Tell us a little about your background as a child. Where are you from and what was your life like growing up?

I was born in downtown L.A. at Good Samaritan Hospital. My Dad was finishing up Dental School at the time and months later we moved up to Northern California… Sunnyvale in fact. And indeed it was sunny… and there was a vale. We lived by a cherry orchard that quickly went to a development and a public park. But I still remember fondly riding bikes through the cherry trees. I spent a lot of time watching television, but also there was a Disney-fueled dollar theatre multiplex really close to my house. In the early 70’s we would go there as little tykes and absorb hours of fun weird and magical stuff. Lots of chimps and Kurt Russell and animation. I saw Fred Mac Murray in “Follow Me Boys” and knew then and there I wanted to be a Boy Scout. I really empathized with Kurt Russell as the orphan boy. But as I had parents, I knew I would go have some different experiences in scouting.

Around that time, I was informed that trumpet and drums were too loud, so I entered the school band as a saxophonist (insert screams of ghastly horror here). I continued scouting all through high school and managed to file my Eagle Scout paperwork a few days before my 18th birthday. All through high school I was in every possible band or choir…and performed in a couple of stage shows (singing and doing improv). I didn’t discover my love for art and animation until it resurfaced in college, due to a college chum who was an arts & crafts guru at the Boy Scout camp I worked at in the Sierras.

Is it true that you are a martial artist and a dancer?

I hold a 7th degree black belt and instructor’s license in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu (basically Samurai and Ninja skills). I have also studied about a dozen other martial arts. I am on a bit of a hiatus right now. But I do tutor people and occasionally attend classes of people I respect and admire. As for dancing - at San Francisco State I took a basic social dancing class, and was hooked. It was a great way to break the ice with ladies, and I had a knack for it. Then while working at Maxis on “The Sims” I was bitten by the “swing dance bug”, and never looked back. When I moved from Oakland to L.A. for work, I started chasing down venues. I have also taught at private events in the Bay Area and on Catalina Island at the Casino Ballroom.

What's your first impulse when in danger: fight or waltz?

As I spent 3 years as a bouncer in San Jose and San Francisco, so I would say my first impulse is to talk. But it is a very funny question. I like waltzing. I have not really been in many fights… especially after studying more martial arts. It tends to make you appreciate life more, and want to do more dancing. But if you are looking for free tips… knock on their forehead like knocking on a door. Don’t hit anyone with a fist - many times you’ll just hurt your hand. Most things in the world are “harder” than we poor primates. Mostly, I have found that the diversity of my background and my myriad jobs have helped make me more rounded as a person, and a better storyteller. I tend to get on well with people who have the unflappable, Depression Era no-nonsense ways about them that I saw in my Mom and her parents.

That forehead thingy HURTS! Your website mentions that your Tiki art is based upon "a love of Tiki culture, Polynesian culture... and real women". Please go into more detail. :-)

Well, last first then. I love women… especially my girlfriend. I am inspired by old pin-ups, and normal-looking women more than fashion models. I love seeing women dressed well and feeling good about themselves. People have commented that they like the way I portray women as being more active in my pictures, and not just an object of desire. Oh dear, my website needs some serious updating with new work! Now I know why everyone is going to blogs. I have been to Hawaii a bunch, most recently to Kauai and Molokai. I have friends around the Islands. I really like the laid back way Islanders live and conduct themselves, but I also like to pay homage to the way that Hawaiians and other Pacific Cultures lived before the coming of Cook, et al.

I also liked the idea of doing my own take on the Tiki Room kitsch factor, so I built and animated my own talking tiki head using servos, servo controllers and a PC. I wrote and recorded the sound and music, and used a fairly inexpensive animation package to power it. My art co-op and I used it as a Imagineering-styled “wienie” to draw people into the tiki hut I designed, and that we built as one of our bases of operations/mobile galleries at a tiki event called “Tiki Oasis”, held for two years.

So, you can imagine that when I got the opportunity recently to work on a kids’ video that is based on the sounds and images associated with the Hawaiian language, I jumped at the chance. Tammy Apana, a filmmaker here in L.A., decided that she wanted to make some videos that would help showcase the language - to start kids playing with it at an early age. I was honored to be tapped to do the animated opening and closing, and then the DVD authoring and AfterEffects work for it, and now also the website: ”L'il Aloha Babies”… coming soon!

