Faculty

MAXINE SCHACKER, Founder and Director of Max the Mutt Animation School, is an artist who has exhibited in Montreal, Toronto and New York. She studied with Robert Beverly Hale, world- famous Instructor of Drawing and Anatomy at the Art Students League of New York. She has taught painting, life drawing and anatomy for the Illustration and Animation programs at Sheridan College, and the Bell Centre for Creative Communication at Centennial College.

TINA SEEMANN, Director of Animation, is a cartoonist and character designer whose work has appeared on many of TV Ontario’s children’s shows of the past. Tina designed “Max the Mutt” as well as the characters for the proposed Max the Mutt Animation feature production The Jazz Bears. She is currently working on a children’s book. Classically trained in animation, Tina has taught animation at Sheridan College and the Bell Centre for Creative Communication.

WILLY ASHWORTH has had a long and distinguished career as an animator, animation director and storyboard supervisor. He has produced and executed his own animation shorts, was on the story team for Starz Entertainment’s Everyone’s Hero, has had extensive experience as a character animator, and now joins Max the Mutt, both as an instructor and coordinator for year 2 and 3 animation students. Willy’s animated short, Weenie Wagon Woe, has been chosen for competitive showing at the Melbourne International Animation Film Festival, June, 2011.

STEPHEN BARNES is a character animator who returned to Canada after many years animating for Pixar. He worked on Toy Story 2, A Bugs Life, and was a lead animator for Monsters Inc. After returning to Toronto, he was lead animator on Disney’s The Wild. He is currently working on an independent film project.

TRUDY BINDER is a graduate of the Sheridan College illustration program, and worked for many years as a colour stylist for animation at Nelvana. She is currently working at Yowza Studios.

KENT BURLES is an illustrator whose love of the comic and fantasy genres led him into the comic and role-playing game industries. He worked with Malibu Comics on creating a series of Planet of the Apes comic books, as well as a series called The Adventurers. He has also worked on many role playing games by Fasa, Steve Jackson, White Wolf, and recently on Anvil Galaxy and Rifts for Palladium Books. Kent is Max the Mutt’s Coordinator for Sequential Arts.

SCOTT CAMERON graduated from The Ontario College Of Art and has been a freelance illustrator since1986 doing magazine work, book covers, illustrated children's books and school textbooks for publishers in Canada and the United States. He works in oil paint on canvas or watercolour paper. Between 1997 and 2000, Scott worked for the Disney Animation studio in Toronto as a background painter. In 1993, he was nominated for a Governor General's Award for illustration for Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

SCOTT CHANTLER is a graphic novelist and popular commercial illustrator whose past and present clients include the New York Daily News the National Post, the Toronto Star and Maclean’s Magazine. He is the author and illustrator of Two Generals, a non-fiction graphic novel based on his
grandfather’s experiences in WW2; and is currently working on the Three Thieves series of fantasy adventure graphic novels.

VIVIAN FELSEN is a figurative and abstract painter whose work has been widely exhibited and collected in Canada and internationally. She joined Max The Mutt Animation School in 1999 and has taught both painting and drawing.

CATHERINE FERADAY-MILLER began her career at Dreamworks, animating for the features Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado. She has also been a 3D animator for various feature and gaming companies and taught 3D animation at the Academy of Art in San Francisco for two years. Since returning to Canada, Cathy has been freelancing, creating character animation and character FX for such companies as Chuck Gammage Productions and Mr. X, and has also been working with her husband Tim on establishing their own independent game studio, Rocket 5 Studios.

KEVIN FRASER was a character animator, and also mentored assistant animators, at Disney Studios for five years. Since then, he has worked as an animator. storyboard artist, and character and location design artist for Chelsea Road Productions and Kyle’s Workshop.

GREGORY FURMANCZYK a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, is a professional portrait painter who has done state, corporate and ecclesiastical commissions. Some of his notable paintings include the official state portrait of the Honourable John Fraser, Speaker of the House of Commons, and Dr. James Ham, president of The University of Toronto.

JOSE GASCON HURTADO started his artistic career in 1980. Upon graduating from The Center of Image and Sound in Barcelona, José joined D’Ocón Films Productions in 1989, one of Spain’s largest animation companies, where he worked and continued training with former directors from Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Hanna Barbera, Universal and DePatie-Freleng studios. In 1997, José moved to Asia where he joined the staff of Animation Enterprises Hong Kong Ltd. and Agogo Corporation working as Art Director and Animation Supervisor. After seven years in Asia, he moved to Toronto where he has been serving as an animation instructor in different institutions. During his extensive career, José has collaborated on many popular shows like: Problem Child, and The Pocket Dragons, among others. He also collaborated on three feature films: The Fairy Oak, Winnetoons: Going to the West, The Black Cat, and Yoko Tsuno.

VLADAN IGNJATOVIC has worked in the animation industry as a background supervisor, colour key designer, and background painter. He was also a senior designer and head painter in the mural painting industry. Vladan has exhibited worldwide as an established fine artist.

DIMITRI KOSTIC illustrated many children’s books in his native Yugoslavia. He has years of experience as storyboard artist/director for Warner Bros., Nelvana, and Cuppa Coffee.

