Sheffield Native Becomes Oscar Winning Animator

It's a long road from rural Iowa to the red carpet of the Academy Awards, but Ryan Hobbiebrunken has made the journey while working on some of the world's most beloved modern films.

     A native of Sheffield, Hobbiebrunken's family eventually moved to Hastings, NE, where he finished school before leaving for Denver, CO where he attended the Art Institute of Colorado.

     As a lifelong fan of animation, Hobbiebrunken developed his artistic skills while in high school, but wasn't sure what direction he should take until he was exposed to the inner workings of the film industry.

     "The main inspiration which catapulted me to give feature film animation a try was when I actually drew my first character on several pieces of paper," said Hobbiebrunken. "What emerged was a fresh new character-emoting life and I was hooked!"

Read the full article in the March 20 edition of the papers.