The Nightmare Before Christmas
photo courtesy The Walt Disney Company Inc.

Justin Kohn is a world-known expert in the animation art of three-dimensional effects including stop-motion animation. His talents have been sought after by Hollywood for over 25 years and have been in the forefront of many classic animated films.

Justin has been involved with three-dimensional animated effects work since 1979. In the 80’s and 90’s, he ran a small animation armature manufacturing and effects rigging studio in Los Angeles along with partner Master Machinist Peter J Marinello.

Justin received national attention for his stop-motion animation work in the 1988 sci-fi cult classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space. His most famous work appeared in two classic animation films: the Jack Skellington sleigh scenes in the 1993 holiday classic The Nightmare Before Christmas as well as being the lead animator in the 2009 creep fest Coraline.

Coraline photo courtesy Laika Inc.

Justin’s other 3-D animation film credits include Robocop 2, James And the Giant Peach, Monkeybone, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Antz, and Puppet Master. Justin also has a wide range of television credits as well including “The Bite-Sized Adventures Of Sam Sandwich” for the Disney Channel and “Beforel Orel: Trust” for Adult Swim. 

Justin’s newest project are the animation effects in the upcoming fantasy Anomalisa starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and David Thewlis.

In addition to signing autographs, Justin will also be bringing to the Grand Rapids Comic-Con a museum of authentic character props from his work which will be displayed in a museum-style format. He will also give a presentation on 3-D animation effects.

You can find an overview of Justin’s work online at www.mechanicalspirits.com.