Episodes

Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
I&PF-165, Bobby Pontillas, Art Director in Development & Ally
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Wednesday Jul 12, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Except for today. Enjoy our ally edition.
Hosted by Kira Rodrigues and Cassie Soliday.
Today we announce the winner of a new award we completely made up for fun: the Token Man with Talent award!
We spent a grueling amount of hours shortlisting who should win this prestigious award. And as you know, there are not enough men in the industry, so we really need to do our due diligence to highlight them. But now, we are ready to announce the winner of 2022’s Token Man with Talent.
He’s an animator! A visual development artist! An art director working in development! And best of all, he’s an ally! It’s… drumroll, please… Bobby Pontillas! Yayyyy!!!!!
All jokes aside, we’re so happy Bobby’s here today because he’s gonna let us inside his head and give us great tips and insights on how to get into the industry, what to put in your portfolios, and all that good stuff! The goal of this episode is to take the breadth of his experience and give it to you.
Find Bobby online.
More about Rise Up Animation.
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
I&PF-164, Garnet Garcia, Nickelodeon Intern & Storyboard Artist
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Wednesday Jun 28, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Kira Rodrigues
Today’s guest is Nickelodeon Intern and Storyboard Artist, Garnet Garcia!
When the pandemic hit, Garnet was active in various animation circles like Rise Up Animation, RAD Artists Network, Lightbox Expo, just to name a few. Her drive and passion eventually led her to a production internship at Nickelodeon Animation in 2021. In this episode, we discuss how she honed in on her craft, how she broke in, and how she was able to take care of her mental health while doing so.
Find Garnet online
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garnetdraws/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garnet-garcia/
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Wednesday May 31, 2023
I&PF-163, the return of Angela Entzminger, Storyboard Artist and TV Writer
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Wednesday May 31, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday and Kira Rodrigues
Today’s guest is Television Writer and Storyboard Artist, Angela Entzminger!
You may remember her from her last interview I did years ago when she was working in production at Nickelodeon animation with big plans of navigating over to working as a Storyboard Artist. Well, guess what. She did it! And then she also started writing for TV Animation. She’s now boarded and written for shows at Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max! We’re excited to check in with her today and hear all about how she did it and how she continues to thrive.
Find Angela online
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Wednesday May 17, 2023
I&PF-162, Alyssa Harden, Writer and Production Coordinator
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday
Today’s guest is Writer and Production Coordinator, Alyssa Harden!
Alyssa is a production coordinator at DreamWorks and freelance animation writer. She’s worked at companies like Illumination, Laika, Grayscale, and more. In our chat, she talks how saturday morning cartoons helped shape her worldview and how she finds joy in doing that for today’s kids, what it took to relocate for work, east coast to west, LA to Oregon and back again, finding romance in the puppet department, being the only artist in a family of scientists, and more.
Find Alyssa online
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Thursday Feb 16, 2023
I&PF-161, Bonnie Branson, Background Painter (part 2)
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday
Today’s guest is background painter, Bonnie Branson!
Originally from Kentucky but raised in Connecticut, Bonnie now lives and work in the Los Angeles area painting backgrounds for animation. Currently, she’s a background painter on the sweet and adventurous Nick Jr show “Santiago of the Seas.” Her previous experience includes stage scenic painting, and doing early stage visual development for virtual reality, television, and animated features. Today, we chat about starting a new full-time animation job during the pandemic, how she pivoted from teaching art for middle school students into animation, the specifics about painting for a CG show that you may not have thought about before, and why it’s never too late to go after your dreams.
Find Bonnie online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
I&PF-160, Bonnie Branson, Background Painter (part 1)
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday
Today’s guest is background painter, Bonnie Branson!
Originally from Kentucky but raised in Connecticut, Bonnie now lives and work in the Los Angeles area painting backgrounds for animation. Currently, she’s a background painter on the sweet and adventurous Nick Jr show “Santiago of the Seas.” Her previous experience includes stage scenic painting, and doing early stage visual development for virtual reality, television, and animated features. Today, we chat about starting a new full-time animation job during the pandemic, how she pivoted from teaching art for middle school students into animation, the specifics about painting for a CG show that you may not have thought about before, and why it’s never too late to go after your dreams.
