Russell Hicks got into the animation business through a family connection - Disney’s Ward Kimball (animator of Snow White, Pinoochio and countless other characters) served as his mentor, helping him to navigate the entertainment business.

Now serving as Nickelodeon’s president of content development and production, Hicks wants to make sure the next generation of animation talent has a similar hand to guide them. Nickelodeon’s Artists Collective seeks to be that connection between TV network and animation talent, which, in turn, serves the network by keeping that talent in-house.

Through the Artists Collective, more experienced animators, producers and writers, all on contract with Nickelodeon, partners with young talent in the hope of nurturing their abilities and transform them into promising careers.

Mentors and mentees will then take part in the network’s Animated Shorts Program, the yearly competition that invites animators of all levels to pitch their own concepts for a short that Nickelodeon will then produce. Nickelodeon hopes that some of these pitches could lead to series ideas and attract young talent to transform their training into long-term careers at the company.

Animator Brian Morante was one artist who utilized the Shorts Program to get hired at Nick. With his mentor, Chris Savino, Morante pitched Earmouse and Bottle, which got selected as part of the 2013 program and got pilot pickup shortly after.

Nickelodeon’s Writers Fellowship is also trying to lure and hold on to young talent, giving them experience writing for and pitching shows on air. Four writers will join the fellowship this year.

“If we’re going find the next SpongeBob, we need to find the next Steve Hillenburg (who created the hugely successful toon), and that person needs to be working at Nickelodeon now,” said Jenna Boyd, SVP of animation development at Nick. “We’re always thinking about how we’re going to nurture that next generation of creators.”

Read more at Variety.

Brief Take: By encouraging the creativity of young animators and writers, Nickelodeon also has a good chance of building a loyal base of talent that it can tap in to in the years to come - and who knows, maybe even create the next SpongeBob.

[Image courtesy of Nickelodeon]

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