When Bill Plympton was 12 years old, he sent a packet of his cartoons to Walt Disney in the hopes of joining his company as an animator.

“I sent him a packet of my drawings and was hoping that he would see my strong talent,” said Plympton. “I got a nice letter back saying, ‘Yeah, you show talent, but you’re way too young. Come back in 20 years.’ So I think it’s encouraging to see young art and see what they’re doing.” 

Fast forward to present day and Plympton is the featured artist at this year’s Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. His work is part of the central exhibit of this year’s festival: “Animation: Script to Screen.” 

An advocate for traditional, hand-drawn animation and a do-it-yourself ethos, Plympton is sometimes referred to as the “godfather of indie animation.” 

“The good news is that it is possible to make a living, make a life doing independent animation,” said Plympton. “There’s a whole bunch of animators who work at home, make their own films, put them on the internet and they make money on it.” 

Plympton started his career as an illustrator for newspapers around the country, including  The Oregonian. Born and raised in Oregon City, he attended Portland State University before heading to art school in New York City. 

“I did a lot of caricatures for The Oregonian,” he said. “When I got an animation around ‘85, then I started thinking about movements, and you know how to make the movement exciting and how to make it different and how to make it really bizarre.” 

Perhaps one of the most iconic parts of his career was a ten-year run of producing opening “couch gags” for Matt Groening’s “The Simpsons” in his unique style. 

“When I was at Portland State, they had a film festival and they showed some industrials (high- budget commercials) and they were hilarious … I said, ‘I want to see more’ and (the creator) took me to his house and I walked in the door and there’s this 13-year-old laying on his stomach in the living room drawing cartoons. I went over there and I said, “Oh my god you’re a great cartoonist, keep it up.’ Turns out he was Matt Groening and his father was Homer Groening and that’s how I got the job doing all ‘The Simpsons’ cartoons.”

Plympton’s work has been featured in the Dee Denton Gallery at the Lakewood Center of the Arts since June 2 and will continue to be shown through the festival weekend. The two-time Academy Award-nominated animator is giving a masterclass as part of the festival from 3:30-4:45 p.m. on Friday, June 20 on Lakewood’s Headlee stage. His presentation will include an easel for demonstrations and his perspectives on how to build a career as an animation artist. 

“I think the most important thing is humor,” said Plympton, who’s drawn many political and satirical cartoons over his career. “There are no rules except one: Don’t make it boring. Once it’s boring, people shut their eyes. It’s got to be different. It’s got to be engaging. It’s got to be entertaining.” 

Following the masterclass, Plympton is hosting the “After Hours Film Festival,” which includes a screening of his animated feature film “Slide” and a selection of animated short films: “Bug Diner,” “Hardboiled,” “Jailbreak,” “Tin Woods” and Academy Award-winner “Bob’s Birthday.” 

He’s excited to return to the Portland metro area and immerse in the community of animation that has grown in the Pacific Northwest. He also hopes to communicate how much possibility is out there for young artists and animators in his masterclass. 

“When I was out of college, there was no real access,” said Plympton. “Now, everybody’s making a short film or a feature by themselves at home and they’re making money.”