JOCK MACRAE is a skilled illustrator and graphic designer. He has been an art director, has worked in advertising creating illustrations for print media, and has extensive experience as a children’s book illustrator such as The Kids Book of Canada (Kids Can Press) and Hook Line And Sinker (Key Porter) among others.

GEORDIE MILLAR is a sought-after and dynamic instructor of figurative drawing. He is a classically-trained artist who’s own art practice focuses on animal life and natural history. As well as private studies, most notably with NYC portraitist Mary-Beth McKenzie and animal artists, John Schoenherr and George McLean, Millar also studied painting, drawing and sculpture at the Art Students League of NY and the National Academy of Design, NYC. He is also an elected member of the NY Society of Animal Artists, who’s work can be seen in The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming or online at: www.geordiemillar.com. His work is also in the permanent collections of the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum and the New Brunswick Art Bank, Canada’s longest running Provincial Art repository. Millar teaches beginning and advanced life drawing at Max the Mutt Animation School and figure drawing in the Animation program at Sheridan College Institute in Oakville.

STEVE MILLARD has worked as a characterdesigner for Disney Canada, 9 Story Animation, and Nelvana, where he designed characters for many shows including The Berenstein Bears, and Max and Ruby.

KEN NICE is currently an architectural illustrator. He was a background painter for Walt Disney in Toronto.

MILAN PAVLOVIC holds a master’s degree in illustration and is an award-winning illustrator/graphic artist specializing in children’s illustration, advertising, animation, editorials, and comics. Milan’s work has been regularly published in Europe, in forms of children’s and educational books.

DUSAN PETRICIC is the award-winning illustrator of more than 20 books for children including Mordecai Richler's Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur. A former professor of illustration and book design, Petricic’s editorial illustrations appear in the New York Times, Scientific American, The Wall Street Journal, The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

SASA RADOSAVCEVIC is currently a concept artist for Elliott Animation. He was previously a concept artist, location and prop designer, and Design Supervisor for Nelvana, where he worked on the animated features All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, and Franklin the Turtle.

BOJAN REDZIC is an internationally-awarded illustrator and animation artist with over 20 years of experience. He has worked for companies in Asia, Australia, Europe, South and North America. Bojan’s work spans from feature movies, and TV shows, to advertising art, graphic novels, games, book design and illustration, kid’s reviews, daily newspapers and comic magazines.  He has had 9 solo and over 50 group shows to date.

DAVE ROSS has drawn and written for Marvel Comics and DC Comics on Captain America, Spiderman, Batgirl, Star Trek, Daredevil, Birds of Prey and JLA: Act of God, among many other projects. He was also an artist for the series Rai at Valiant, and has worked as a concept designer and layout artist for animation.

SANDI ROSS has been a professional actor for 41 years, both in the United States and in Canada. She holds a B.F.A. Degree from the University of Minnesota, and has had has 14 years of dance training She has maintained a career as an actor, director, choreographer, teacher, and life model, exclusively. Sandi has appeared on most of Toronto’s stages from the Royal Alexandra Theatre to the former Young People’s Theatre. Also, she has performed in three seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a highlight being the tour to New York City in 1998. Sandi has worked on stage and in film and television and still maintains an active acting career, most recently, episode 5 of the television series HAVEN.

STEPHEN SAYER studied Classical Animation before making the shift to computers. A Maya guru, he has taught courses in all major areas of 3D at several schools. He has worked for many years as a freelancer, producing graphics and animations for a variety of clients. Recently, Stephen has also spent time working at various studios, specializing in VFX work for television and feature films.

ED SHAWCROSS is an enthusiastic and respected artist and art educator who received his training at the Ontario College of Art. Ed has taught a wide variety of courses, from drawing to watercolour, for various schools and organizations including: Sheridan College, Dundas Valley School of Art and the Burlington Art Centre. He teaches life drawing and coordinates the beginning life drawing program at Max the Mutt Animation School. Ed is a past president of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour. In 2010, Ed was the inaugural recipient of the Doris McCarthy Award for outstanding achievement of an elected member of the CSPWC.

JOSEPH SHERMAN is a Gemini award-winning series director with over 25 years experience in the Animation industry in Canada and abroad. Joseph trained at the University of Alberta Fine Arts and is a graduate of the Sheridan College Animation Program. He has worked for more than 13 years as director and creative director for series and commercials in a variety of studio settings, such as, Nelvana, Hanna Barbera, Spin Productions, and Cookie Jar Entertainment. Joseph has an extensive understanding of both traditional and computer animation.

JELENA SISIC has designed and illustrated children’s books. She painted color keys for Disney’s Gargoyle series, and is currently a Art Director for Nelvana.

PHILIP STREET, in addition to working as an animator for the CBC, is the creator of the syndicated comic strip Fisher which appears daily in The Globe and Mail.

ROKSOLANA TCHOTCHIEVA is a fine artist and a graduate of the V.I. Surikov State Acedemic Institute of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, where she studied for 7 years. She is currently an exhibiting fine artist and also runs a fine art school for children.

MAURY WHYTE is a storyboard artist, animator and production manager who has worked on series, commercials and educational films. A committed educator, for many years he has been a faculty member of both Sheridan College’s animation program, and Max the Mutt’s Classical and Computer Animation Diploma Program.