Dan Root is an experienced Story artist with many years of professional experience in the industry in both features and television animation. While still attending OSU (BFA Cinema), Dan began working professionally at Character Builders Animation, where he directed, designed or animated various commercials for Kenner, White Castle, McDonald’s, and Warner Cable. As Character Builders shifted its focus to entertainment, Dan was made a partner and a Key Creative Director where he wrote, directed, animated and helped establish the aesthetic and creative standard that made Character Builders a nationally recognized, award-winning studio specializing in entertainment from script to screen.
Dan co-wrote The Bone Movie screenplay (Nickelodeon), adapting the original comic book, designing beat boards and pitching creative concepts to Nickelodeon development executives. During preproduction for Space Jam (Warner Bros.), Dan contributed character design, visual development, gag writing and storyboarding. During production, he served as supervising animator on the “Monstars” and Daffy Duck. Next, Dan proposed the original story and co-wrote the treatment for 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure (Disneytoons), additionally he supervised character design of new characters and continued to develop the story through storyboards. Dan also acted as co-lyricist for The Thunderbolt Theme Song.
After dissolving Character Builders in 2004, Dan has worked as a freelance story artist, where he has proven to be a valuable creative asset to any production in both features and television. He has storyboarded classic characters for Warner Bros. like Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry and The Looney Tunes and also has boarded new sci-fi and action-orientated shows for Nickelodeon, DreamWorks and Sony. Dan worked as a feature story artist on Blazing Samurai (Mass), Escape From Planet Earth (Rainmaker), Aristocats II (Disney – Also story development, writer, and character design ) TheWild Bunch (Animation Lab) and Fox &Hound II (Disney – also additional animation supervision).
If he isn’t spending time with his family, Dan likes to toss oil paints and brushes into his pack, take the road less traveled by, to some secluded spot and paint the world as he sees it, en plein air.
Feature Films
Sneaks (OFG) Story Artist
Golden Mask (DreamEast/Bardel) Pre-pro Storyboard Artist.
Blazing Samurai (Mass) Storyboard artist
Escape From Planet Earth (Rainmaker) Storyboard artist
The Wild Bunch (Animation Lab) Storyboard Artist
Aristocats II (Disney) Story development -as coWriter, Storyboard
Artist, Character Design
Fox &Hound II (Disney) Storyboard
Tarzan II (Disney) Storyboard Character Design, Visual Development
101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure (Disney) Creation of original story, co-Writer Treatment, supervised Character Design of over 50 new characters including the award winning character of “Lars”, Storyboarded, Co-Lyricist for The Thunderbolt Theme song.
Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (Disney ) Storyboard, Character Design and Visual Development of fantasy sequences.
Bone Movie screenplay (Nickelodeon – unreleased) Adapted from the original comic
and Co-Wrote several drafts of the screenplay-pitched creative concepts to. Execs
Bone Movie visual development (Nickelodeon – unreleased) designed full color Beat boards, supervised other artists and created story sketches
Hunchback II (Disney ) Storyboard artist
Pocahontas II (Disney) Supervising animator, Pocahontas (Disney)
Joseph King of Dreams (Dreamworks) Supervising animator
Space Jam (Warner Bros.)preproduction:early Character Design, Visual Development, Gag Writing, developed sequences in Storyboard and Pitch meetings. Production: Supervising Animator on the “Monstars” and Daffy Duck.
Betty Boop (Paramount – unreleased) character design and visual development
Swan Princess (Nest) supervising animator
BeBe’s Kids (Paramount ) animator
TV Shows
Wacky Races (Warner Bros) Storyboard artist
Bunnicula (Warner Bros) Storyboard artist
Vault the Wonder Deer (Dream East)
Tom and Jerry (Renegade) Story artist,
Wabbit (Warner Bros) Storyboard artist, development pilot
The Looney Tunes Show (Warner Bros) Storyboard artist
NFL RushZone (Nick) Storyboard artist
Tom&Jerry:Ginormous (WB DTV) Storyboard artist
Strawberry Shortcake (Moonscoop) Storyboard
Scooby Doo: Phantosaur (WB DTV) Storyboard artist
Scooby Doo: Camp Scare (WB DTV) Storyboard artist
Superbook (CBNDTV)
Veggi Tales (Big Idea) StoryBoard
321 Penguins (Big Idea) Storyboard, Character design
Venture Bros. (Cartoon Network) Storyboard
SuperNormal (WLE) Storyboard
Boondocks (Sony) Storyboard
Land Before Time (Universal) Storyboard
Loonatics (Warner Bros.) Storyboard
Da Boom Crew (Jambalaya) Storyboard
Pigs Next Door (USA) Storyboard
Invasion America (Dreamworks) Storyboard
Illustration/Visual Development
Ultra Squad graphic novels (Justice Elevate) Penciller Inker (digital)
Jon Scieszka’s Truck Town Series (Simon & Schuster) Illustrator for 13 books of the popular series
Bath & Body Works Designed and illustrated the 2000 Holiday character promotional line: toys, plates, candles and soaps.
Riot Act Developed Roach Patrol and My Son The Superhero (aka. The Purple Dynamo) as part of a proposed anthology series
The New Johnny Quest (Hanna Barbara) Supervised concepts, artwork and storyboards related to proposed promotion of series
Partner & V.P.
Key Creative Director (1994 to 2004) Developed creative content, directed other artists, established and maintained aesthetic and creative standard that made Character Builders a nationally recognized, award-winning studio specializing in entertainment subcontracting from conception through completion.
Director, Writer, Designer, Animator advertising: Kenner, WhiteCastle, McDonalds.
Teaching: Drawing for Animation. Columbus College of Art and Design
BFA: Cinema The Ohio State University