Daniel Heim

Everyone needs to get out of their shell. Though I’m usually reserved and laidback, drawing and animating cartoons is my outlet for breaking loose and expressing my ideas. It’s been that way since I was a kid. I watched cartoons like most kids, but I was enthralled by how cartoons were made. I loved watching behind the scenes features on DVDs of all my favorite animated movies and TV shows. But I remember specifically what got me interested in this business. When Disney’s Aladdin was released on DVD in 2004, there was an amazing 2 hour long panel on the DVD hosted by Leonard Maltin who spoke with the crew that worked on the film. Leonard’s chat with the animators, specifically Eric Goldberg, who animated the Genie, was the coolest thing to me. It inspired me. Watching Goldberg’s pencil test animation of the Genie timed to a Robin Williams standup routine was pure magic. Seeing footage of Glenn Kean flipping through an animation he was working on and seeing it come to life right there was inspiring. It set a fire in my heart that still hasn’t gone out.

Since then, my curiosity for the medium grew and grew. I became familiar with and learned to appreciate various styles. My interest in animating led to an interest in art in general. I admired painters like Salvador Dali and Gustav Klimt, comic artists such as George Herriman and Bill Watterson, and pop artists including Gary Baseman and Takashi Murakami. As a result, I feel like all of these artists have influenced me in some way. My interests also expanded into film and music. Pretty much any form of creative expression, I’ve come to appreciate and be inspired by.

Animation can be used to tell any type of story or approach any kind of subject. I hope to use my skills to tell great stories and entertain people. I want to work with a team of artists to bring something to life. And by working with others, I hope their talents will inspire me as well.