Julia Pott

Animator Julia Pott‘s motley crew of characters can be distinguished by their colorful, quirky and magnetic nature – similarly, this is how we’d describe their creator. It comes as no surprise that the English transplant refers to her work as cathartic, therapeutic and often autobiographical. As a little girl, her mother encouraged her to draw her bad dreams and together they’d write bedtime stories at night. With the strong support of her parents to pursue an artistic career path, Julia began formal education focused on animation at age 16, and went on to graduate from Kingston University followed by The Royal College of Art. Innately curious, Julia casts her net wide when it comes to inspiration, referencing novelist Lydia Davis, New York moments in When Harry Met Sally and Charlie Brown all in one sitting.  She is currently premiering her latest endeavor, Summer Camp Island, a Cartoon Network pilot, at festivals around the globe, including TIFF in Toronto and KLIK! in Amsterdam. Julia spent a day sketching and sharing her process with us in her sunny home studio in Los Feliz right before she hit the road.

“I used to work with a lot of different materials but found that I liked the level of control and portability I had with just a pencil and paper.”

“Though the process itself can be immersive and rewarding I never feel totally satisfied until I am able to show it to someone else….When I put it out there for other people to see I am saying ‘I feel this way – do you feel this way too?’ “

“I get most of my inspiration from romantic comedies and literature. To me literature is the closest comparison to animation that I’ve found. The way something is described in a book can often mimic the way you try to describe things in an animation.”

Julia wears the Baldwin in Horizon