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Michaelangelo Rocco
Animation artist accepts Hollywood’s long hours, tough critiques to pursue his dream
Story by Julie Wesolowski, Photo by Felipe Dupony
Rocco close-up
UB degree BFA '01'; Favorite downtime activity Cooking Italian food, especially rare, long forgotten recipes; Favorite artists Salvador Dali, Alex Toth, Frank Miller, Simon Bisley, Dave McKean, Jamie Hewlet (Tank Girl and Gorrillaz fame) and Egon Schiele; Cartoons that influenced him the most The Triplets of Belleville and Pixar's The Incredibles
With an unforgettable first name passed down from his father and great-grandfather and artistic talent inherited from his mother’s family, Michaelangelo Rocco was practically predestined for a career as an artist. But it took more than a famous first name to get him to where he is today.
Rocco didn’t land his Hollywood gig overnight. When he first moved to LA he paid his dues in office jobs, eventually working as a multimedia designer. Still not feeling satisfied, he continued to submit his portfolio to animation companies. He got his big break when he received a surprise call from Fox offering him a job on the new show American Dad. Rocco admits that leaving his lucrative, steady job to work for a show that could have been canceled after a few weeks was risky. “But as with most opportunities in life, you only get one chance,” he says. “So I took the plunge and I never looked back.”
Hired as a storyboard revisionist, Rocco was quickly promoted to a storyboard artist and he has also illustrated two print editions of Fox’s popular Family Guy comic books series. Currently a storyboard artist on the ABC show The Goode Family, he works directly with the show’s writers, directors and creators, and portions of the script are assigned specifically to him.
A lot of work goes into making the show look seamless—each 22-minute episode of an animated television series takes 10 months to produce, and he works 12-hour days, six or seven days a week, while the show is in production. Rocco says that’s the part that people don’t understand: “If you really want to pursue your dream it’s a sacrifice, it’s tough,” he says.
A fine arts major and UB Honors Scholar while at UB, Rocco credits his professors for continually presenting creative challenges and encouraging him to become an animation artist. The severe critiques he received in his classes prepared him for some of the demanding Hollywood producers and directors he now deals with on a daily basis. Rocco says getting brutally honest feedback from industry professionals comes with the territory. “You have to have thick skin to be able to take criticism, learn from it and improve,” Rocco says.
Rocco points out that the curriculum at UB provided him with a solid education. “UB gave me a more diversified background and more of a foundation, so when I’m on hiatus from a show I have other skills and interests I can pursue.”
UB in the News
New York Times
SUNY weighs the value of Division I sports
An article in the New York Times looks at the advantages and disadvantages SUNY schools have encountered as they upgrade their athletic programs to compete with other major public institutions at the Division I level. UB is mentioned as having led the way to Division I in 1991 and the football team played a bowl game for the first time in January, but the path has not been as smooth for other SUNY campuses. The article quotes former UB president William H. Greiner and UB athletic director Warde Manuel.
New York Times
UB photographer says a rephotograph lifts the illusion that time stops
UB's Doug Levere, photographer in University Communications, is quoted in a New York Times article about the changing urban landscape of New York City.
USA Today
Government downsizing may result in a dangerous concentration of power, expert says
An article in USA Today about efforts in Western New York to downsize local governments and the wave of national frustration over big government that was illustrated this year by raucous town-hall style meeting over health care reports a study by UB's Regional Institute concluded that if every municipality in Erie County cut two legislators, the savings would be "negligible," less than $4 per person a year in most cases. The article quotes Kathryn Foster, director of the Regional Institute.