meet the artist
John Kafka
John Kafka’s art aspires to be appealing & accessible. From a background as a trained fine artist and an award winning animator, John creates limited-release California landscapes, character portraits, and animal portraits that evoke a playfulness and intellectual repartee.
John's intelligent, down-to-earth style speaks to the human experience and the things we hold most dear: people, places, and animals we love. His honest, approachable, and sometimes unexpected art opens up the world of art to those who want statement pieces that resonate and inspire, but won't empty their retirement account.
A John Kafka piece is not a decorative piece that matches your color scheme, it’s art that sparks conversation and joy.
About John, In His Own Words
I graduated from college with a degree in art--oil painting, specifically, and rather than embark upon a career painting portraits of people's pets, I went to Los Angeles.
My first job was at a TV commercial production studio, where I received an absolutely priceless education in film making: all aspects of the process, from scripting through design to post, including budgeting, scheduling, production management, how to drive around LA...and most importantly, how to work well with others and when to speak up and when to keep my ignorant mouth shut (that's almost all the time).
1983
Old School Grainy, Actual Film Photo Depicting Old School 2D Animation Being Made With Real Paper & Pencils
2010
Heavily Photoshopped, Shiny Newfangled JPEG Like The Kids Make
From there I went out into the wide world of animation: TV shows, features, special effects, film titles, music videos, motion control...but of course, things were changing.
Somewhere computers were being designed, and elsewhere producers were noticing animation studios across the sea where labor cost less.
I made the first of many trips to Japan in 1984 and shortly thereafter, the first one to Korea, and continued on to Canada, Hungary, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, on & off for the next 32 years. Some of the projects were brilliant, most weren't. At least a couple were big parts of many childhoods, others swirled down the drain to obscurity where they belong.
Then one day I woke up and realized that I probably wouldn't have minded a career painting portraits of people's pets after all, and here we are.
Career Highlights
John has worked in animation for over 45 years at many studios in many roles: animator, director, animation supervisor, producer, storyboard artist, designer, and others. His projects include the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Curious George, Spawn, Land Before Time, and others you've heard of along with many more you haven't.
