Byron Howard
Encyclopedia
Byron P. Howard is an American motion picture
director and story artist at Walt Disney
Feature Animation
, and is best known as the lead character animator on Lilo & Stitch
and Brother Bear
and the director on Bolt and Tangled.
Byron Howard is one of the most notable animators working for Walt Disney and has had the chance to work several famous figures within the industry such as John Lasseter. However, the critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated Bolt marked the young directors step into wide recognition.
began 15+ years ago when he followed his childhood dream to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios by writing for advice from one of Disney's Nine Old Men
animators, Frank Thomas
. Using Mr. Thomas's helpful letter, he structured his entire curriculum. Before the ink was dry on his diploma, he relocated to Orlando
, Florida
, where he worked as a tour guide for Disney’s
animation tour at Disney MGM Studios. After 4 portfolio submissions, he began the Disney animation internship, and was hired in 1994. He went from inbetweener to animator
to supervising animator in just 5 years. Since relocating to the California
studios in 2004, he has worked as story artist, character designer and director on Disney's 48th animated feature film, Bolt. Already involved in the project as story and character lead artist, he stepped in to replace Glen Keane
as a director for the majority of production and post-production of the Rapunzel based feature Tangled.
Film industry
The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
director and story artist at Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Feature Animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, and is best known as the lead character animator on Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
and Brother Bear
Brother Bear
Brother Bear is a 2003 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the forty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. In the film, an Inuit boy pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which...
and the director on Bolt and Tangled.
Byron Howard is one of the most notable animators working for Walt Disney and has had the chance to work several famous figures within the industry such as John Lasseter. However, the critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated Bolt marked the young directors step into wide recognition.
Life and career
Howard grew up in Issaquah, Washington, attending Issaquah High School (graduating in 1986) and attending The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Howard's career in animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
began 15+ years ago when he followed his childhood dream to work for Walt Disney Animation Studios by writing for advice from one of Disney's Nine Old Men
Disney's Nine Old Men
Disney's Nine Old Men were the core animators at The Walt Disney Company who created some of Disney's most famous works, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs onward to The Rescuers. Walt Disney jokingly called this group of animators his "Nine Old Men," referring to Robert S...
animators, Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (animator)
Franklin M. "Frank" Thomas was an American animator. He was one of Walt Disney's team of animators known as the Nine Old Men....
. Using Mr. Thomas's helpful letter, he structured his entire curriculum. Before the ink was dry on his diploma, he relocated to Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he worked as a tour guide for Disney’s
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
animation tour at Disney MGM Studios. After 4 portfolio submissions, he began the Disney animation internship, and was hired in 1994. He went from inbetweener to animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
to supervising animator in just 5 years. Since relocating to the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
studios in 2004, he has worked as story artist, character designer and director on Disney's 48th animated feature film, Bolt. Already involved in the project as story and character lead artist, he stepped in to replace Glen Keane
Glen Keane
Glen Keane is an American animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Tangled...
as a director for the majority of production and post-production of the Rapunzel based feature Tangled.
Animation credits
- PocahontasPocahontas (1995 film)Pocahontas is the 33rd animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and was originally released to selected theaters on June 16, 1995 by Walt Disney Pictures...
(1995) (inbetweener: PocahontasPocahontasPocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
) - MulanMulanMulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...
(1998) (animatorAnimatorAn animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
: Yao & The Ancestors) - The Iron GiantThe Iron GiantThe Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...
(1999) (additional animator, uncredited) - John Henry (2000) (supervising animator: John HenryJohn HenryThe most notable use of the name John Henry is in a ballad, "John Henry", describing the folk figure John Henry as a "steel-driving man".John Henry may also refer to:-People:* John Flournoy Henry , U.S...
) - Lilo & StitchLilo & StitchThis article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
(2002) (character designer),(supervising animator: Cobra Bubbles) - Brother BearBrother BearBrother Bear is a 2003 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the forty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. In the film, an Inuit boy pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which...
(2003), Brother Bear 2Brother Bear 2The soundtrack to Brother Bear 2 was released August 15, 2006. It is available only on digital outlets such as iTunes and walmart.com. It includes the following tracks:#Dave Metzger - Opening: Brother Bear 2 – 0:34...
(2006) (supervising animator: Kenai - BearBearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
)- Recognition: Annie AwardAnnie AwardThe Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
Nomination in 2004 for Outstanding Character Animation on Brother BearBrother BearBrother Bear is a 2003 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the forty-fourth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. In the film, an Inuit boy pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which...
(Kenai)
- Recognition: Annie Award
- Chicken LittleChicken Little (2005 film)Chicken Little is a 2005 computer-animated science fiction family comedy film loosely based on the fable The Sky Is Falling. It was the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation...
(2004) (additional story artist) - Bolt (2008) (director, additional story material)
- Super RhinoSuper RhinoSuper Rhino is a 2009 Walt Disney animated short, starring the characters from feature film Bolt. Directed by Nathan Greno the Head of Story on Bolt, the short film picks up sometime after the conclusion of Bolt. The excitable and TV obsessed hamster Rhino finds out his friends Penny and Bolt have...
(2009) (executive producer) - Tangled (2010) (director)