Rough Draft Studios
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 1991
- Employees
- 51-200
- Offices
- 1
About Rough Draft Studios
Rough Draft Studios is an independent American animation studio producing primetime television animation, feature films, television specials and commercials. Its work combines traditional hand-drawn character animation with computer-generated imagery, using non-photorealistic rendering to bring three-dimensional environments and objects into a consistent cartoon style.
Founded in 1991 by Gregg and Nikki Vanzo in a garage in Van Nuys, California, the company developed its production capabilities during the early growth of digital animation for television. Claudia Katz joined in 1994 to produce MTV’s The Maxx, which premiered the following year. The studio moved to Glendale in 1995 and built a body of work spanning adult comedy, fantasy, science fiction and theatrical animation.
Animation across formats
A longstanding production relationship with Futurama helped establish the studio’s approach to combining expressive 2D characters with cel-shaded spacecraft, complex camera moves and futuristic environments. Its involvement spans the original television series, subsequent revivals and four direct-to-DVD feature films. The studio also produced all five seasons of Matt Groening’s Disenchantment for Netflix.
Other work includes sequence direction, character animation and CG integration for The Simpsons Movie; CGI production for Star Wars: Clone Wars; and television productions such as Drawn Together, Tarantula, Fired on Mars and How Murray Saved Christmas. Its theatrical work also includes animated opening titles for The Pink Panther 2 and Warner Bros. shorts.
Production capabilities
The studio offers production from visual development and storyboards through layout, animation and final compositing. Its capabilities include character, prop and background design; animatics; 3D modeling and rigging; digital ink and paint; camera planning; and visual effects. These disciplines support both fully animated productions and projects requiring integrated 2D and CG elements.
Recent production activity includes the Hulu revival of Futurama and Ted: The Animated Series, developed with Fuzzy Door Productions and Universal Studio Group for Peacock.
More about Rough Draft Studios
Leadership
- Gregg Vanzo is President and Supervising Director.
- Claudia Katz is Executive Vice President, Partner and Executive Producer.
- Scott Vanzo is Chief Technology Officer and Director of CGI. He joined in 1993 to develop digital ink-and-paint, camera and 3D animation pipelines.
- Peter Avanzino, Dwayne Carey-Hill and Edmund Fong are Supervising Directors; Crystal Chesney-Thompson is a Director.
Production coordination
Domestic teams handle script integration, storyboards, design, color styling, 3D modeling, camera layout and animatics. Overseas keyframe animation, in-betweening and coloring are predominantly subcontracted to Rough Draft Korea, coordinated by International Liaison Hyejoon Yun. Footage returns to the US studio for final compositing, visual effects, lighting and retakes. The reported compositing toolset includes After Effects, Nuke, Toonz and Harmony.
Workplace representation
In June 2016, the studio ratified a collective bargaining agreement with The Animation Guild, I.A.T.S.E. Local 839, covering artists at its Glendale facility.
Notable credits
22 creditsOffices
Current and former locations of Rough Draft Studios
- 615 Allen Avenue, Glendale, California 91201, United StatesGlendale, California, United States
Rough Draft Studios Headquarters & Main Production Campus
HeadquartersOpened 1995
About this office
Overall headquarters and main production campus, housing executive leadership, development, directing, storyboarding, design, CGI, digital ink and paint, and compositing teams.
- Los Angeles, California, United States
Los Angeles office
Former officeOpened 1991
About this office
Historical founding premises in a residential garage. The company relocated to Glendale in 1995; no street address or physical closure date is supplied.
Open roles
Find your next role at Rough Draft Studios