Drawing since I can remember. School projects turned into copying video game characters from Sonic the Hedgehog and Street Fighter. The Simpsons took over as my main influence. Keep it simple stupid.
In 1988, I begged my poor mom to get this specific model of Panasonic VCR that could go frame by frame so I could record Looney Tunes and see how it was made. Don't worry, I paid it off in chores for over a year. $200 back then was a fortune and I am fortunate she saw the passion inside me. I needed to learn. I needed to reverse engineer Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbera at 8 years old. My fondest memories were my dad and I going to The Pop Shoppe to rent cartoons. ALL THE CARTOONS! And get pop of course. We were poor immigrants but my parents understood my path.
Animating since 1995 on Hypercard. Recreated a driving game frame by frame. 3D studio and some 2D animation program. All in high school (thank you Rutland for being 1 of 2 schools in BC that did this at the time). Graduated with a demo reel. Many regrets for not applying at Mainframe at the time. I would have bought a boat...or an apartment...or a boat that I could live in. Moorage was cheap at the time in Vancouver
My insecurities led me to paying a fortune at a couple of animation schools. VFS was finally the one to challenge me with a 6 month crash course; providing adequate instruction and support to create my short film HAPPY. In 2007, at the infancy of YouTube, the film got over 3 million views in 2 months. That was huge at the time and put VFS on the map.. Got the attention of Ugly Doll...followed by legal action. Straight Outta School and I'm being threatened by toy company. Fun...but I knew I did something right.
That immediately resulted in a job at Mainframe; my dream job as a 15 y/o after seeing ReBoot in the video rental section at our local grocery store. I was creating my own reality.
Years passed working at various studios, including Sony on Smurfs. Then I hit another jackpot of nostalgia; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From that point, Bardel was 10 years of my life that formed me into the person I am today, working on many titles that excited me and every child that I met. Now I'm working on literally the first animated series I've ever watched as a child: Astro Boy. Future goals: Care Bears, Inspector Gadget, Animaniacs, Ren & Stimpy and (my absolute favourite) Looney Tunes. I'm only 45 so LET'S GOOOOO!!!
Between my animation education, I took a few years off to freelance graphic design. Self taught (before YouTube). Photography became a life-long obsession and I love editing my dumb videos for YouTube or family weddings. I can play the drums 100% good enough to jam with musicians when they need rhythm. Oh, and I've made a couple pitch bibles for animated shows.
I love to create. When you can see your thoughts turn into reality, it's the most rewarding feeling...other than creating a human inside you, haha. Much respect to moms.
Top 3 animated movies:
- Kpop Demon Hunters
- The Incredibles
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Top 3 animated tv shows
- Looney Tunes
- Ren and Stimpy
- Clone High