Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nick Winn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nick, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The first big risk I took was dropping out of Art college when I was 21. Cartoon Network contacted me about an internship while I was in my 3rd year and since I was going to school in San Francisco, I knew taking the job meant dropping out and possibly not finishing my degree. I decided to take that risk knowing that schooling is never going to go anywhere, but an opportunity to work at a company you’ve been dreaming about doesn’t come often. I went to LA with essentially no money, and slept on my best friend from pre-schools couch for a couple years before finally having the stability to stand on my own. That internship blossomed into a full time job as a Prop Designer, which eventually evolved into a Character Props & FX Supervisor for Cartoon Networks “Jessica’s Big Little World”. Schooling is extremely important, however, If I chose schooling over that internship, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

Nick, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a Design Supervisor for animation, my job is to make sure the Showrunners and Directors vision matched what we see on screen. I have to keep track of how the show looks and make sure it stays the same throughout the episode. If I were on a looney tunes show, I would have to make sure Bugs Bunny always has his gloved and teeth drawn so the audience still reads him as Bugs. My job also entails helping out the crew with any concept art they need. If a new character shows up in the script/outline, I work with the Art Director to design a new character that fits in the same world as the other characters that were drawn before. I have a team of three other amazing designers that help design every single episode. Things like drawing character turnarounds, so we can see them at every angle, Special poses, for when a storyboard expression needs to be cleaned up a bit more, and making sure the designs both match and plus up the storyboard are all jobs the design team does on a weekly basis. As much as I have to do, it all boils down to making sure the crew is happy, and making sure the show looks good so the audience is happy.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing how many kids enjoy what we make. After working on a TV show for almost a year, you kind of get jaded looking at the same work over and over again in its various forms. Sometimes it doesn’t really feel like a cartoon until its all put together. Only when it’s shown to an audience and people express how much they enjoyed it do I really feel like I’ve done a good job. Whenever we get fan art I get so giddy that someone liked the show so much to draw something from it. I work with amazing talent and am blessed to be apart of so many amazing shows. The whole crew knows we make something special but its even better when the audience we’re aiming at gets it too. It makes my heart smile and allows me to keep going when things get tough.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the masses still believe the myth that animation is only for children and to keep children occupied so the parents can take a break. While some cartoons may feel like that, Animation is a medium that can bring so many things to life that live action cannot. I think treating animation with the same reverence live action creatives have would be a start. Many of the artist I’ve met have shared stories that I would love to see on the big screen but sadly would need to get watered down because many individuals still think adult animation should only be crude comedies. I’m so happy Anime is becoming mainstream in the west. It’s giving room for artists to stretch out a little and start telling more mature stories without the crudeness we’ve been known to greenlight in the past. When society breaks down the infantilized facade about what animation truly is, we will all be exposed to so many wonderful stories that can change lives and bring others closer together.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://winnsart.carbonmade.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winnstinn/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Winnstinn