From Art School Graduate to Commercials Director
Interview with
Eric Lerner
Winner of the 2006 Aniboom Awards
Creator of
Mr. Fortune
Watch it Now!
His “Mr. Fortune” animation won in the 2006 Aniboom Awards music video category. Soon after he was an employee of London’s Partizan labs directing an Olympics commercial for software giant Coca Cola.
Watch Mr. Fortune!>>
The Beginning:
I was born in the United States but raised in Israel. As I was growing up there wasn't much of an animation or design industry in Israel, at least not anything that I was aware of. I spent my high school years in California, where I finally got a chance to learn more about the field and get serious about it.
Manga and Anime was really blowing up at the time so I think that was a big influence, plus animation classes really opened my eyes and mind to a lot to the different possibilities of animation. Eventually, I learned the most at Bezalel. That was really a time of discovery for me. I studied graphic design, illustration and also a bit of animation. Today I mostly go to the web to see new things and keep up. There is an endless amount of talent out there, it's overwhelming.
Animation, in my opinion, is an extremely high form of art: it combines nearly every creative discipline into one end product; it packs the expressiveness of illustration, in motion, set to a soundtrack, all together creates an amazing medium for story-telling. There is something very captivating about characters moving around, something so easy to identify with or relate to.
So, what'd he do with the cash?
As for the money I won (in the Aniboom Awards 2006), it's boringly stashed away in a bank, waiting to be spent on, well, probably equipment for my future personal studio. Fun!
View Eric's Portfolio>>
The last time we spoke with Eric, he was working for
Partizan Lab in London, creating a commercial that required he fly around the world. We now know that this commercial was in fact the new Coca Cola ad created specifically for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing China called
"Birdnest Stadium".
According to Partizan, the company Eric Lerner signed with in 2006, he was hired on the strength of his graduation project, Mr. CityMen, a collection of five shorts depicting a day in the life of five 3D characters in a live action urban setting. They include desk slave Mr. Deja vu, laid back Mr. Fortune, and the imaginative Mr. Dreamer.
Congratulations, Eric, on the great commercial!
Watch his Coca Cola Commercial,
"Birdnest Stadium"
Watch "Mr. Fortune"
See Eric's bio at
Partizan Lab
View Eric's Portfolio