Andy Luckey facts for kids

Andrew A. Luckey, born on October 7, 1965, is an American animator and artist. He is also an author, designer, director, and illustrator. He mainly works on animated shows and movies. Andrew also writes and draws for children's books and Bible studies.

Luckey has produced over 300 hours of TV shows. He was a producer for the popular 1980s-1990s animated TV series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This show was nominated for five Emmy awards. He also worked on Adventures from the Book of Virtues. Andrew is the author and illustrator of the children's book series Spin & Sparkle.

He is the son of Bud Luckey (1934–2018), who was also an animator, director, and voice actor. Andrew is also related to Earl Hurd (1880–1940). Earl Hurd helped create and patented the process for Cel Animation. This was a very important part of how cartoons were made back then.

Early Career in Animation

Andrew Luckey learned about animation at his family's studio in San Francisco. His father, Bud Luckey, taught him a lot. Their studio made many animated TV commercials and short films. These were often for Sesame Street, a show by The Children's Television Workshop.

After high school, Luckey worked briefly as a Visual Effects Designer. He was at a studio called Audio Vision Projects in Mill Valley, California. He helped design the visual effects for an MTV music video. This video was for the song "Turn of the Century" by the band Yes.

College and Studies

Luckey first attended The Admiral Farragut Academy. He wanted to become a Naval Officer. But he left after his first year to go to a regular high school. He then went to The College of Marin.

He first studied pre-med and biology. But he soon changed his mind. He decided to study filmmaking and screenwriting instead. He joked that this change probably "saved countless lives."

In 1986, Luckey went to California State University Northridge. He studied in the Radio-Television Film program. He learned from many experienced people in the TV and film industry. One of his main mentors was Alan Armer. Armer was a producer for famous shows like The Fugitive. Luckey earned his B.A. in Media Management in 1988.

Working with Big Brands

After college, Luckey worked for The Sunrise Company. He helped manage the Japanese licensing of many Western shows. These included The Simpsons and The Adventures of Tintin. He also worked with properties from George Lucas's Lucasfilm, Ltd..

Luckey also helped place Japanese products in U.S. films. For example, he helped get JVC products into the Back to the Future and Beverly Hills Cop movies.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Producer

From 1989 to 1992, Luckey was a producer for Murakami Wolf Swenson. This studio was run by famous animators Jimmy Murakami and Fred Wolf. His most famous work there was on the animated TV series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This show was based on the comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

Video Games and Technology

From 1992 to 1998, Luckey worked in the video game industry. He was a Director and Executive Producer for Richard Branson's Virgin Interactive. He also worked on the video game based on Walt Disney's Aladdin. This game was made with Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Luckey still advises on video game production. He is a member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He was also named a Computer Graphics Pioneer Member in 2007 by ACM/SIGGRAPH.

Further Education and Ministry

From 1998 to 2001, Luckey took a break from his career. He earned a Master of Divinity (M.Div) degree. He studied at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology. During this time, he also worked as a Youth Pastor for churches in Southern California.

Current Work and Contributions

In 2003, Andrew Luckey co-founded Greater Family, LLC. This is a family-focused media company. It is based in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Luckey often speaks at industry events like SIGGRAPH. He has also co-authored papers for the International Game Developer's Association (IGDA). These papers discuss important topics like intellectual property rights for game developers. They also cover the quality of life in the game industry.

Luckey is an officer in the Connecticut Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. This is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force.

Education Overview

Andrew Luckey holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He earned it from California State University, Northridge. He also has a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree. This degree is from Biola University's Talbot School of Theology.