Kathy Zielinski

Kathy Zielinski (born March 21, 1961) is an American character animator. She was recruited by Walt Disney Animation in 1981 after finishing her time in the Cal Arts animation program. Her beginnings at Disney started with working on Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Black Cauldron. she progressed into the role of animation supervisor, working on Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Afterward, she moved to DreamWorks and began working with them on projects in the early 2000s. and, currently, with Fox Television Zielinski has also played a part in the animation of multiple award-winning productions, including Academy Award winners and nominees.

Education and early career Zielinski's early inspirations for her style and themes as an artist came from media with dark themes, focusing on the designs and characters of monsters and villains. Her first inspiration came from the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequences in Fantasia.

During her two years at the animation program in Cal Arts, she won the Student Academy Award at the school for her short-film project "Guess Who's For Dinner?" After returning, Zielinski later took a role as the second woman to supervise animation at Disney with her work on Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This style of animation was first introduced into this form of media in 1922 with the experimental silent film Danse Macabre at the Rialto Theatre in New York City. Due to their technical similarities, the techniques used in animation and film making, as well as acting, are often interchangeable, and much of the early influence from this Danse Macabre generation has been re-emphasised in Kathy's work.

As the industry changed and it began to become less common to stay in the same studio for prolonged periods, She then started working with Encore on their set of DC comic based live-action television shows such as The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow in 2015. Currently, she works with Fox on the long-running series "The Simpsons".

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Credits2017-presentThe Simpsonscharacter layoutlead character layoutassistant director