Cornelius “Corny” Cole III is an internationally renowned animator and is considered to be an expert in the field of animation. A graduate of Chouinard Art Institute, he has worked for every major studio including but not limited to: Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Depatie Freeling, and Hanna-Barbera. His work has been featured in Oscar and Emmy winning productions and he has received numerous Cleo nominations including an award for outstanding commercial design. In recognition of his many contributions to the field of animation, the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, awarded him the Winsor McCay Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

In addition to his work in animation, Mr. Cole devotes much of his time to fine art. He is currently working on a project that weaves painting with animation blurring the traditional distinctions that often exist between fine art and moving images. His work has been profiled in such magazines as Animation Magazine, Heavy Metal, and Life Magazine as well as the New York Times and Art Forum. Cornelius Cole has been a dedicated instructor for many years including teaching a ground breaking tuition-free art class for inner city young people in South Central Los Angeles. He has also taught drawing workshops for such studios as Cartoon Network, Klasky Csupo, Marvel Comics and Warner Brothers Studio. Mr. Cole has taught at the university level at both California Institute of the Arts and the University of Southern California as well as being engaged as a guest speaker at numerous schools and venues. His current tenure at California Institute of the Arts began in 1992 and continues to the present where he is a faculty member in the school of Film/Video’s Character Animation Department.