Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1079787
IN F CUS F STEPPING INTO THE CUBICLE OF STORYBOARD ARTIST, RUDI BERDEN, AT WILD CANARY ANIMATION STUDIO, YOU'LL BE FORGIVEN FOR THINKING YOU'VE HAPPENED UPON A POP-UP MUSEUM ON THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. On display in the compact space are at least 52 cameras of all shapes and sizes sitting neatly on handmade shelves that Berden built to perfectly fit his cubicle. Near his computer monitor stands a figurine. "That's Gaston Lagaffe," he says, a character from a Belgian comic book that was once his favorite. He relates how his first love was comics and his goal was to become a comic book artist. Ironically, there was no school for comic book artists in his home country of Belgium, so he opted to study animation instead. After graduating he worked in Belgium and then Berlin, which gave him a taste for exploring foreign countries. When he was offered a job in Los Angeles at Klasky Csupo in 1997, Berden believed he'd only be in LA for a year, but he found steady employment. His work includes two seasons on The Simpsons, and five years on American Dad. He was S PA C E I N VA D E R S top, left to right: Berden sits at his desk at Wild Canary; a smattering of the 52 cameras he displays on his desk; and a figure of Gaston Lagaffe stands in front of his monitor, a nod to his Belgian roots. 16 KEYFRAME