Animator Cotty Kilbanks Sets Up Shop in Easton

After 30  in animation, Carol "Cotty" Kilbanks' resume includes everything from the fuzzy, family friendly Disney universe to the foul-mouthed fourth-graders of South Park.

Now, this Easton native has returned home, setting up a studio on Bank Street where she offers lessons to kids and adults.

Cotty's Cartoon & Art Studio opened last October at 7 N. Bank St. Working out of a small space in a larger studio, Kilbanks teaches everything from animation to water color painting to fashion illustration.

There's also classes in animae -- the popular Japanese artform -- and something called "Dragons, Monsters, and Robots," which Kilbanks says is as popular with adults as it is with children.

"They can come here and be a little kid again," she said.

Kilbanks, a graduate of , says she's returned to the city to be closer to her mother, and because she missed the east coast.

"California's gotten very fast," she said.

On a Tuesday afternoon, she had two students at work at a table, one painting a landscape, the other drawing the cartoon character The Tick.

Two very different types of artwork, but Kilbanks' career has involved a variety of different types of projects.

She'd always been interested in art, but began considering animation in college on the suggestion of her friend Henry.

("Henry" was Henry Selick, who went on to oversee The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and James and the Giant Peach.)

She started small -- her first job was for a Micheline tire ad -- but has since done work for Warner Bros., Disney, Nickelodeon, and South Park.

This last job came about because one of South Park's storyboard artists took a class Kilbanks was teaching. The show might seem like an odd change of pace after, say, Bugs Bunny's Creature Features, but Kilbanks said she admired South Park's working environment.

"Other places are very strict, you have to stay in your cubicle. South Park has the New York feel," she said.

Eventually, Kilbanks hopes to expand to a larger studio. Kilbanks is also busy with a number of projects, including two cartoon series. She's also illustrating a children's book by Easton writer -- -- Joe Frinzi. 

For more information on classes, call Kilbanks at 805-341-2084 or 610-253-4507, or e-mail her at CarolKilbanks215@msn.com.