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by Kirk Bangstad
kirk.bangstad@animationschoolreview.com
Animation School Review Columnist

Andreas Deja wanted to be an animator ever since he saw “The Jungle Book.” After following his dreams, he’s now one of Disney’s top animators.

In a recent interview with Jan Crain Rudeen, readers found out that Andreas Deja has a pretty cool story to tell. At the age of 10, he watched his first animated movie in his native Germany which was Disney’s “The Jungle Book.” He immediately fell in love with animation and wrote a letter to Disney asking them for an animation job. Someone at Disney actually wrote him back and told him to go to animation college and learn to become an artist, encouraging him to follow his dreams. Apparently, Deja didn’t need much more encouragement than that. He eventually went to animation college and was recently in charge of the animation team that created Disney’s DVD release, “Bambi II.” His other credits include working on “The Lion King,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

Deja Recommends Computer Animation College

When asked about the future of animation, Deja immediately talked about how computer animation has really taken over. He thinks that hand-drawn animation has been relegated to a niche market. For this reason, he would recommend that today’s future animators focus on honing their artistic skills at a computer animation college. Animation students in today’s competitive market really need to know how to animate with software tools to land a job at a top studio. Those without computer animation skills may still be able to find jobs, but they won’t necessary have as many opportunities to work on more mainstream animated movies, because most of that animation is being created on computers.

If you are thinking about enrolling in computer animation college, make sure the program you enter has a strong computer based animation curriculum within the college.

Source

A Disney artist on the future of animation

About the Author

Kirk Bangstad is a singer living in Chicago, IL. Having received his B.A. in Government at Harvard, Kirk previously worked as a management consultant.

Disney animator recounts story of his career beginnings.