Meet Ben Thomas | Animator, Character Designer and Storyboard Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

Ever since I was young, I was obsessed with animation. I felt like it came naturally for me to draw and create stories, like I was just meant to do it; on top of that, it definitely helped that I grew up at a revolutionary time in animation: The renaissance of Disney (Beauty and the Beast, the Lion King), the revival of Hana-Barbera (Dexter’s Lab, The Powerpuff Girls), and the introduction of anime to the west on a wide platform (Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Cowboy Bebop). I loved these cartoons and wanted nothing more than to make my own.

Strangely enough, as I entered middle school and went through high school, I lost sight of how much animation meant to me. Sure, I watched cartoons all through those years, and I continued to draw and try to get better foundations in art, but I really didn’t think about pursuing it any further.

Then, I got to my senior year of high school, when I needed to look for a place to go to college. I was aimless in life; I knew I enjoyed art (it was honestly the only classes I cared about in High School), and I didn’t really know where I should go at the time, so I compromised on my local University and went into college under the now defunct BFA major of Animation and Motion Graphics. I wasn’t super passionate about it really; that is, until I began to delve deeper into animation and live action films.

I’ve always been attracted to the weird side of art. Through the abstraction of reality that art-house films usually parade themselves with, I’ve always felt that it was more honest than something a little more generic. So when I got to around 19 or so years old, I began to delve into art-house films. Eraserhead (David Lynch), House (Nobuhiko Obayashi), Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo); these are the people I wanted to be in leagues with.

Films like these completely changed my perspective on what film could (and should) be. It reinvigorated my passion for animation and film and I decided that I would go into 2D animation and aspire to make challenging films and television shows. I had found my passion for animation again. That’s what made me pursue this career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

The deeper I got into animation, the more I realized that the career choice would be hard. However, I figured that I would rather do what I love than compromise for something safe. As stated above, I attended and eventually graduated from Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO), where I changed my major to their revitalized major named Animation, Film and Motion Design. During my Junior year, I also participated in the National Student Exchange Program, where I transfered to California State University at Northridge for a year. At the time, the Animation program at CMU was very new; I thought it would be better for me to learn at a University with a well established legacy of teaching Animation. I absolutely loved college; I made so many new friends, became closer to many old friends, and also met my soon-to-be wife in the same major as me. Unfortunately, college has to end, but I will always treasure that time in my life.

In the beginning, my career was very difficult. For me personally, the biggest challenge was overcoming self doubt about my chances of succeeding in animation. The barrier to entering the entertainment business is notoriously high, and if you don’t have connections, it’s very hard to find opportunity, whether you apply or not to listings. I spent a year out of college working at a movie theater, paralyzed and feeling like I’d never go anywhere. I felt like those years in college were a waste, and that my best days were behind me. Then, through a lot of depression and discouragement, at a certain point I realized I was the only one holding me back; I needed to just go for it and not look back, working on my portfolio to increase my chances as well.

Through hard work and determination, a lot of looking for connections, as well as a lot of denied applications, I was finally given an opportunity to work freelance with Titmouse, Inc., a very well renowned studio in the industry. I had such an amazing time working with them; everyone there is a phenomenal human being and I’ll always be eternally grateful for the opportunities given to me there.

As of right now, I am a 2D animator specializing in traditional animation as well as puppet (or rigged) animation, using programs like Adobe Animate and ToonBoom Harmony. I have animated for television shows on both Netflix (Q-Force) and Paramount+ (The Harper House). I’ve also worked for indie projects as a Character Designer and Storyboard Artist. I continue to work on my own personal projects, ranging from idiosyncratic to just comedic and goofy.

My journey has taught me a lot about overcoming self-doubt and just keeping disciplined. If anyone needs to hear this, please trust me when I say this: just because it feels like you’ll never get there, doesn’t mean you won’t. You need to break through whatever fears you have and just dedicate yourself to your goal. It won’t be easy, but if you keep working at it, you CAN do it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here in Mesa County we are literally surrounded by nature: the Colorado National Monument, the Colorado Mesa, and the Bookcliffs. You will find no more diverse an area for hiking than on the western slope! So, after taking them on a hike, we’d go to Suehiro, a killer sushi restaurant on Main Street in Grand Junction. To finish off the night, I’d take my friends down to Copper Club out in Fruita, the best brewery in the county and the makers of some of my favorite beers, such as the Aspen Street Coffee Porter or the 18 Road IPA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate my shout-out to my loving parents, Margaret and Brad, my nerdy sister, Hannah, and the love of my life, Rachel DeWeber for always pushing me harder and harder and always supporting me. Thank you and I love you all.

Website: Benthomasanimation.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/buddhabojam

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-thomas-9ba752132

Image Credits
Photographs courtesy of Rachel DeWeber