One of the nice things about having your convention in Canada is that you're closer to the staff of DHX and usually end up with a nice mix of them attending. That's true again this year at BronyCAN 2015 as they welcome Stephanie Mahony, Rex Liwanag, Katrina Hadley, and Chris Leinonen to the event!
Interested in what these staffers do for the show? Check on after the break for the full presser!
So what’s really great about Vancouver? The mild weather and beautiful landscape? The diverse mixture of cultures? The kicking nightlife? Technically all of those things are true about this city, and more, but we’re also glad that it’s home to DHX Media, where shows like My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic are produced! And for that reason, BronyCAN is able to bring production staff from all parts of DHX to our show to share their experiences about creating the worldwide success that is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and more! Joining our already fun roster of DHX staff, please welcome Rexis Liwanag, Christopher Leinonen, Stephanie Mahoney, and Katrina Hadley! Not only will they be at BronyCAN to chat, sketch, and have fun with the rest of the attendees, but they’ll be sharing their stories about what it’s like to work on a show like My Little Pony and how they got there!
Rexis Liwanag – Animation Director
Rexis Liwanag is an animation director at DHX Media, where he started as an animation revisionist on seasons 2 to 4 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic before becoming one of the animation directors for season 5. Originally from Winnipeg, he studied classical animation at Sheridan College, and gained experience using Flash while working in London, UK as an animator on various projects. Other shows he has worked on include Ugly Americans and Packages from Planet X, but My Little Pony has so far been the most enjoyable project for him to be a part of. When he’s not making ponies move, he works on his own side projects, or pursues his second hobby of cooking. He also enjoys such things as anime and video games when he finds free time.
Christopher Leinonen – Layout/Posing Supervisor
Christopher has been making animation professionally since 2007, but started making animation with a very short stop-motion film made at an art camp the late 80s. He’s worked on every season of MLP except for season 3. A coworker recently described him as a “lifer.” He’s worked on a few other shows, including Kid vs. Kat and Packages from Planet X. He also participated in the Moon Animate, Make Up! collaboration. When not ponying (which isn’t that often, these days) he sometimes makes comics with the Cloudscape Comics Society (www.cloudscapecomics.com), a group of independent Vancouver comic artists. His work has been published in five of their annual anthologies, including the latest, Mega Fauna. This is his second year attending BronyCAN!
Stephanie Mahoney - Layout/ Posing Supervisor
Steph has been in the animation industry for 10 years. She’s had the privilege to work on shows such as Ruby Gloom, Kid vs Kat, Pound Puppies and of course My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She has been at DHX media since 2008. Throughout her time on the past 5 seasons of MLP she has been an animator, poser, Key poser and a Layout/Posing supervisor. She has also worked as a Layout/ Posing supervisor on Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks.
@steph_mahoney
Katrina Hadley - Storyboard Artist/ Storyboard Supervisor
Katrina Hadley has been working in the animation industry in Vancouver since 2005, primarily as a storyboard artist. In the past she’s worked on shows like Edgar and Ellen and the Monster High DVD movies. She first joined the MLP team as a board artist for Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks, and was lucky enough to be asked to draw the illustrations for the end title credits. She’s also done storyboard work for MLP season 5 and the Rainbow Rocks Encore web shorts. Katrina is currently storyboard supervisor for the upcoming Equestria Girls: Friendship Games DVD.
Twitter: Calpain
