Biography

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Brian studied fine art at the University of Cincinnati's prestigious DAAP program and cinema at The Ohio State University film school. He joined independent animation studio Character Builders in its first year and emerged as one of the company's leading animators, character designers and story artists. Brian later became a director as well as a vice-president and partner in Character Builders. He was instrumental in developing the small studio into an internationally recognized resource for the highest quality commercial, television and feature animation production.

During that period Brian directed many award-winning commercials for clients ranging from McDonalds to Moviefone. Additionally, he earned credits as a story artist on such classic television shows as Ren & Stimpy and the Emmy-winning HBO series Happily Ever After. His early feature experience included character animation for Paramount's cult-classic Bebe's Kids, New Line's Swan Princess, and Warner Bros.' The Quest for Camelot. As a key contributor to Space Jam he created character designs, developed storyboards, and was a lead animator on none other than Bugs Bunny (His animation was featured in the book Animating the Looney Tunes Way by Tony Cervone.)

Subsequently, Brian co-wrote and co-directed the critically acclaimed 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure, a Disney feature that earned him a Best Screenplay Annie Award nomination and for which he won a Best Director Video Premiere Award. He next co-wrote and directed Tarzan II, another highly successful Disney feature that garnered multiple Annie and VP award nominations.

He's had the pleasure of directing Jason Alexander, Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman, Barry Bostwick, George Carlin, Martin Short and Oscar nominee Glenn Close among many others.

Additionally, Brian has been a story consultant for studios including 20th Century Fox/Hot Donut and Sprite Animation, an L.A. based Japanese studio where he helped develop several projects. He's also completed a screenplay for an independent feature developed by producer David Lovegren (Hoodwinked.)

Brian lives in Los Angeles where he continues to write, draw and develop his own television and feature projects.

- IMDb mini biography by: Brian Smith