o

Looking Ahead to the New Year with Shaffer Creative

Dec 31st, 2018 14m 2s

We gather our family around microphones in Grandma's kitchen to introduce our children, talk about where we are creatively as a family, and what we plan to pursue in the new year. BECOME A PATREON FOR THIS PODCASTPATREON: www.patreon.com/sh

Ten Words of Advice to Animators from an Animation Director

Dec 24th, 2018 20m 12s

Here are ten things animators need to know about working on a production from an Animation Director with almost 30 years of experience in production. BECOME A PATREON FOR THIS PODCASTPATREON: www.patreon.com/shaffercreativeFOLLOW SHAFFER CRE

Todd Talks The Promise: The Animated Musical

Dec 17th, 2018 24m 6s

The Promise: Birth of the Messiah is an animated musical that presents Luke's account of the nativity story. It was written and directed by Todd, while I (Melissa) had a hand in the production as a motion-capture performer. Todd tells us how th

Sam Cabanac Meets His Hero Glen Keane

Dec 10th, 2018 25m 52s

Sam Cabanac is a young animator of great skill, and it’s been my joy to work with Sam and watch his exponential growth. In this second part of my conversation with Sam we talk about how he uses social media to network, how he met his hero Glen

Young Superstar from Cégep du Vieux Montréal Sam Cabanac

Dec 3rd, 2018 33m 32s

Sam Cabanac is a young animator who I've had the pleasure to watch blossom into a senior level animator within a remarkably short period of time. In this edition of Conversations of Creatives, Sam shares with us his artistic development in chil

Mom-blogger turned Photographer: Missy Shaffer

Nov 24th, 2018 10m 21s

Todd interviews Melissa about how the launch of her new photography business and it's origin in a mom blog. shaffercreative.studioBECOME A PATREON FOR THIS PODCASTPATREON: www.patreon.com/shaffercreativeFOLLOW SHAFFER CREATIVEWEBSITE: www

Guillaume Blackburn, the Storied Character Animator

Nov 19th, 2018 35m 49s

Guillaume Blackburn is a character animator with a storied-analytical approach, fueled by a bull dog spirit. I worked with him for the past year on a 2D animated project for a major studio. His growth as an animator has skyrocketed in the past