Check Out Daniel Haycox’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Haycox.

Hi Daniel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Sure! Like all kids, I watched a TON of animation while growing up. And I was fortunate to grow up during an era when animation studios were putting out some incredible work – my favorites being shows on Cartoon Network like Steven Universe and Over The Garden Wall, which still inspire me to this day.

Although I was always a fan of the medium, I hadn’t considered it as a career until someone suggested I should tour Lipscomb University’s animation program. When I did, I knew I had found my people and my course of study. Yet I was really behind on my drawing ability – I really needed those years at school to be mentored by talented artists and to figure out what part of the animation process I enjoyed the most. For the first couple of years, I worried if I had made a mistake and if I was really better suited as an animation fan.

But eventually, the drawings started to look better and I became more confident in my craft. Ultimately, I found a lot of joy in directing and storyboarding short films, which I still do to this day. I’m now working as a Production Coordinator on a locally produced animated series, The Wingfeather Saga, while also working on my personal short films and, of course, still watching tons of animation.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve been fortunate to have an extremely supportive family who’ve encouraged me to pursue this dream.

Since I didn’t draw much at the time, I think my decision to go major in animation must have been a surprise. Yet they still supported me all the way. Most of my struggles have therefore been with animation in general – it’s a tough job to do, and there are not a lot of job openings.

I spent my summers during college getting rejection letters from almost every major studio… but that’s what it takes to eventually get an offer. Also, hands and feet are notoriously hard to draw, which proved a huge hurdle to me. And I still can’t draw cars.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Most of my artistic work consists of making animated short films and character illustrations. When it comes to the animation process, I like to do a little bit of everything.

That’s why making independent short films has been so satisfying, since I can draw the characters, design the sets, and figure out the camera angles. At a studio, those would all be separate jobs. Actually animating (making the sequence of drawings that brings the character to life) can get pretty tedious, but the finished product can be really entrancing. I still remember the first time a character I animated “talked back” to me! It was wild.

But when it comes to the subject matter, I have a clear favorite: animals. I love going to the zoo and sketching, and I get really bored after drawing humans for a while. Both of my short films, Good Boy Richard and Bearpuncher, feature prominent animal characters. I love that animation gives us a chance to give personality and voice to animals, and to tell stories that would never be possible in live-action.

There are so many animals out there, and so you’re always learning new things and being inspired by just how beautiful the world can be.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It’s an exciting time to be working in animation – the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse has shown studios that you can make animation in all sorts of styles, and it can still be a financial success.

I think we’re gonna see a lot of stuff that’s in the same vein as that film, moving away from a photoreal style and into something more painterly or hand-drawn. The show I’m working on right now is doing just that – we’re working very hard to make each frame look like a hand-brushed painting.

And the pandemic has shown that you can make animation in all sorts of places, not just LA or Vancouver. The animation presence in Nashville has dramatically grown, and many of my friends have been able to find jobs here, which wasn’t really an option a year or two ago.

Moving away used to be a requirement, but now we’re finding we can make great animation, here, in Nashville.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://danielhaycox.blogspot.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drawnbydaniel/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drawnbydaniel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ6ygyolo82ZiUfHo9EufeA