Keynote Speaker
In 1973, John Pomeroy began working at the Walt Disney Company as a background artist, and after only a year earned the role of full animator to work on Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too—a beloved classic that went on to earn an Academy Award Nomination.
During his time at Disney, he met fellow animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman and set to work on an independent short film entitled, Banjo the Woodpile Cat. That labor of love paved the way for John, Bluth, Goldman, and several other Disney animators to form Don Bluth Productions—which, later, became Bluth Group. Together, they went on to produce The Secret of NIMH (1982), as well as the animation for the laserdisc video games Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair—which was most recently highlighted in Netflix’s Stranger Things.
In 1986, he worked as the directing animator and producer on An American Tail and, shortly thereafter, The Land Before Time, before he moved back to America in 1989 to form a new U.S. wing of Bluth Group, which eventually became Sullivan Bluth Studios.
When Sullivan Bluth Studios closed in 1995, he returned to Disney to work as the supervising animator on Pocahontas, where he also designed and led a crew of fourteen animators to create the character of John Smith.
He was also a supervising animator for Fantasia 2000, and an animator for Treasure Planet, Curious George, The Simpsons Movie. He was the lead character designer for Milo Thatch on Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Outside of illustration and animation, he’s a storyboard artist. He loves to sculpt, and has created busts that animated film artists use to visualize 3-D character models. He’s also a painter of historical events and a builder of historic weapons that are actually used as props in Hollywood movies. Additionally, he’s an oil painter, portrait artist by commission, lecturer, and college professor.
Keynote Speech: John Pomeroy, A Career In The Animation Industry
This presentation spans John’s 46 year career beginning with his start at Disney Studios in 1973. Then his departure with Don Bluth & Gary Goldman to start their own animation studio in 1979 where they created animation features such as The Secret of Nimh, An American Tail, The Land Before Time & many more. Then John will discuss his return to Disney Studios in 1992 to be Supervising Animator on Pocahontas, Supervisor on Fantasia 2000, Atlantis : The Lost Empire & more. Currently John works as a storyboard artist on the DisneyJr hit TV show “Fancy Nancy”.
For links of John’s work go to:
Instagram : johnpomeroyart
Wikapedia : John Pomeroy Animator
DisneyWiki : John Pomeroy Animator
Official site : johnpomeroy.com