Ric Heitzman is a storyboard artist for the ChalkZone song "Making Faces." He is known for providing production design on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, also working in the entertainment industry as an animator[1] and art director.[2]
Early life[]
Heitzman attended art school at East Texas University[3] alongside future Pee-Wee coworker Gary Panter,[4] where they both studied painting[5] and performed "avant-garde" puppet shows,[3] as a puppet rock band, Apeweek,[6] and worked together on radio shows.[4] Heitzman earned a master of fine arts degree at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, majoring in filmmaking.[7]
Career[]
Heitzman was hired as production designer on Pee-Wee's Playhouse, where he contributed to the show's memorable art style[8] and constructed the set.[9] He directed cartoons for the series and was in charge of the animation department.[6] Additionally, Heitzman provided voices and puppeteered on the show,[10][11] including Mr. Window, a purple fish and Cool Cat.[12][13] For his work on the series as production designer, Heitzman won an Emmy Award in 1990,[14] having been nominated for outstanding art direction the previous year.[15] He provided several stories for Gary Panter's comic book Kaktus Valley.[16]
Post Pee-Wee, he served as a sculptor for Freaked (1993), a director on The PJs,[17] co-directed the 2000 film Raptoons[18] and was animation consultant on 2014's Meet the Patels. Heitzman has been exhibiting his art pieces since at least 1979[19] and serves as an animation professor at Woodbury University, where he teaches stop-motion animation.[2] He has conducted lectures, including two regarding his work on Pee-Wee.[20][1] In 2014, Heitzman unveiled artwork for a fundraiser.[21]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nichols, Chris (December 18, 2015). The Artists Behind Pee-wee’s Playhouse Are Reuniting. Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Stop-Motion Animation Lab Places Woodbury On Front Lines of Training for Creative Industries. October 11, 2017. Woodbury University. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ducker, Eric (March 23, 2016). The art of Pee-wee. The Verge. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Interview with Gary Panter. The Industry Standard. Page 101. 2000. Volume 3.
- ↑ Davies, Bree (March 26, 2016). Gary Panter Has Designed Everything From Pee-Wee's Playhouse to Frank Zappa Albums — and He's at the MCA Tonight. Westword. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kelly (2003). Interview with Gary Panter. The Comics Journal. Page 225. Issues 250 through 253.
- ↑ Heitzman, Ric. Ric Heitzman. Woodbury University. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Salvaggio, Denise (December 14, 1986). THE DESIGNER BEHIND THE SET OF TV'S 'PEE-WEE'S PLAYHOUSE'. The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Slesin, Suzanne (May 3, 1987). PEE-WEE HERMAN'S MAD, MAD WORLD. The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. Page 648. Penguin Books. Fourth edition. International standard book number 9780140249163.
- ↑ Gaines, Caseen (2011). Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of A Pop Phenomenon. Page 210. ECW Press. International standard book number 9781770900400.
- ↑ Ric Heitzman. Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Gaines, Caseen (2011). Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of A Pop Phenomenon. Page 51. ECW Press. International standard book number 9781770900400.
- ↑ 1990 Emmy Awards. Art Directors Guild. Retrieved February 27, 2020,
- ↑ Ric Heitzman - Awards and Nominations. Emmys.com. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Kaktus Valley. Comics.org. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ↑ Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Page 466. Rowman & Littlefield. International standard book number 9781538103746.
- ↑ Heller, Steven; Fernandes, Teresa (February 19, 2010). Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design. Page 173. John Wiley & Sons. Third edition. International standard book number 9780470148686.
- ↑ Japanese and American Science Fiction and Fantasy. National Arts Guide. 1979. Volume 1.
- ↑ USC School of Architecture. Realty and Building. Page 2. 1990. Volume 203. Economist Publishing Company.
- ↑ McLean, Tom (August 20, 2014). DTLA Gallery Sets ‘Secret Art of Animators’. Animation Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
External links[]
- Ric Heitzman's website
- Ric Heitzman on the Internet Movie Database, providing a filmography