As a child, I grew up loving to draw. Initially, almost all my subject matter involved either Snoopy or Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I followed my passion after high school, and attended the Columbus College of Art & Design, where I majored in illustration. Shortly after graduating from college, I discovered that the life of a freelance illustrator was not as romantic as I had envisioned, so I began to search out more stable career opportunities. About that same time, I spoke to a very enthusiastic friend of mine who had just been hired as an effects animator at Disney after finishing a twelve week animation internship. His enthusiasm was contagious. Although I had never taken an animation class, he convinced me to give it a try. I submitted a portfolio of figure drawings and interviewed with Disney in March of 1990. I was offered a position in their fall internship that same year, and upon its completion, was offered a job in the clean-up animation department where I worked on "Beauty & the Beast" and Aladdin, as well as some short films. Prior to the start of “The Lion King,” I was promoted to Animator. In that role, I went on to animate on eight features at Disney. Included in that were positions as Lead and Supervising Animator where I created two characters…the Grand Councilwoman on "Lilo & Stitch" and human Kenai on "Brother Bear".
Following “Brother Bear” it was announced that the Florida Studio would be working on a hybrid film, that combining both traditional and computer animation. In the previous few years it had become apparent that the age of hand drawn animation was coming to an end (or at least going on an extended hiatus). Therefore, I made requests to both the film's director and the CG supervisor, to be cast on the digital side of the project. After going through a training program with the rest animators at our studio, I got my wish and was granted the opportunity to animate digitally for the first time. The film was unfortunately never completed and the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida Studio shut its doors less than a year later. Over those years I was blessed to learn the art of animation from some of the greatest animators and animation directors in the world. However, what I cherish most about that period of my life was the time I spent working with such great people on a day-to-day basis, and the friendships that were formed over those 14 years.
Following the closing of the Florida studio, I took my newly developed digital skills to the world of video game development where I accepted a position at Electronic Arts Tiburon Studio in Maitland, Florida. Since I would be working exclusively on football titles while at EA, being a football junkie was a real plus. It was a challenging transition, and I quickly learned that there was a lot more to animating on video games than simply making pretty animations. I enjoyed learning new skill sets and developing a better understanding of game design during my time at EA-Tiburon. For my two boys, they could not have imagined a cooler job for their Dad. Sure, drawing “Simba” might be interesting, but to two little boys, working on Madden Football was much cooler.
Although I love the sport, after four years and eleven football titles I was in need of new challenges. In April of 2008, I took a job at n-Space who was was working on Disney Interactive titles. I really enjoyed taking on a wider range of responsibilities offered by a smaller studio, as well as the broader variety of subject matter I was able to work on while at n-Space.
In January of 2010 I began working at Blue Sky Studios in Connecticut, right outside White Plains, NY. I really enjoyed making movies again with a company that was producing some of the best animation in the world. The thing loved most about my experience at Blue Sky was the versatility of my role. Not only was I able to develop my 3-D feature animation skills, but I was also able to contribute early in the developmental process on features and shorts using the traditional hand-drawn skills I learned at Disney.
After Disney closed Blue Sky Studios in early 2021, I began working at Skydance on their first animated feature entitled "Luck", which was released on Apple TV+. Following that production I moved onto a leadership role on the Apple TV+ series, "The Search for WondLa"
Since February 2023, I have been working at Epic Games on the Lego Fortnite game.
I have been blessed to have so many great experiences in my career, where I have been able to work with amazing people and be a part of so many iconic projects. Grateful for the opportunely to have a career where I continue to learn new things and grow as an animator everyday.
Jim Jackson
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