Larry Lauria is an award winning animator, director and instructor who’s animation career spans 35 years and includes animation and direction on feature, television, commercial, interactive and internet projects. The projects he has worked on have garnered over 50 awards including Emmys, Addys, Codys and even a few BAFTA awards.

Besides being a working animator and artist, Larry is much sought out internationally as an animation, layout and character design instructor. He has worked in Cologne, London, Dublin, Belfast, Windsor, Lacoste, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and many cities across the U.S.. 

Prior to moving to Wilmington Island, Georgia, Larry was head of animation at the Disney Institute in Orlando, Florida. Before Disney he solidified his reputation as being a renowned educator and curriculum expert as the Course Coordinator and an Instructor at the European School of Animation in Dublin, Ireland - one of the top three animation programs in the world.

In recent years, Larry has been recognized by WHO'S WHO AMONG AMERICAN TEACHERS, five times.

Larry has been a moderator at Animation World Network since 1999. His website, LARRY’S TOON INSTITUTE is recognized around the world as a trusted animation resource  

His blog, ALWAYS ANIMATED is featured on awn.com.

Cheryl Cabrera was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and has lived in the South her entire life.  An Autodesk Certified Instructor in Maya and author of An Essential Introduction to Maya Character Rigging, Cheryl taught as Professor of Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design from 2001 to 2009 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the University of Central Florida.  

Cheryl holds a B.A. and M.Ed. in Education and an M.F.A. in Computer Art with a specialization in 3D Animation. She is a digital artist and animator that blends the lines between digital imagery and the traditional painting medium. She has participated is numerous group and solo exhibitions in the US and her works are featured is several private collections.  

She has additional experience in acting and directing theatre for several years. Her award-winning students have been featured in animation festivals worldwide, and many have gone on to work within the Entertainment Industry. She currently resides in Orlando, Florida during the academic year and the Savannah, Georgia area when she isn’t teaching.

Jason Maurer has been working in computer animation for fifteen years. His passion lies in exploring storytelling through animation, writing and photography. He has created computer graphics and interactive design work for numerous clients, including, the Sci-Fi Channel, the Weather Channel, Leo Burnett, and J. Walter Thompson as well as produced and directed an award winning animated tutorial series, Windows Without Headaches earning seven tellys and one regional Addy over the course of his career.

Ricardo Tobon is a CG artist, an international lecturer and University professor. He has worked in the visual arts and entertainment field both in the United States as well as South America. Mr. Tobon was a key player in the founding of the online motion capture resource MocapClub.com, he currently serves as the Chair for this project. Ricardo designed the Motion Capture and Software Technology courses for the Computer Animation Program at Full Sail University. He is also the author of “The Mocap Book: A Practical Guide to the Art of Motion Capture”, which has been very well received among the visual effects and video game communities. Mr. Tobon holds an M.F.A. in Computer Art from SCAD and he is an active member of the prestigious Motion Capture Society.

Dan Field began his career as a puppeteer at the New England Marionette Opera Theater in 1993. He received his BFA in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut, and then moved into his first job in stop-motion animation, working as a puppet fabricator for “MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch.”

Since then Dan has been building puppets for stop-motion television series, commercials, promotional videos, and independent films. He has also worked on puppets for live performance that have appeared in venues ranging from Broadway to a world tour with the musician Beck.

In 2005, Dan joined Shadow Animation in Los Angeles as the Lead Character Fabricator for projects including, “Morel Orel,” “Titan Maximum,” and the Emmy Award winning “Robot Chicken.” This position has afforded him the opportunity to pursue his interest in developing new techniques, and researching and implementing the use of many new materials in stop-motion character fabrication.

Jacques Khouri is a Montréal born Canadian with an admiration for the visual. He has accomplished a technical and a BFA degree in Graphic design, a BFA in Film animation and a MFA in animation. Professionally, Jacques has worked as an animator, an animation director and a supervising animator for short films, commercials, video clips and TV shows. His work has awarded him the 2006 outstanding achievement award in animation at SCAD, the Concordia Norman Mclaren award, the Anima first prize student award and has been featured at many festivals like the Montreal world film festival and the Ottawa film festival. His graphic work has also been recognized in various graphic design magazines like the Applied Arts, Montreal’s Graphika and the fifth international Biennial of the Poster in Mexico.

Michael Jantze is an American comic strip creator, best known as the author of The Norm, a comic strip syndicated internationally to newspapers by King Features Syndicate. He earned a degree with honors in Film Arts from California State University, Northridge, then worked as an educational film writer, director and editor before becoming a visual effects art director at ILM, while working on his strip. He now lives in Savannah GA, where he teaches for SCAD and operates Jantze Animation Studios, focusing on new media animation for clients with all kinds of money.