Nancy Beiman facts for kids

Nancy Beiman is a talented artist who works in many creative fields. She is a director, character designer, teacher, animator, author, and even creates comic strips! Nancy studied Character Animation at CalArts, a famous art school.

Nancy Beiman's Career Highlights

Creating Comic Strips

Nancy Beiman created her first comic strip called FurBabies. It was accepted by Andrews McMeel Universal right away! You can find it online on the GoComics website. The comic strip started on June 5, 2023, and new comics are added every day.

FurBabies is about a mixed family of dogs, a cat, and a human. They all talk to each other and deal with everyday things. This includes funny topics like how often to take a bath or who gets to eat food from the floor. Some characters are inspired by people and pets Nancy knew. For example, Shawm the Afghan hound is partly based on Nancy's father.

Working in Animation

In 1986, Nancy Beiman helped start a company called Caged Beagle Productions. Later, she moved to Berlin, Germany. There, she directed and animated for Gerhard Hahn Film Productions.

In 1989, Nancy worked as a supervising animator for Steven Spielberg's Amblin' studio in London. She helped animate Miss Kitty in the movie An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.

Nancy Beiman also animated many famous Disney characters. She worked on Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh projects starting in 1982. She joined The Walt Disney Company full-time as a supervising animator. She helped create characters for movies like A Goofy Movie (1995) and Hercules (1997). She also worked on Treasure Planet (2002) and Tarzan II (2005).

Nancy Beiman also animated for the movie Snoopy: The Musical (1988). She directed and helped animate early video games for Philips Sidewalk Studios, including The Crayon Factory.

Teaching Animation Skills

Nancy Beiman shared her knowledge by teaching at different schools. From 2008 to 2018, she taught storyboard at Sheridan College in Canada. Before that, she taught animation at Savannah College of Art and Design. She also taught animation, character design, and drawing at Rochester Institute of Technology. Nancy retired from teaching in 2022.

Writing Books

Nancy Beiman has written several books about animation. Two of her books teach about how animators make characters act and how to plan out stories. These books are called Animated Performance and Prepare to Board!.

In 2022, she published a special book of comics. It's called How I Finally Got to Live a Cat's Life: A Cartoon Diary 2020-2021. This book shares her own experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards and Recognition

Nancy Beiman has received awards for her amazing work. In 1984, she won the NCS Division Award for Feature Animation. This award recognized her excellent work in animated films.

In 2000, she was nominated for an Annie Award. This award was for her great work in storyboarding an animated TV show. Nancy also received a Golden Pencil award in 2007. This was for her outstanding teaching at the 2D Or Not 2D Animation Festival.