Find Bonnie online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
I&PF-159, Grace Wong, Background Designer
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Wednesday Feb 08, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Kira Rodrigues
Today’s guest is background designer, Grace Wong!
Grace went to the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, taking a BFA in Concept Art at the beginning of her journey. She graduated and took up matte painting freelance before transitioning to becoming a fully-fledged background designer that she is today. Grace is also an amazing social media supervisor with Rise Up Animation and spearheads many of their projects that you see on the Twitter, Instagram, and even LinkedIn. In this episode, she will share her journey from how she transitioned from being a matte painter to a background designer, her self growth along the way, as well as tips and tricks if you want to pursue the route of a background designer in the animation industry.
Find Grace online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
I&PF-158, Lexie Chu, Development Assistant & Founder of Asians in Animation
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Wednesday Feb 01, 2023
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Kira Rodrigues
Today’s guest is development assistant and founder of Asians in Animation, Lexie Chu!
Lexie started her journey by breaking in at Cartoon Network as a production intern working on The Powerpuff Girls (2016). In 2020, she moved to Netflix Animation as a production assistant in the film development sector where she assisted in a handful of movies as well as founded the Asian at Netflix Animation community. Now as a development assistant at Skydance Animation, she'll be sharing valuable tips that she wish she knew in school, as well as tips on what she looks for in potential candidates in the recruitment process. Lexie is also the proud founder and president of the organization, Asians in Animation, and she shares how she was inspired to start the organization, her growth, and the importance of sparking these conversations in the animation industry.
Find Lexie online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Thursday Nov 03, 2022
I&PF-157, Taneka Stotts, Writer and Story Editor (part 2)
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday
Today’s guest is writer and story editor, Taneka Stotts!
Taneka is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter who’s written for Steven Universe Future, Craig of the Creek, Young Justice, and is currently the Story Editor of Pinecone & Pony. Before animation, Taneka created platforms to showcase diverse and LGBTQ voices with no limitations to their imagination in comics. One of my personal favorites is Casual Hex and Deja Brew was hella good, too. Point is, Taneka’s an amazing storyteller and change maker and you should know who they are. In this episode, we discuss growing up with a medium that has now become their life, how the collaborative process can make your crew feel like a family, how to talk about what you’re doing when you can’t actually talk about it due to NDAs, and how to improve diversity inclusion initiatives to make real change that lasts more than a year.
Find Taneka online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk

Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
I&PF-156, Taneka Stotts, Writer and Story Editor (part 1)
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Tuesday Nov 01, 2022
Welcome to the Ink and Paint Folk podcast- a look at animation through the women and non-binary folk who make it!
Hosted by Cassie Soliday
Today’s guest is writer and story editor, Taneka Stotts!
Taneka is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter who’s written for Steven Universe Future, Craig of the Creek, Young Justice, and is currently the Story Editor of Pinecone & Pony. Before animation, Taneka created platforms to showcase diverse and LGBTQ voices with no limitations to their imagination in comics. One of my personal favorites is Casual Hex and Deja Brew was hella good, too. Point is, Taneka’s an amazing storyteller and change maker and you should know who they are. In this episode, we discuss growing up with a medium that has now become their life, how the collaborative process can make your crew feel like a family, how to talk about what you’re doing when you can’t actually talk about it due to NDAs, and how to improve diversity inclusion initiatives to make real change that lasts more than a year.
Find Taneka online:
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This podcast is produced in partnership with Women in Animation
womeninanimation.org
"Today, women hold only 20% of the creative roles in animation. WIA wants to make it 50/50 by 2025!"
Please also check out other great organizations promoting diversity in the industry: Black n’ Animated, Rise Up Animation, LatinX in Animation, Asian Queens in Animation, Asians in Animation, and Diverse Toons.
Ink and Paint Folk on Social Media:
Twitter: @InkandPaintFolk - Instagram: @inkandpaintfolk