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UW-Milwaukee camp opens animation up to women

Posted at 6:50 PM, Jun 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-22 19:50:14-04

The animation industry is no longer a boys club. Pixar just released its first short film Bao, which shows before Disney's Incredibles 2, was written and directed by a woman.

The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee is making sure the group of future animators is diverse.  

UWM Senior Lecturer and Camp Director Brooke Thiele says her sold-out camp made administrators happy. 

"A lot of big smiling faces when they looked at the roster and they saw how many females are in the group," said Theile. 

This is the first animation camp UWM has held and Theile says it won't be the last.  Campers use cameras, pens, pencils, even iPads to create their artwork.

Young artists like Joe Tzougros and Ally Moebius support a more varied crowd of animators. 

"I think it's smart how she made it, and I like the idea of having a like her making her own animation," said Tzougros. 

Moebius not sure where her art will take her, but she's loving the camps' connections.

"I get to meet some animators from my favorite shows like the Simpsons, Nightmare Before Christmas," said Mobeius. 

Tim Decker teaches the students different types of animation and loves to see competition among the age groups.  

"It's fun to see them raise the bar because of the younger ones, a really aggressive move. They're like 'I can do this, I can do this," Decker said.