JC Little – Animated Woman

I’ve tweeted and exchanged posts with JC Little for years on Twitter and Facebook. I love her characters and cartoons, so I jumped at the opportunity to interview The Animated Woman for the Amused Now Featured Artist Series.

It’s no surprise that JC is just as animated and adorable in person. She revealed a wealth of information for those considering a career in animation. I’m excited to post highlights of our interview.

For those in the audience who are not as familiar with JC as I am, let me share just a few of her accomplishments. She created and directed the animated TV series “My Life ME” that has worldwide distribution and is on The Disney Channel. She developed a mojo-boosting app on Apple’s App Store “PickleWeasel.” Plus, she’s a successful public speaker and social media minx.

JC has been drawing her entire life. She says “I may have been born with a crayon in my hand.” She pictures her life in images.

JC’s mother used to buy her rolls of brown wrapping paper to draw on, because it was cheaper than individual sheets of drawing paper. She never got toys as gifts, always art supplies. Young JC spent her Saturdays in art class.

She went to university for graphic design. While she was there, she met an animator and decided to minor in animation. She started working in animation and never looked back. You can see just how animated JC is in real life, when you watch our video interview.

Throughout her career, she touched on all aspects of the animation industry. She was an artist, animator, supervisor and producer. JC eventually quit her job and started her own company, Little Animation, to produce her own content.

Most animators dream of making their own TV series or feature film and JC is living her dream. I asked JC how she launched the series “My Life ME.” She came up with the concept and shared the idea with two friends, a TV writer and designer with her own comic book series. JC shared the copyright with them, so they had a vested interest in the project.

They met with a Canadian broadcaster, who really liked the concept. Once they had a broadcaster interested, lots of production houses vied for the project. The team sold the option to the production house Carpe Diem, who found the funding for the TV series. They tapped JC to direct the show. Then, the distribution company got the show distributed around the world.

PickleWeasel

Right now, her app “PickleWeasel” is only available for iPad on the Apple App Store. JC markets it through Twitter account @PickleWeaselApp and Facebook page. The big launch party and contest will happen when the app is ready for Android and iPhone in January 2014.

JC tells those using Twitter for Marketing, “You can’t just sell something. Hey buy my DVD! So, I started to engage with people and fell in love with people on Twitter.” She couldn’t use a Marketing voice. She had to use her own voice. That’s her biggest piece of advice, “Use your own voice. Don’t try to be anyone other than yourself.”

For those starting out, now you can access all the software you need from your home studio. There is no excuse for not doing it. “If you want to do it, you should do it.” You have to make some sacrifice to learn the software, but “if you need help, ask for it.”

JC recommends start drawing with the iPad or any tablet, a drawing app and a stylus. If you’re going to be working on a laptop or desktop, you should to get a Wacom tablet for drawing. As you advance, you need the Adobe suite software, like Photoshop and Flash.

Don’t forget to watch the video interview with JC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMgoUGAjiYI

To learn more about The Animated Woman and her projects, check out JC Little’s website:
http://www.theanimatedwoman.com/

The Amused Now Featured Artist Series

Cynthia Kahn
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