Joshua Herron ('10 Animation)
Animator Joshua Herron (‘10 Animation) has forged a successful career by balancing major studio collaborations with the total creative freedom of independent projects.
Skillfully balancing his roles on high-profile productions like BoJack Horseman and Bob’s Burgers with smaller, personal projects like the video game Reclaim! and his new book series, Teamo Primo, Herron has built a career that moves fluidly between big-budget productions and deeply personal creative work. His journey shows how adaptability has become essential in today’s animation industry.
Herron credits the training he received in his animation program with providing the most essential foundation for his versatile professional life. “One of the most valuable things from the program was the focus on being an independent filmmaker, knowing every step of the process and being able to do it on your own.” Herron said. This independent spirit was largely instilled by Professor of Animation, Doug Hudson, who encouraged Herron to look beyond commercial Hollywood work and embrace a "just do it yourself" mentality.
The contrast between Herron’s major studio work and his smaller, independent projects reveals two very different creative worlds, each with its own pressures, rewards, and risks. Working on large-scale network productions like BoJack Horseman and Bob's Burgers offers the thrill of being part of a "well-oiled machine" and contributing to critically acclaimed work. His time on BoJack Horseman provided a significant professional learning curve when he received critical feedback on his storyboarding work and was reassigned to revisions. He faced the criticism head-on, learned from the experience, and returned to storyboarding the following season. This perseverance eventually led to him becoming a director at the same studio on a show that was groundbreaking for the animation industry.
Partnering with smaller clients offers a completely different professional atmosphere, one that Herron finds highly conducive to creative work. He shared that the collaborative environment he experiences with smaller clients is reminiscent of what many imagine the major animation studios to be like. He explained, "Everyone's giving feedback and getting a chance to collaborate and have equal say in things." This atmosphere of mutual respect and equal contribution enables ideas to develop more freely, without layers of corporate approval.
Designing the World of Reclaim!
Herron's independent work shows what can happen when collaborators place full trust in his creative voice, with his experience setting the visual style for the video game Reclaim!. The point-and-click adventure game is about a young girl, Miskwaa, who uses her Ojibwe language skills and traditional teachings to navigate a blended spiritual and physical dream realm to find her way home. The game serves as a fun, engaging Ojibwe language preservation tool for Native children, designed to avoid feeling like homework. Herron was unexpectedly approached for the role by Mary Hermes, Executive Director and Founder of Reclaim!, and was given the team’s full trust to define the aesthetic. While it was a huge learning curve, requiring him to adapt his animation design process to the technical limitations of video game assets, giving Herron an incredible opportunity to shape a meaningful project with his own style. “To be trusted by an entire team to set that style…I want to really emphasize how lucky I felt to be able to work on that.” Herron said. “It was just pure play from the beginning, which is the dream.”
“To be trusted by an entire team to set that style…I want to really emphasize how lucky I felt to be able to work on that. It was just pure play from the beginning, which is the dream.”
From Life to the Page
Herron’s current project is the book series Teamo Primo, which is an emotionally driven story he's using to explore his own life experiences and creative vision. The main character's journey involves "learning to be comfortable with their identity while dealing with family drama," having recently moved from Minnesota to Texas, and experiencing culture shock. Herron is currently inking and coloring the first book, which is fully written, and writing the second book in the series, inspired by his own childhood heart surgery and his daughter's similar medical experience.
Throughout his 14-year career, Joshua Herron has balanced major studio work with personal projects, guided by the KCAI philosophy to create boldly, stay curious, and trust his voice. He advises students to hone skills, pursue meaningful work, and respect others. Herron's sustained success proves that flexibility, perseverance, and an enduring creative spirit are key to balancing stable employment and independent freedom.