Photo: ©Colleen Riley
About Paul Riley
I love to draw.
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember and am fortunate to have made a career of it. My influences include Mad Magazine (particularly Mort Drucker and Jack Davis), Irma Coucill, Andrew Loomis, Ken Danby, Duncan Macpherson, Roy Peterson, and John Larter. My love for animation was greatly inspired by Disney and the work of the “Nine Old Men”; "Looney Tunes” and the work of Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, and Bob Clampett. Improvement is always my main goal, and I constantly strive to learn all the new techniques and technologies.
I am the portrait artist for the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, both located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is my honour to follow Irma Coucill in these positions. Irma is “The Grande Dame of Canadian Portrait Art" and one of my major influences. She passed away in 2015 at the grand old age of 97.
I’ve been in the animation industry since 1984, working as an animator, animation poser, character designer, sheet timer, storyboard artist, assistant director, and director. Along the way I’ve worked at studios in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Los Angeles, Seoul, and Hamburg. My experience includes everything from development through to post production.