Pete Oswald
Pete Oswald (born July 8, 1980) is a #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator and production designer, best known for The Angry Birds Movie film series and ParaNorman. He is also known for his work as a children's book author and illustrator, and painter. Pete's work includes the #1 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Good Egg, and the #2 New York Times bestselling picture book, The Bad Seed, both part of the Food Group series written by Jory John.[1]
Pete Oswald | |
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![]() Oswald in 2016 | |
Born | Peter Jacob Oswald July 8, 1980 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. |
Alma mater | Loyola Marymount University |
Known for | Production design |
Notable work | The Angry Birds Movie ParaNorman |
Style | Animation Stop motion Book illustration Painting |
Website | www |
Early life and education
Oswald was raised in Bountiful, Utah, the son of Christopher and Nedda Oswald. His mother, also an artist, encouraged him to begin painting and drawing from an early age. He attended Judge Memorial High School, where he played baseball and basketball, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2]
After graduating high school in 1999, he relocated to Los Angeles where he enrolled in Loyola Marymount University and earned a degree in animation arts. He then began working in Los Angeles in film and television animation.[2]
He cites his artistic influences as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Gustav Klimt, Miroslav Šašek, Charles and Ray Eames, Mary Blair, Ronald Searle, and Al Hirschfeld.
Career
Oswald is the illustrator of The Smart Cookie; The Couch Potato; The Cool Bean; The Good Egg;The Bad Seed, And The Alderweireld Book written by Jory John. [3] The Bad Seed was described by The New York Times as "kid-book humor at its best, both warmhearted and frisky — the kind that leaves adults, too, cracking up and grateful".[4] The bestselling duo also created That’s What Dinosaurs Do together. Pete's author debut, Hike, was shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. He co-created the children's book Mingo the Flamingo[5]
Oswald has served in production design and the art department on multiple animated family studio films and television shows. He is best known for his work on the 2016 film The Angry Birds Movie,[6][7] for which he transformed the characters, lighting, and set design from the popular mobile game into an animated feature film series over four years.[8][9][10][11] He was noted for his work on The Angry Birds Movie in Vice's The Creator's Project, which stated: "Pete Oswald's fingerprints are all over the cutting edge of animated feature films, marked by a bright, colorful, slightly angular style."[12] In 2016, he appeared at Comic-Con in San Diego, California.[13] In 2017, he began working on The Angry Birds Movie 2.[14][15]
He served as a visual artist on the popular animated films Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, ParaNorman,[16] Hotel Transylvania, and The Lego Ninjago Movie.[17]
He also paints with acrylics, in addition to his animation and illustration work, and debuted his painting series Pacific Abstract, inspired by the California coast, at a pop-up art gallery show at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, California, in 2016.[18][19][20]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Position | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | Character Designer | |
2009 | The Story of Walls | Director, Production Designer | Nominated: Annie Award for "Best Animated Short" (2009) |
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Visual Development Artist | ||
2012 | ParaNorman | Concept Artist | Nominated: Annie Award for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production (2013) |
Hotel Transylvania | Character Designer | ||
2013 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | Visual Development Artist, Designer | |
2015 | The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown! | Background Painter | |
2016 | The Angry Birds Movie | Art Director, Production Designer | |
2019 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Production Designer | |
Television
Year | Title | Position | Note(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Johnny Bravo | Production Assistant | Episode: "It's a Magical Life/The Hunk at the End of This Cartoon" |
2004-07 | Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends | Character Designer, Animation Processor, Character Layout Artist, Special Poses | 28 episodes |
2010 | Doubtsourcing | Production Designer | TV Mini-Series
Episode: "The Wall" Nominated: Annie Award for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (2011) |
The Ricky Gervais Show | Additional Background Artist, Character Designer, Background Designer | 7 episodes | |
2011 | The Looney Tunes Show | Background Painter | Episode: "The Float" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | The Story of Walls | Annie Award for Best Animated Short | Nominated[21][22][23] |
2011 | Doubtsourcing | Annie Award for Production Design in an Animated Television Production | Nominated[24][25][26] |
2013 | ParaNorman | Annie Award for Production Design in an Animated Feature Production | Nominated[27][28][29] |
References
- "Pete Oswald". Pete Oswald. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Pete Oswald". Lmulions.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- John, Jory (2017-08-29). The Bad Seed. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062467768.
- "All Kinds of Outrageous Behavior in These New Picture Books". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
- Oswald, Pete; Thompson, Justin K. (2017-01-03). Mingo the Flamingo. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062391988.
- "'The Angry Birds Movie': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Sorensen, Jim (2016-06-01). Angry Birds: The Art of the Angry Birds Movie. IDW Publishing. ISBN 9781623029760.
- "Hollywood North | Meet the artist behind The Angry Birds Movie". Vancouver Sun. 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- ScreenPrism. "Ask the Production Designer: Pete Oswald on The Angry Birds Movie | ScreenPrism". screenprism.com. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Quora (2016-05-05). "Directors of the Angry Birds Movie Reveal the Challenges of Turning a Game Into a Movie and Why These Birds Are So Angry". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Brown, Scott. "Hollywood North | Meet the artist behind The Angry Birds Movie". www.calgaryherald.com. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "From 'Angry Birds' to 'Madagascar 2,' What's It Like to Production Design for Animation?". Creators. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "A Behind The Scenes Look At Comic Con 2016's Favorite Video Games |". metallife.com. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "'Angry Birds Movie' Sequel Set for 2019 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Angry Birds 2 Is Coming in 2019 with a New Creative Team". MovieWeb. 2017-05-22. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Alger, Jed (2012-07-25). The Art and Making of ParaNorman. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452110929.
- Jensen, Maren. "Person 2 Person: Pete Oswald, animator & illustrator". KUTV. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Pete Oswald to Debut Pacific Abstract at Bergamot Station: - Santa Monica Mirror". Santa Monica Mirror. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Light, Dan (2016-11-11). "Production Designer Pete Oswald Shares His Beautiful Paintings From Upcoming Pop-Up Gallery Show: "Pacific Abstract"". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "The Character of a Place". The Argonaut Newsweekly. 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Annie Awards". www.annieawards.org. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Finke, Nikki (2010-12-07). "2010 Annie Awards Noms for Animation". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "'How to Train Your Dragon' Dominates Annie Award Noms With 15". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Annie Awards". www.annieawards.org. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Finke, Nikki (2010-12-07). "2010 Annie Awards Noms for Animation". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "'How to Train Your Dragon' Dominates Annie Award Noms With 15". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Annie Awards". www.annieawards.org. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- Team, The Deadline (2012-12-03). "Annie Award Nominations Unveiled". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- "Disney Leads Annie Award Best Picture Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-30.
- King, Susan (2012-12-03). "'Brave,' 'Wreck-It Ralph' among nominees for the Annie Awards". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2017-10-30.