DIRECTOR KRIS WIMBERLY'S STUDIO SMOKESCREEN
PROVIDES A WAY FOR BEGINNERS AND VETERANS ALIKE
TO FORGE NEW PATHS IN THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY.
When Kris Wimberly finishes a long day of directing and developing animation
at Disney T VA , he sits back with a nice cup of chai and starts working on his side
project: running his own animation studio. Wimberly is Head of Creative and
Co-Founder of Studio Smokescreen, an independent studio dedicated to bringing
diversity and authenticity to the industry. While most major studios hire
experienced workers, Studio Smokescreen describes itself as a "bridge studio"
because it hires the untested, bridging the gap between these individuals and
the professional roles they hope to attain.
Wimberly came up in the animation industry before most studio DEI programs
existed. He credits his ability to break in and sustain a career to those who were
willing to take a risk on him; now he wants to pay it forward.
BREWING
AUTHENTICITY
this page: Kris Wimberly
and his brother Chase
Wimberly; opposite page: Kris
and his daughters; Kris in his
home office where he works on
Studio Smokescreen projects.
"How am I
going to reverse
hundreds of
years of systemic
issues with my
tiny studio?
I don't know...
But I know I can
try by actually
doing something."
A F T E R H O U R S
12
KEYFRAME
