Many professional animators decide to pursue their careers after being inspired early in their lives by video games and movies. 为 电脑动画 grad Andrew Atteberry, the spark came instead from tattoos.

“I really enjoyed that empathetic connection you make through artwork,他说. “When you connect that artwork with a story and there’s meaning to it… I kind of latched on to that.”

在几年的时间里, 安德鲁发现自己不再纹身了, 漫画书和连载插图, 是什么让你涉足动画. “我看到 《菠菜台子大全》这对我产生了巨大的影响. I thought wow, that’s really cool; I wish I could do something like that. And then it clicked and I thought oh, people do that for a living!此后不久，他进入了满帆.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to support myself and my family with my artistic ability, 到目前为止，10年来我一直能做到这一点. Even if I ended up back at a small studio working on car commercials, as long as I could pay the bills I would still be living my dream. The luxury of having a simple dream like that is everything that happens beyond it is just icing on the cake,他说.

2005年毕业后，他受雇于磁梦公司, 一个位于他家乡纳什维尔的小工作室. Andrew describes his time there as a great learning experience, as it gave him the opportunity to wear many different hats. He spent time directing, modeling, texturing, rigging.

"The other great thing about working for a small studio is the luxury to make mistakes and not have to fear for your job. 许多大型工作室都不提供这种服务. 我强烈鼓励每个人都去尝试登月, but if you get the opportunity to work for a small studio you should do it."

Andrew’s biggest takeaway from Magnetic Dreams, though, was his Emmy for his work on 芝麻街. 他参与了一个名为《十大菠菜台子》的项目,他所在的团队创造了“丝绒”这个角色,"扮演埃尔莫的幕布.

在扩展了他的技能之后，安德鲁开始创建一个 短片 在他朋友的帮助下. “I created this film with while working a full-time job and had a family of a wife and two kids. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the knowledge that I gained from 满帆.”

随着安德鲁投资组合的增长, he looked to pursue new opportunities; one of which was Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Talent Development Program. 为 six months he was mentored by senior animators to learn how to animate in the Disney style.

“事实证明，这是一件很难弄清楚的事情. It’s not cartoon-y and it’s not realistic; it’s this beautiful thing in between,他说. “There were quite a few of the 2D guys who were still around, 比如马克·海恩和鲁本·阿基诺, while I was in training I got the chance to spend time with them, 甚至让他们看看我的作品，给我一些建议. The first time one of them looked at me and said ‘You’re going to be an all right animator!’ it was such a validating feeling, to this day, the highlight of my career.”

在他的训练期结束后, Andrew was brought on to the team for 冻 and was able to work on every character in the film. 他最大的项目是与巨魔的人群镜头, 还有一个场景，其中一个角色, Kristoff, 从悬崖上掉下来.

"I remember when we first saw the animatic for ‘Let It Go’ and heard the song. I got the chills; I knew at that point it was going to be really, really special."

在安德鲁完成《十大菠菜台子》之后, Disney’s studio was facing a lull in production and layoffs were a result of that.

“我的号码被叫了，”安德鲁说. “失去理想的工作很痛苦. 我回家了, 我看了洛奇, I went in the next day with a good attitude and finished out my last two months doing the best job that I could. 我没有让自己的情绪控制自己, it allowed me to establish myself as somebody who can deal with high pressure situations and not fall apart; attitude is everything.”

Andrew is both philosophical and optimistic about his current career path, as he notes that one of the most important things about the animation industry is that it’s constantly in flux, 为变化做好准备是很重要的. “不断用新素材更新你的卷轴, 定期联系朋友和同事,他建议道。, noting that he’s already laid the groundwork for his next professional role. “你总是要确保自己有保障.”