Simon Otto

Simon Otto (born 12 June 1973) is a Swiss film director and animator. He is best known for working as the Head of Character Animation of the Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy for DreamWorks Animation. Life and career Otto was born in Switzerland and grew up in Gommiswald, in the canton of St. Gallen. After completing a banking apprenticeship, he started his career in the arts by carving commercial snow sculptures in nearby resort towns and drawing news cartoons for his hometown newspaper, "Die Suedostschweiz". He studied art formally at the F&F Schule fuer Experimentelle Gestaltung in Zurich. In 1995, Otto left Switzerland to study animation at the Gobelins Animation School in Paris, France where he also received additional animation training through an internship with Walt Disney Feature Animation Paris.