James Coffin (1931-2007), came to Seattle to work for Boeing in 1962 after attending ArtCenter in Los Angeles and working as an art director in Washington, DC. In 1964, he started his own advertising business, later entering animation through title design. A self-taught character animator, he produced work for Weyerhauser, Boeing, AT&T, Farrell's, Pacific Northwest Bell, and Fred Meyer as well as interactive installations, educational films and rotoscoped chalk animation for the Seattle Opera’s 1972 premiere of “The Black Widow.” Coffin maintained an active studio through the 1970s, employing up to ten other artists at a time. Coffin also was noted for his course in 2-D animation offered to Seattle artists and filmmakers.