Coordinator and Professor of the Animation Program | School of Media and Design

Neil Hunter, Coordinator and Professor of the Animation Program was born in Chelmsford, England, and moved to Mississauga when his father began teaching outdoor education in the greater Toronto area. Neil graduated from the Animation program at Sheridan College in 1984, and began a small business with a college classmate.  Their business produced an award-winning animated commercial as well as storyboards for advertising agencies. 

In 1986, Neil moved to Ottawa to work for a six-month job on the Canadian animated series, The Raccoons, for Hinton Animation Studios.  By the time he left the studio, three years later, he was a Senior Animator and storyboard artist working on several projects, including a feature film called the Nutcracker Prince.

“Even though the film didn’t have huge commercial success, it was still very rewarding to work on,” explains Neil.

Neil found his work on the television special, Legends of the Land, to be very special experience.  “Legends of the Land is the project that meant the most to me.  It featured stories about native Canadians,” says Neil.  “I was able to travel to Saskatchewan to meet with members of the Cree tribe and animate their stories.”
In 1994 and 1995, Neil was honoured when he was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Animation for his work on Where on Earth is Carmen SanDiego?
 
“I had an excellent working relationship with the studio that produced the show,” says Neil. “As a storyboard artist, they gave me space to be more interpretive with the script than usual.  The nominations were a wonderful recognition for my work; they just don’t happen everyday.”

In 2003, Neil began his teaching career at Algonquin.  He quickly found that teaching young minds about animation made him a better animator himself.  “I had to go back and re-learn how to master some of the basic elements of animation that I had developed shortcuts for over the years,” laughs Neil.  “When you teach someone to do proper layout everything has to be “spot on”, the shortcuts I had created just won’t cut it at that stage.”

Getting students excited about animation is Neil’s favourite part of the job.  “Our students are very creative and unique.  It’s a great connection because the teachers and the students share the same passion.”

Graduates from the program still maintain contact with the Professors letting them know where they are working and offering to return to Algonquin to speak to the current students. 

“Just recently one student, working at Mercury Studios in Vancouver, emailed us saying that he is now in a position where he is hiring students and he wanted to thank us for his education and let us know we are on the right track.”

Working with Algonquin’s Animation Professors is one of Neil’s favourite aspects of his teaching experience.  “The professors in the program bring an unbelievable amount of experience to their students,” says Neil.  “We have one of the best faculties around, we are very lucky to have such a great team.”