It is with heavy heart that I have to acknowledge the passing of a great friend, amazing storyteller and production designer, Ralph Eggleston.
From our first day at CalArts I knew Ralph was going to make a huge impression in the animation industry – he was so damn talented! I remember seeing his first animation tests and wondering how he was so advanced and skilled, whereas I didn’t know the first thing about animating. It turns out that he had been playing with the artform since he was about 8 years of age! His skill level gave me an incentive to learn as quickly as possible, as I thought I was too far behind – even from the start. At school Ralph was a wiry, high strung, bundle of energy, and always with a can of Pepsi in his hands.
For the better part of his life Ralph had an eye condition wherein his eyes looked in different directions – which further amazed me about his talent. Later on Ralph had surgery to correct this condition, normalizing the focus of his pupils. Ralph was a talented animator but found his fame and passion in Art Direction. Many modern day classics have Ralph’s incredible sense of color and design in their DNA. Ralph was a loving and caring friend to us all – all the way to the end.
I’ll miss him and will keep his memory alive.
(btw that is Ralph between Dennis Venizelos and myself, in the picture above)