Bobby Beck is the CEO and cofounder of the online animation school, Animation Mentor

Animation Mentor

Animation Mentor is a for-profit university online animation school that teaches students character animation skills. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the school offers an 18-month program in which students are taught by “mentors,” experienced animators who are professionals working in the...

, which was started in March, 2005. It was the first post-secondary school that helped students to pursue a career in animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

. At the school, students work with mentors from major studios in a production-style environment, and graduate with a professional demo reel.

Beck lives in Oakland, CA, he spends his spare time kiteboarding, playing music, doing random art projects and treasure hunting.

Past Work

Beck attended the Art College of San Francisco until his girlfriend found him his first job as an animator working at a game company based on character tests he did in his spare time for fun. In 1997, he joined Tippet Studios in Berkeley

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, CA, where he animated on the films My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...

 and Virus

Virus

A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...

. The following year, he moved to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, where he animated on Dinosaur

Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

 at Walt Disney Feature Animation

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Walt Disney Animation Studios is an American animation studio headquartered in Burbank, California. The studio, founded in 1923 as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is the oldest subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

. In 1999, Beck was offered a position as an animator at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, CA. At Pixar, he animated on Toy Story 2

Toy Story 2

Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer animated film directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. It is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story, released by Walt Disney Pictures and the third film to be produced by Pixar...

, Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...

, Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo is a 2003 American comi-drama animated film written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin who, along with a regal tang called Dory , searches for his abducted son Nemo...

, The Incredibles

The Incredibles

The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...

, Cars

CARS

Cars, or automobiles, motor cars, are wheeled motor vehicles used for transporting passengers.Cars or CARS may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Cars , a Disney/Pixar film series...

, and the short film Boundin'

Boundin'

Boundin' is a 2003 Pixar short film, shown at the start of the film The Incredibles. The film was written, directed, narrated and featured the musical composition and performance of PIXAR animator Bud Luckey.-Plot:...

.

Animation Mentor

In September 2004, Beck left Pixar to devote himself full-time to running AnimationMentor.com, this was made possible by him and his then wife taking out their entire equity out of their home, where he began studying business development, leadership, administration, and education—and began working with a business coach.

Animation Mentor, which is headquartered in Emeryville, currently has more than 800 students and 50 full-time mentors from all over the globe. As AnimationMentor.com’s CEO and President, Beck works with partners and cofounders Shawn Kelly

Shawn Kelly

Shawn Kelly is an animator of movies and was a co-founder of the company Animation Mentor, an online animation school with student/mentor relationships at its core.-Life and career:...

 and Carlos Baena

Carlos Baena

Carlos Baena is a professional animator and now a cofounder of the online school Animation Mentor, which was started in March, 2005. It was the first post-secondary school that helped students to pursue a career in animation...

 to define the school’s overall direction. He oversees the implementation of their collectively developed vision, which includes spearheading the school’s business relationships, culture and curriculum and supervising the development of its Web 2.0 strategy and next generation tools.

Filmography

1. Cars (2006) (animator)

2. The Incredibles (2004) (animator)

3. Boundin' (2003) (animator)

4. Finding Nemo (2003) (animator)

5. Exploring the Reef

Exploring the Reef

Exploring the Reef is a humorous short documentary film included on the second disc of the Finding Nemo DVD. It features Jean-Michel Cousteau in a documentary film he is trying to make about coral reefs, but Marlin, Dory, and Nemo keep interrupting him....

(2003) (V) (animator)

6. Monsters, Inc. (2001) (animator)

7. Dinosaur (2000) (animator)

8. Toy Story 2 (1999) (animator)

9. My Favorite Martian (1999) (animator)

10. Virus (1999) (animator)

Further reading

• Bobby Beck Interview at Siggraph
• Bobby Beck Interview at Animation Lounge
• Bobby Beck Audio Interview at Pixel Heads Network
• Bobby Beck Video Interview at Blender Nation

External links

• Bobby Beck at New York Times
• Animation Mentor Website