Introducing the Ink and Paint Girls Podcast!

Finally- I'm excited to announce a project that I've been working on for the past few months.

The Ink and Paint Girls Podcast

My goal is to highlight Women working in Animation, to create a platform to share their stories and lessons learned.  With each person I speak with, we discuss what they do, how they got there, what their passions are, and explore the time between graduating and getting that first job.  I love hearing success stories, but sometimes the hardships are glazed over or even lost.  There's a lot of inspiration to be found here!  Namely, that gut feeling- "If they can do it, there is hope for me, too."  

So how do the Ink and Paint Girls fit into this?  Well, glad you asked!  In the early years of Animation, the only opportunity available to female artists was to work in the Ink and Paint Department.  They were often referred to as the "Ink and Paint Girls" and here's a reply that interested parties would receive after applying for anything other than Ink and Paint...

The first female studio animator in America was Lillian Friedman in 1933 at Fleischer Bros Studio.  The first female studio animator to receive screen credit at Disney was Retta Scott on the 1942 classic, Bambi.  The first female studio animation director was Brenda Chapman in 1998 for Prince of Egypt as well as the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Brave in 2012.  

That's kind of crazy that we're still having firsts!

Numbers of female students going to Animation school are about half which means numbers are increasing overall in the Film and Animation industries which is fantastic!  But there is still a serious lack of feminine presence the higher you get in the Studio system!  It's understandable that not every woman wants to move up to Directing or Executive Producer, but I want you to know that you can if you want and work for it.  Men and women, both!  But as a woman, I get first hand how I can get in my own way and stress myself out.  Through these conversations on the podcast, I will collect experience and advice on how other women working in Animation have gotten their start and navigated their careers so far.  "Ink and Paint Girls" is an icon reminding us that we are more capable of getting to our dreams than we think.  

Here's the first episode.  I hope you enjoy it!