Frank Abney – Aims to tell African-American stories

Abney sees a hole in today’s animation, and hopes to fill it. Specifically, he wants to work on projects that spotlight strong African-American characters and illuminate key events from African-American history. “I don’t know if much of that has been done, at least not lately in the animation field,” he says.

Abney, whose most recent project was DreamWorks Animation’s family-friendly “Kung Fu Panda 3,” says he hopes to tackle heavier subject matter, with stories that speak to a more mature audience.

“I feel like animation is held at this level where it’s just for kids,” he says, “but it’s a medium to tell stories so we can pretty much do anything if we wanted to, but I don’t know if many will take that risk.”

Abney was just 2 years old when he started drawing; “I got hooked pretty early,” he laughs.

“The Lion King” resonated strongly with young Abney. His own father passed away when he was just 5, and he found comfort in the story of a lion cub who also loses his dad. “Even then, I felt how powerful it was for these stories to connect with people,” he says. “and I knew I wanted to do something like that.” — Alyssa Sage

Adrian Molina – ‘Coco’ gives artists a big boost

When Adrian Molina read a description of Pixar’s upcoming feature “Coco,” inspired by the Dia de los Muertos festival, he knew one thing: he would do anything to work on it. So he decided to pitch helmer Lee Unkrich his ideas for the film.

It was a bold move for a mere storyboard artist. “The more we talked,” he says, “the more we realized our thoughts of how the story should be told were totally in sync.” Unkrich was so impressed he made Molina co-director on the film. It was a huge leap. He’d won a storyboarding internship at Pixar while he was still at CalArts, then joined the studio.

He found his love of story while in CalArts’ character animation program. “My interests and my skill set lent themselves to storyboarding,” says Molina. “I enjoyed the design challenge and acting opportunity in animation, but I don’t think I excelled at it.” — Karen Idelson

Alyce Tzue – Animated film combines all the arts

Tzue’s problem was never finding a talent. She had many: dance, music, architecture, film and, eventually, animation.

The problem was choosing one.

At the end of that tug of war, says the 2015 Student Academy Award winner, cinema won out.

“Film is the medium that combines all the arts,” says Tzue, referencing a message displayed on Brad Bird’s Twitter bio. “That’s how I knew it was the one.”

Her personal history inspired “Soar,” her award-winning 3D animated short. Soar follows a young girl who must help a tiny pilot rebuild his flying machine so he can return home. “Ever since I was a kid, one of the first things I ever pointed out, or asked questions about, was things that were moving and things that were in the sky,” she says. Building on that, she gave the narrative a childlike perspective, which she describes as a “twist on an origin story.”

“I was trying to piece together a story based on the elements of what I love and somehow something cohesive came out of that,” she says.

Tzue, who studied architecture at Princeton before obtaining her MFA in 3D animation at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, took that notion to heart for an upcoming film, infusing both architectural and musical elements. She calls it a dream project because of its deep ties to her background. “It’s a project that I’m uniquely qualified to direct because of my background and my passions,” she says. — Alyssa Sage

Carl Faruolo – Learned craft from the inside

Nickelodeon animator Faruolo has been just about everywhere in the animation biz, from Cartoon Network to Disney Television Animation and even Comedy Central. Now, after having served as a director on Nick’s “Sanjay & Craig,” Faruolo has moved up to become supervising producer on the network’s new series “Pig Goat Banana Cricket” as well as working on his own project, “Bug Salad,” which will become Nickelodeon’s latest digital short-form series.

And it all started with a scanner.

In the days before storyboards went digital, Faruolo dropped out of school to take a job scanning boards into the computer at Cartoon Network. “Once I got in, I felt like a beneficial parasite. I started learning from everybody that I could,” he says. “I was able to work my way up from the inside.”

Faruolo created “Bug Salad” for Nickelodeon’s 2013 Shorts Program. Faruolo is happy it’s going to be digital. With all the different ways to find content, “there’s no set viewing time anymore. Kids watch what they want when they want.” — Terry Flores

Fletcher Moules – Test boundaries of animation

“‘Star Wars Episode II’ was filmed in Sydney, and I was fortunate enough to join the creatures department and have a tiny role as an extra,” says Moules, director of the widely popular “Clash of the Clans” commercials. “I thought ‘Well, I guess I can just end my career right here!’ ”

It was a full-circle moment for the little boy who was bit by the animation bug after walking out of a screening of “Return of the Jedi.” “I recall turning to my brother and saying ‘That’s what I want to do,”’ Moules says.

Moules didn’t know what that would entail, but he was fascinated by the idea of one day creating his own characters and worlds. That led to him eventually grabbing his dad’s camcorder and creating hokey stop-motion films with He-Man action figures in the background.

“Record, pause, record, pause — stupid ’80s kids,” he jokes. “I should’ve used a Super 8 camera.”

Early in his career, Moules met Paul Berry, a lead animator on “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“He took the time to teach me all he knew about character animation,” says Moules. “His skill, passion and devotion to the art form were perhaps the biggest inspirations to my career.” Since then, Moules has held various positons, including working with physical puppets, motion graphic designer and directing 2D animation for Cartoon Network.

He is slated to helm Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming “Ghostbusters” animated movie.

“I’d like to think I approach every project differently, one that requires something I’ve never done before,” says Moules. “I hate playing it safe.”

