Category: Grade 9

Community Connection

Interviewee: Eric Cheung

Job: Animator

Company: Slap Happy

They make cartoon shows like Teen Titans, My little Pony, Transformers.

 

Questions:

1. Why are you passionate about your job?

He loves to draw and be creative. He enjoys making the cartoons for little kids like Teen Titans and My little Pony. Even though it’s hard work, he would never change his job unless he changes to a different company.

 

2. What obstacles have you faced to get where you are today?

You mostly have to hit the proper deadlines and you only get 2 weeks for 30 seconds of a show. So you need to be quick and know what you are doing in advance. Concentrate on what you are doing and don’t slack off otherwise you won’t get your work done on time. You might think that 2 weeks for 30 second might be a lot of time but it actually isn’t because it requires a lot of painstaking detail.

3. What advice would you pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?

You have to have basic drawing skills and enrol in an animation program in order to be an animator. Suggestions would be to study at Capilano college or Emily Carr.

4. Would you be open to further contact from Riverside students and if so, how can someone contact you?

Yes,  you can reach him at this email, e.cheung@hotmail.com

5. How long have you did your job for?

13- 14 years all together but he has moved to different companies to contract for different shows will not likely just stay at Slap Happy going forward

6. Do you still need to spend time on learning and upgrading skills?

Yes, he often needs to watch tutorials for learning new software which tends to upgrade at least once a year and there is a 2 years program, you can take.

7. Why I chose him and what I learned about the interview

I chose Mr. Cheung because he is the dad of my sister’s friend and had heard he was involved in animation. He is part of a company that designs scenes for little kids/cartoon shows like Teen Titans, My little Pony and Transformers. His job is to draw the characters for the cartoons. When I grow up, I want to do something related because I love drawing overall.  It would also be nice to work in a team with others who are also just as passionate. I learned that you have to love what you are doing and don’t slack of because it can require a lot of overtime to meet deadlines.  Study really hard to get where you want to go and go to either Capilano college or Emily Carr for better learning. Hit the proper deadlines like in school and don’t hand in stuff late to develop good habits now because if I’m not able to finish the cartoon show on time they will get mad and will not have much success.

Picture links:

1. Office guy drawing:

https://www.bloopanimation.com/3d-animator/

2. Teen Titans Picture:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Titans_(TV_series)

3. My little Pony picture:

https://superparent.com/article/477/my-little-pony-pocket-ponies-a-superparent-first-look

4. Slap Happy logo: 

https://slaphappycartoons.com/

5. Animator sketching picture: 

https://www.lynda.com/learning-paths/3D-Animation/become-a-2d-digital-animator