Animator’s Back in the Job Picture

The government’s announcement Friday that the nation’s job growth surged last month may have surprised forecasters, but it wasn’t news to Bob Foster.

The 61-year-old veteran animator -- who’d been looking for work for more than a year -- was one of the many thousands who found a job in April.

“It’s like someone threw me a life preserver,” said Foster, now a storyboard artist at Warner Bros. “I’d been hanging on by my fingernails so long.”

Animation is among many local industries that saw increased employment last month, mirroring across-the-spectrum growth in the U.S. that resulted in a net gain of 274,000 jobs in April. The upswing was welcome news for the unemployed, who have been frustrated by a generally subpar job market since the end of the 2001 recession.

Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said he had been spotting evidence of that trend seemingly every day. “When I drive around Los Angeles County,” he said, “I’m seeing more and more ‘Help Wanted’ signs across the whole array of businesses.”

For Foster, the turnabout couldn’t have come at a better time. The Glendale resident had been without steady work since January of last year, when he was laid off after four months at DreamWorks SKG. Although Foster had just weathered five years of sporadic employment at various animation houses, he initially didn’t worry when DreamWorks let him go because, at least, he had finally hooked up again with a major studio.

“I actually thought DreamWorks was the beginning of my trend back to work,” he said of his stint as an artist for the short-lived TV series “Father of the Pride.” “I thought I could build on that.”

Instead, despite a resume that showed decades in the business, including 15 years at Walt Disney Co. and teaching gigs around the world, Foster’s phone wasn’t ringing.

“I was confused, depressed, angry,” he said. “When you’ve been in the business 35 years and you can’t find a job, you figure there’s something wrong with you.”

About six weeks into unemployment, Foster started to worry. His savings account was empty -- he’d used it to pay off $12,000 in credit card debt. Now, to pay the $665-a-month rent on his studio apartment, he knew he’d have to get creative.

Foster, who lives alone, had already stopped eating out at his favorite steakhouse. “I got good at making Crock-Pot dinners,” he said. Going to the theater or the movies was suddenly a luxury he couldn’t afford.

“I learned to live cheaply by not doing anything,” he recalled. “My social life was relegated to playing Scrabble on Tuesdays with my friends.”

With no money coming in, Foster became a regular at the local swap meet, where he sold off his cookware, his furniture, his collectible Disney plush toys. Finally, he resorted to selling his most prized possession: a collection of rare books and comics, including a 1952 Mad magazine.

“Thank God for EBay,” he said.

His job search, meanwhile, was a constant preoccupation. He’d already sent his portfolio and resume to every studio in town, along with his drawings from a “Buzz Lightyear” TV series and several Disney comic books. Now, he pestered those who’d received them.

“Three times a month I would meet with someone at a different studio,” he said. “I’d leave my stuff and wait to hear back.”

The call would come, but the caller always said the same thing: “We’ll keep you on file.”

To make ends meet -- barely -- Foster landed a couple of freelance assignments he worked on at home. He drew storyboards for PBS’ “Dragon Tales” and “Maya and Miguel.” He also began painting and selling landscapes.

One bright spot every Friday was a lunch with fellow animators at a Burbank coffee shop. Sometimes he had to force himself to go.

“They’d order full lunch, and I’d have a cup of soup,” he recalled. “Sometimes I brought my own sandwich.”

But it was that networking that ultimately led to success. One of his lunch buddies recommended him to a line producer at Warner Bros. to work on a “Tom and Jerry” TV series. The producer called Foster and, for once, he wasn’t headed for the file.

Last month he was hired full time, complete with health benefits. To celebrate, he took himself out for a fancy breakfast. In short order, he also got callbacks from Disney and Nickelodeon, which offered him jobs.

“It’s night and day compared to a year ago,” Foster said. “I felt like I was done until this job came along. Now I feel like taking people out to dinner.”