He is inspired from other animators as well. “So many times I’m at a crossroads on a project, or a certain moment isn’t working and I find myself asking, ‘What would Brad Bird do?’, or ‘How would Genndy approach this?’ Genndy Tartakovsky’s unique timing and storytelling have been a huge inspiration for me. Sony Pictures Animation and Imageworks really kick ass when pushing the boundaries of CG animation. — Lamarco McClendon

Ian Jones-Quartey – From TV animator to game master

Jones-Quartey has some advice for budding animators: “Don’t wait for permission to be an artist.” He’s living proof that that advice works. Jones-Quartey has created lots of animation for the Web, including several episodes of animated improv comedy “nockFORCE.” That led to him to taking a chance and becoming animation director for Adult Swim’s “The Venture Bros.” He’s worked on such shows as “Secret Mountain Fort Awesome,” “Adventure Time” and “Steven Universe.” Now he’s developed Cartoon Network’s first original game, “OK K.O.! Lakewood Plaza Turbo,” based on a pilot he created for the network. “There are lots of places that this world can expand to. It’s really exciting to get to explore it all.” — Terry Flores

Kevin Parry – Catching a Vine full of ideas

Parry is not just an animator. He doubles as a lazy young wizard on Vine.

Parry creates loops on the snack-video service that showcase his animation skills and visual effects abilities — and his penchant for pizza.

“I think of it as an artists’ sketchbook.” he says. “I can try out many ideas.”

When he was first experimenting with animation, Parry didn’t think he was talented enough at drawing or using a computer, so he turned to stop-motion to stand out. “I always took to monster makeup, physical special effects, as a kid, so I think that really transitioned into my interest in stop-motion,” he says.

Parry made the stop-motion short “The Arctic Circle,” which caught the attention of Laika animation supervisor Brad Schiff. Schiff invited Parry to join Laika, where he specialize in technically difficult work. — Maria Cavassuto

Makoto Shinkai – ‘Distant Star’ creator now in view

Unlike nearly all the classic anime directors, relative newcomer Shinkai has always worked on a computer, beginning his career as a designer of cutscenes in Japanese videogames before creating the sci-fi short “Voices of a Distant Star” on his own PC.

“I didn’t have any equipment or staff,” Shinkai says, or else he might have tried tackling a live-action or 3D computer-animated project instead. “I just wanted to make works that would be loved by those who were close to me, like my partner or family. ”

The turning point in Shinkai’s career came with 2011’s feature-length “Children Who Chase Lost Voices,” whose enchanting blend of fantasy and attention to the natural world earned him comparisons to anime master Hayao Miyazaki. But Shinkai is more innovator than imitator. While his characters have the same hand-drawn look as traditional anime, the environments boast a level of detail and naturalism rarely seen in the format, owing to the fact that Shinkai never worked with hand-painted cels and therefore isn’t constrained by those habits.

Instead of separating foreground from background, he immerses characters within the world he creates, allowing the shadows of passing clouds, gusts of wind and blazes of sun to wash over the entire composition. While his stories climb to the heights of his imagination, they remain grounded in real-world observations — a continuum he will push further in his next feature, “Your Name,” a romance whose sense of scale “connects seemingly insignificant details of daily life to the very expanse of the universe,” he says. — Peter Debruge

Nina Gantz – Mixing media and innovative techniques

You know that feeling you get when you see a kitten that’s so cute, you want to squeeze it to death? That’s what Gantz was going for with “Edmond,” an affectionately twisted portrait of a cannibal who can’t help trying to eat those he loves most. “Edmond” was made during her second year at the U.K.’s National Film and Television School, where the Dutch-born illustrator invented a style in which she used her computer to draw facial expressions and other small details over footage of wood puppets that she manipulated one frame at a time.

“I choose my technique according to what fits the story best,” explains Gantz, whose discovery of Czech animators Jan Svankmajer and Michaela Pavlatova taught her that the medium wasn’t strictly for kids. “‘Edmond’ is quite violent in a way, and wool brings this softness and warmth, in contrast with the cannibalism and horrific acts, like the blood coming out of the ear.”

The violence comes as a surprise at first, but it’s the short’s sincerity that proves its most gratifying twist — and no doubt explains the reception “Edmond” has received, earning both a BAFTA award (in the U.K., where the Gantz now works for Blinkink Prods.) and best animated short at this year’s Sundance film festival.

Now that she’s found a team of creative collaborators, she can’t wait to experiment with other ideas. “‘Edmond’ was just a try-out for that technique, but I think I can do so much better,” says Gantz, who dreams of combining stop-motion and live-action. — Peter Debruge

Seth Boyden – Hand-crafted and old-school

Boyden clearly recalls the “A-ha!” moment that inspired “An Object at Rest,” the animated short that won him a 2015 Student Academy Award.

Boyden was walking near his rural Indiana hometown during a break from classes at CalArts. The gravel path beneath his feet got him thinking about where those rocks had been before, and the idea of “rock time” was born. “I saw the rock as a witness to history,” he says.

Boyden’s characters are typically hand-animated against watercolor backgrounds, and his heroes include Hayao Miyazaki and Bill Peet. Yet Boyden’s first professional position is working at 3D-CG animation shop at Blue Sky Studios.

He’s a storyboard artist at his day job, but he’s still animating small personal films on a light table in his apartment. — Ellen Wolff