TAG Interview with David Block
Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link
Animator, director and producer David Block never gave a thought to making a career in animation until he got to college. Then, during his freshman year he saw a re-issue of Disney's Fantasia, and knew that sitting at a desk making characters come to life would be his professional calling. ...
But it didn't turn out to be easy. At the time, there were few animation programs happening at colleges, so Dave had to blaze his own trail, taking classes at University, then art schools, and finally moving to Hollywood where he worked for Chuck Jones and then animation veteran Abe Lebitow.
Dave credits his time under the tutelage of Warner Bros. animator Ben Washam as the most useful and productive education in animation that he ever received. Mr. Block talks about those early days in the business (and more) here in Part I of the latest TAG Interview.
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3 comments:
How's about interviewing an artist who was poor growing up and didn't have access to expensive schools and programs? I've listened to every single interview on here and I don't recall hearing not one who was poor growing up. Ever time I hear "I went to CalArts", "I had supportive parents" it puts me down more and more. I'd give me some hope if you would put an artist on here who didn't have the money to go to the big schools and didn't have connections but made it anyway. I'm 19 now and am going to a community college for something non-art related and all I can thing is "how will I ever make it into the animation world?" Id give me a lot of hope for myself you all would just post names of some artists who were poor growing up.
It is a little one-sided I'm sure rikki1152. I suppose I was hoping to hear of one guy myself in that position too, I'm sure they're out there, I'm just not sure who was. I was just amused this guy went to a college about 30 miles south of me.
Great artists have come from lots of places.
Alan Zaslov, who was interviewed right before Dave, worked his way up, starting at an office boy. (He went to Hollywood High.)
Willie Ito, who we interviewed over a year ago, was in a relocation camp during WWII. And Walt Peregoy (interviewed way back) described himself as "poor white trash" who didn't have a dime.
But you're right. A lot of the artists TAG has talked to came from middle class backgrounds.
But if you've got talent and the will to succeed, you can make it into the business.
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