Fred’s discussion will cover the importance of strong silhouette, framing devices, directional elements and shadow in visual communication, whether it is 2d or 3d. He will use reference from Laika, Reel FX, Warner Bros and Disney to illustrate these concepts. The discussion will cover visual development, modeling, camera layout and some lighting.

Frederick Gardner was born and raised in Southern California. His career in film began in 1989 when he was approached by the Publicity Dept of Warner Bros to help design the publicity campaign of Tim Burton’s Batman. He attended film school at UCLA and Art Center before finding his calling in animation at CalArts. His artistic influences range from Hieronymous Bosch to Eyvind Earle and Maurice Noble. After a year in attendance at CalArts, he was recruited by the producers of The Simpsons in 1990, to animate on the first few seasons and the main title.

A preference for design led to his success at Warner Bros Animation on such shows as Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, Space Jam, The Iron Giant and classic shorts with Bugs & Daffy. His work also includes The Tick, Duck Dodgers, Johnny Quest, Toonsylvania, Hercules, Samurai Jack and Big Guy and Rusty.

Frederick Gardner has worked for the following studios: MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony, Klasky Csupo, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros, Laika, Cartoon Saloon (Ireland) and Reel Fx.

After joining the US Army and serving a deployment as an Infantryman to the Middle East in 2001, Frederick received two Emmys for his unique designs on The Powerpuff Girls and Juniper Lee at Cartoon Network.

In 2005, he earned a degree in Ocean Technology as a deep ocean diver and underwater salvage.

Frederick seeks to create unique, hand made, and impactful images that provoke thought, raise questions and inspire. You can see his most recent work in “Free Birds”, “Tomorrowland” and “The Book of Life”. He was nominated this year (2016) for an Annie Award in Production Design and is currently a visual development artist on a new Scooby Doo feature for Warner Bros.