Last night I had the lifetime opportunity to meet the man himself and hear him speak. Tony White, one of Richard's former assistants and directors (Pink Panther Strikes Again, Hokusai) is an instructor over at Digipen in Redmond now, and was able to get Richard in town for a free presentation. Richard gave us previews of a number of segments from his new dvd set and shared some awesome stories about his experiences with Milt Kahl, Art Babbitt and Ken Harris, and the pearls of wisdom he learned from them. After, he signed some books (The Animator's Survival Kit, for those that don't know) and took some pictures for us fanboys and fangirls. It was an incredible experience to meet someone who's had such a huge effect on my animation education.
For more info on local animation events, check out 2dornot2d.org