Do you ever wish you were Paul Gauguin?

Only in so much as I would love to visit Tahiti. And I love French Art and culture. And his work is always inspiring.

Puppets. Tell us about the puppets.

When I was working at Maxis on yet another “The Sims Expansion Pack”, I came to the realization that I needed a creative outlet. So, I started collecting puppets in order to see how the people at Henson and other such magical places did them. I have a couple score of them safely stored away… and when I am tired and unable to do more animation for the day - but still feel creative - I either draw or paint or puppet. Recently, Girly and I went and saw “Puppet Up” (Henson puppet improv in Hollywood) and it was one of the most fun evenings of live entertainment I have had in quite a while. I can’t get away from the puppets. They love me too much.

Thanks for that image. Your animated short film, "Max and Bear: TV", has received good exposure on the film festival circuit. What was your motivation for creating the short, and what did you learn in the process?

Well, that was my trial by fire in Maya. I had gobs of experience in 3DSMax and other simpler packages, but Maya was another beastie entirely. So, I decided to expand and explore the characters I had drawn during a lull in action between Disney Interactive and Maxis. I learned very quickly that I loved the little buggers, but that it takes about 20 different story iterations before you get to something even close to golden, heck… copper. I also decided that a short is best for telling a joke or illuminating a simple aspect of a character. I learned so many things.

Here is a list. Get as much reliable help as possible. Get the story nailed. Don’t worry about starting… just GO! And when you have a structure emerging, codify it as a process and then step back and simplify that a few times. Use the rules for development listed on the Simplistic Pictures website. That was useful advice. Make it the best quality possible for your skill level, but also know that if you extend yourself into CG, it better look really polished. My next series of shorts will be simpler and in 2D: using FLASH, Anime Studio, After Effects, etc.

What was it like working for Walt Disney Feature Animation during a time of major change at the studio? What did you take away from the experience?

Oooh… so much to talk about. I liked working for Disney. The people there that were there to make Disney product were amazing. It was interesting to see the way the politics at a studio work. It was exciting to meet and work and learn from people you idolize. You definitely can see their love in the things they do. And when you click with someone who matters to you professionally, artistically and personally for the way they have made you feel with their work… it makes you so happy that you feel all “teary”.

Disney at present is an amazing incubator for animation in the future. I hope they take this time and work it to their advantage to make solid stuff people want to see. I really miss seeing stories about “people” doing extraordinary things in odd circumstances.

No better source for such stories than a Disney employee. ;-) Since leaving Disney, you've been involved with a diverse range of stuff: Second Life, DVD authoring, Flash animation. What's the most exciting thing that you're into these days?

At present, I am animating some dancing and burlesque animation for Second Life friends (after building a Second Life animation pipeline for Maya). In my spare time, I am refining the website to help lift “L'il Aloha Babies” up into the stratosphere where it belongs. The new stuff I am developing on my own are Flash and 2D-based action series and shorts. One is a Steam Punk, dark Victorian thing.

Another is a story of a hotdog vendor that has been bopping about in my head since the time when Max and Bear were born. I have a feature concept that I have been boarding with the Bear. I boarded out the last 5 minutes of Act Two. That was an eye opener! It brought a clarity to the line of the story that nearly blew me away. Otherwise, I have been interviewing around town for character animation work, which I love… and had a lot of fun doing recently on “Tak” for Nick.

Where should we look for Eric Hedman in ten years?

Under a mile-deep pile of puppets. I would like to still be plugging away at story development and making stuff that people want to see - especially in the design realm. After watching some of the best design voices of my generation (and those previous) in action, I know that I want to keep up with them as best I can. I will be around.

At the very least, I should be at the Guild Holiday party. I try not to make a lot of predictions, just plans. And because I follow them and adapt, I usually end up in a better place than I ever could have imagined. That is one of the best parts of living. Collaborating with cool, fun folks on cool, fun stuff kicks butt too.

For more on Eric Hedman and his work, visit:

WEBSITE: http://www.erichedman.com
BLOG: http://erichedman.livejournal.com
SECOND LIFE: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Chilispoon/128/80/39