JAMES LOPEZ
FEATURED CONTENT
Also, check out the result from my online program in which I walk students
through the process of making an animated short film!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
James Lopez is a veteran Disney animator who has been working as a professional in the animation industry for 30 years.
His credits at Disney include being a Lead Animator on films such as 'The Emperor's New Groove' and 'Hercules' and as an animator on the character "Dr. Facilier" in 'The Princess and the Frog' and "Timon" in 'The Lion King'.
He has also worked for studios such as Warner Bros., Dreamworks and Nickelodeon in both television and features and has performed a variety of positions that range from Directing, Storyboarding, Layout, Art Direction, Production Design and Character Design.
He is an alumni of CalArts where he has taught drawing and animation to inspire a new generation of artists.
Click the icon below to see James' IMDb page
DIRECTING
NETFLIX / ODDBOT, INC.
Director - 'Action Pack' (Season 1)
NICKELODEON
Director- 'Santiago Of The Seas' (Season 1)
Director - 'Shimmer & Shine' (Season 4)
NETFLIX / BENTO BOX
Animation Supervisor - 'Mulligan' (Season 1)
VISUAL DEVELOPMENT
WALT DISNEY FEATURE ANIMATION
Visual Development - 'Moana'
WALT DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION
Visual Development - 'Tangled: The Series'
WHATNOT! ENTERTAINMENT/SOLARIS
Supervisor Development - 'Neil deGrasse Tyson presents Space Odyssey'
JAMES LOPEZ ANIMATION, INC.
Production Design and Art Director - 'Hullabaloo'
PICNIC PRODUCTIONS
Production Design and Art Director - 'Pups of Liberty'
WARNER BROS. FEATURE ANIMATION
Production Design and Char. Designer - 'Fat Albert: The Movie'
MGM/ZANUCK CO.
Character Designer - 'Betty Boop' feature film (unreleased)
HYPERION ANIMATION CO.
Character Designer - 'Life With Louie', 'Eugene and Glen' and 'Eddie Nine Lives'
STORYBOARDING
NETFLIX / ATOMIC CARTOONS
Storyboard Artist - 'Princess Power' (Season 1)
NICKELODEON
Storyboard Artist and Revisionist - 'Shimmer & Shine' (Seasons 3 & 4)
DISNEY XD/TITMOUSE STUDIOS
Storyboard Artist - 'Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja (Season 2)'
DISNEYTOON STUDIOS
Storyboard Artist - 'Tinkerbell "Dance Short" '
WARNER BROS. TELEVISION ANIMATION
Storyboard Artist - 'Tom and Jerry Tales'
RENEGADE ANIMATION CO.
Storyboard Artist - 'Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi' and 'The Mr. Men Show'
TOONACIOUS/DISNEYTOON STUDIO
Storyboard Artist - 'Tinkerbell: Iridessa's Quest'
HYPERION/JAMBALAYA STUDIO
Storyboard Artist - 'The Proud Family Movie' and 'Bebe's Kids'
ANIMATION
WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS
Final Line Artist - 'Paperman'
Supervising Animator - ‘Home On The Range’- “The Farm Animals”
Supervising Animator - ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’- “Tipo”
Supervising Animator - ‘Kingdom In The Sun’- “Prince Manco”
Supervising Animator - ‘Hercules’- “Pain”
Animator - 'The Princess And The Frog'-"Dr. Facilier"
Animator - ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’- “Pacha”
Animator - ‘Pocahontas’- “Wiggins”, “Percy” and “Ratcliffe”
Animator - ‘The Lion King’- “Timon”
Animator - ‘Runaway Brain’- (Multiple characters)
Animator (CG) - ‘Chicken Little’- (Multiple characters)
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
Animator (CG) - 'The Bee Movie'- (Multiple characters)
Animator (CG) - 'Flushed Away'- (Multiple characters)
WARNER BROS. FEATURE ANIMATION
Supervising Animator: Fat Albert: The Movie'
RENEGADE ANIMATION CO.
Animator - 'The Mr. Men Show'
Animator - Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary show
HYPERION ANIMATION CO.
Animator - 'Rover Dangerfield'
Animator - 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' short
LAYOUT
WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS
Character Layout Artist - 'The Princess And The Frog'
PICNIC PRODUCTIONS
Head of Layout - 'Pups of Liberty' (parts 1 & 2)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
CTN FOUNDATION
Mentoring aspiring animation professionals on how to make an animated short film (May 2022 - present)
NICKELODEON ANIMATION STUDIOS
6 week Beginning Storyboard Trainee course (Aug - Sept. 2019)
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS
Instructor, Character Animation II and III, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Sept. 2010 – June 2014
LAGUNA COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN (LCAD)
Summer Program 2015
CONCEPT DESIGN ACADEMY
Instructor - Animation (Beginning)
VIRTUAL ANIMATORS.COM
Character Design and 2d animation 12 week series of classes
STUDIO ARTS
Instructor, Introduction to 2d & CG Animation
ACME EDUCATION ONLINE
Volunteer position offering critique to young aspiring animators in high-school and college.
EDUCATION
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS
Character Animation program Fall ’88 - Spring ’90