The Auckland-based art director and background supervisor discusses the challenges of finding freelance work and building a career in animation in NZ, and shares how he subsequently helped in MukPuddy animation studio’s evolution from a small group to a roster of over 50.
Check out Terry Ibele’s Animation Industry Podcast featuring a new podcast every week focusing on the stories of today’s animation professionals - how they got to where they are and what they learned along the way. Now home to 206 episodes, the podcasts cover all areas of the industry, including storyboarding, writing, animating, directing, visual development, and game design. Guests have included Aaron Augenblick, the notorious JJ Villard, Spike & Mike’s Spike Decker, Disney Director John Musker, Sony Lead Animator Humberto Rosa, Cuphead’s Tina Nowracki, Frederator’s Fred Seibert, Tumble Leaf’s Scarlet Nelson, and many others from major animation studios all over the world.
Episode 206: Art Director Matt Haworth and The Animation Industry in New Zealand
This episode features Auckland, New Zealand-based animation studio MukPuddy’s art director and background supervisor, Matt Haworth. In this chat, Haworth shares the difficulties of building a career in animation in New Zealand, especially when there’s a shortage of work. He also dives into what it was like taking MukPuddy from a small, tight-knit team to a studio roster of over 50 - and what kind of projects led to that growth.
Tune in to Ibele and Haworth to hear:
- The animation day job Haworth invented for himself when there wasn’t any work
- The crazy coincidence that led to Mukpuddy optioning an exclusive IP from Ireland
- How many of Haworth’s graduating class still work in animation in New Zealand
Ibele has begun to publish the interviews as videos as well – you can find previous interviews here!
Social Links:
- Check out Mukpuddy’s YouTube channel
Ibele, himself a stop-motion animator (see AWN’s Fresh Takes piece on his whimsical short, The Silly Duck Wizard, deftly digs into all manner of topics, encouraging interviewees to share insights and opinions on a wide range of topics like pitching shows, marketing your work online, key skills studios look for when they bring on talent in storyboarding, vizdev, character design, and animation.
In 2018, Ibele, who lives in Toronto, decided to quit his career as a Marketer and pursue his love for animation. Since then, he’s become well known for his viral animation productions, which include the previously mentioned Silly Duck Wizard, which is how AWN first came to know him and his work.
Learn more about Ibele’s work and podcast by visiting terryibele.com. You can find all The Animation Podcast episodes on his Soundcloud site: https://soundcloud.com/animation-podcast.
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
