When people watch animated shows, they might not think of all the work that goes into making them. Character designer Giahna Pantano, who’s designed for shows like “Solar Opposites” and “Chicago Party Aunt,” knows it’s not that simple.

Pantano visited Elizabethtown College on Sept. 21 to discuss her art journey and career. The event was sponsored by the Bowers Writers House and the School of Art and Design.

Pantano grew up in Harrisburg, Pa. When reflecting on her childhood, Pantano said she was most likely “drawing instead of paying attention” in class. After high school, she attended Millersville University and majored in graphic design. While she knew it wasn’t quite what she wanted to do, she wasn’t able to put a name on it until senior year: animation and character design.

After college, she took a leap of faith and moved across the country to California for an internship with The Walt Disney Company. She was now closer to a lot of the studios she wanted to work at, and she would take advantage of any drawing classes around her.

At this point in the presentation, Pantano started going through her career with multiple examples of her work. One of her first paid gigs was designing “Rick and Morty” comic book covers.

Pantano talked about doing an animation test for the “Rick and Morty” show, and she showed some examples of the work she created. An animation test is a way for animators and character designers to show off their skills in the hiring process. While she did not get the job, her work was considered when the studio started work on a new show, “Solar Opposites.” Pantano considers this her big door-opening moment.

“It was definitely a big task to take on as a rookie character designer,” she said during the presentation.

Pantano went over the typical tasks she would be doing as a character designer. Her role typically comes between the storyboarders and animators. As a character designer, she would flesh out the ideas that were roughly sketched in the storyboards. By adding detail and step-by-step drawings, the animators could then take her work and turn it into a moving image.

Pantano reiterated that character design is more complex than just fun drawings. She showed examples of her technical work with details, sequences and character turns, which she calls the “bread and butter” of character design.

Pantano worked on “Solar Opposites” for one season, and her next big step in her career was joining Titmouse animation studio, which is known for shows like “Big Mouth.” There, she has worked on the shows “Chicago Party Aunt” and “Pantheon.” These two shows are in very different animation styles which Pantano found to be a challenge at first. However, with practice drawing in different styles, she was able to adapt.

One of the last things Pantano talked about was her less technical work: her fan art. While she admits she doesn’t have much free time, she uses what she does have to draw fun things and experiment with different art styles.

One of Pantano’s most recent projects was the Hulu special “The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!” It is from the “Rick and Morty” and “Solar Opposites” creator, and Pantano was the lead character designer on it.

Pantano may only be about three and a half years into her career, but she had some really great advice to pass along, especially to those who were interested in going into a similar field. She spoke about the importance of being a “chameleon” and learning how to adjust to different art styles. She also recommended that artists put the work that shows their technical skill before the other work in their portfolio.

“Sometimes, instead of doing the art that feeds your soul, you have to do the art that feeds you,” she joked about focusing on all the technical skill work.

Students were thrilled to get the chance to learn from Pantano. Some students even used the opportunity to get feedback and advice from her on their art and career goals.

“I really liked the way she started the lecture off as an autobiography,” sophomore Japanese major Luke Hatzell said. “She also gave in-depth answers to the questions that people asked. She used a lot of nice visuals to discuss her work in detail.”

“I really liked how honest and real [Pantano] was,” senior psychology major Zoe Scheerer said. “I think she did a great job of showing us that it’s hard to be a cartoonist, but it can be worth it.”

Pantano’s journey shows that with passion and a bit of hard work, it’s not impossible to follow your dreams.