Ask An Animator – Claire Underwood

During my first year as a student at the NFTS I had the opportunity to work as an intern for the award-winning animation studio Pesky, founded by talented director Claire Underwood and producer David Hodgson.

I absolutely love the bold, bright, colourful world of Pesky and the wonderful animated cartoons they produce. One of my favourite Pesky series is ‘The Amazing Adrenalini Brothers,’ featuring the hilarious stuntmen brothers Xan, Adi and Enk.

The studio has gone from strength to strength, and last year released their latest pre-school show ‘Boj,’ the story of a creative, messy Australian Bilby who loves to make things. Over to you Claire…

As a child I loved drawing, writing stories, playing musical instruments, acting, taking photos, then later making videos. When it came to choosing my degree subject, I realised animation combined all my favourite arty things!

I’m a fan of Mark Baker – everything from The Hill Farm to Peppa Pig. He and Neville Astley have brought their strong creative values into a highly commercial arena – and in Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom made simple, exceptionally well-crafted TV. A huge influence!

I love lots of animated characters – but my favourite would have to be my little Boj characters! I played with them everyday whilst we were in production – and as I was so busy, I hardly had time to see any real friends. So at the expense of sounding a bit bonkers – they became my whole world – and I believed they really existed! I truly MADE some new friends!

Doodle lots and lots until drawing becomes almost effortless. Learn a variety of computer software and see where it takes you. And observe everything around you – there’s nothing wrong with staring and pondering!

Go to an animation festival like Annecy – and immerse yourself in short films, feature films and series for several days. Take a note book and you’ll come back brimming with ideas!