Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Winn.
Hi Nick, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I remember the first drawings I did were these stick figures boxing. I loved those little guys and kept drawing them and filed up my Fathers old construction notebook he gave me with them. From there, I would draw Sonic characters with my brother and would color in coloring books filled with different kinds of superheroes during the summer. I stopped drawing for a while during my teen years and decided to pick it back up and try my hand at art school in San Francisco. From there I met a huge pool of talented artists and was lucky enough to land an internship with Cartoon Network in 2019. I’ve been so blessed to say that I’ve been at Cartoon Network for almost four years now and am helping on a new show called Jessica’s Big Little World as a Design Supervisor.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Art has never been easy and it still isn’t haha! I think the biggest struggle many artists and I face is Imposter Syndrome. My first year in art school, everyone was insanely better than me. I felt horrible taking years off from drawing to play sports and I regretted it for a while. I had to work my way up the entire time but am so grateful that I had a great group of friends to push me and help me get to their level. Even when I got the internship I still had that feeling that I wasn’t supposed to be here. The only way I beat that feeling was to just use the opportunity given to me to do as much as I could the best way I knew how. It was real nerve-racking the whole time but I’m so glad I put myself out there instead of just kind of standing there doing the bare minimum. It’s a blessing and a curse but I feel as though the road will never be smooth but I’m confident that I will always have people that will walk that road with me regardless of what is up ahead.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I work as a Design Supervisor for animation. I get to help create new characters for TV animation and make sure the designs on the show are solid and look great for the rest of the team and the audience. It’s a tough job seeing as you’re juggling Character Designs Prop Designs and FX designs all while communicating with production and also making sure your team is in a good spot. I’m extremely thankful that both school and my internship helped me with getting work done quickly while still staying polished and solid. That has translated really well with my work and it helps keep the design department running smoothly.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Listening has been the most important part of working in animation. Not just listening to notes and directions on what to design, but listening to the teams small talk and interests as well. Getting to know the team and speak with them on a casual level has helped my designs for the show immensely. Sometimes it can be hard trying to figure out what everyone wants out of the episode but getting to know each other bridges that gap and strengthens the show in more ways than one.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://winnsart.carbonmade.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winnstinn/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Winnstinn
