Meet Our Graders
Joe Mandia Grader for Level 1 Animation
Joe Mandia is an Animation Director, Supervisor, Lead, and Senior Animator with a passion for bringing characters and stories to life. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Joe has honed his skills at renowned studios such as Walt Disney Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Blue Sky Studios. He has contributed to a wide range of projects, from feature films to video games, commercials, and independent projects.
Joe's expertise extends to a variety of animation software, including 3D Studio Max, Maya, and Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. He is a team leader with a talent for mentoring and inspiring others.
Currently based in New Hartford, New York, Joe is available for freelance and contract work. He is always eager to take on new challenges and collaborate with creative teams to produce high-quality animation.
Han Hu Grader for Level 1 Animation
Han Hu has been a professional animator for over 17 years. He has worked on many commercials, video games, TV shows, and feature films, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Transformers: The Last Knight.
Roman Kobryn Grader for Level 1 or 2 Animation
Roman kicked off his animation adventure in 2008 after graduating from Fairleigh Dickinson University's art program. He honed his skills at Animation Mentor before diving into the world of a small NYC start-up, where he added his creative flair to a short film project. He then lent his talents to Sesame Street’s magical Abby Cadabby show.
When the show wrapped, Roman set off on a freelance journey in NYC, working on TV commercials, video games, and films at a mix of cool studios like Buck, Nathan Love, Look Effects, Hornet, Psyop, The Mill, and Panda Panther. In 2014, his feature film dream came true when Sony Pictures ImageWorks brought him aboard for Hotel Transylvania 2 and The Angry Birds Movie. He later joined Blue Sky, where he contributed to the icy thrills of Ice Age 5: Collision Course and the undercover antics of Spies in Disguise.
Today, Roman calls Little Zoo Studio home, where he is an animator and animation supervisor. His recent projects have spanned various genres—from the speedy action of Sonic 3 and the quirky charm of the Knuckles TV series to leading creative projects for Netflix’s Love, Death & Robots, Amazon’s Secret Level, and even crafting emotes for gaming giants like Apex Legends and Fortnite.
Amanda Tank Grader for Drawing Classes
Amanda is an American artist currently residing in Austria. After graduating from Biola University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting, she started her freelance career by working in video games, film, board games, illustration, and more. Her biggest passion is character design, and spends her free time playing Nintendo games and finding the best coffee shop in town.
Brooklyn Walker Grader for Level 2 Drawing
Brooklyn Walker is a character designer in the animation industry currently working on a secret project at Skydance Animation! Her clients include Skydance, Sony Picture Animation, Warner Brothers, Netflix, Nickelodeon, and Bungie Games, where she's worked on several feature film and game projects, including musical comedies such as Lin Manuel-Miranda's "Vivo" and Adam Sandler's "Leo!" When she's not drawing and painting, Brooklyn loves to swim, hike and travel with her husband and two daughters.
Anthony Brewster Grader for Level 2 Animation
Anthony Brewster has been a professional animator for the past 7 years. He’s worked as an animator on Spies in Disguise, SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run, The Sea Beast, and most recently on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
His animation journey started in 4th grade when he learned how to make stop-motion animation and has been hooked ever since. He tinkered with stop-motion as a hobby until he graduated high school and then attended Animation Mentor to learn 3d animation.