Thomas McKimson

Thomas Jacob McKimson (March 5, 1907 – February 14, 1998) was an American animator, best known for his work at the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio. He was the older brother of animators Robert and Charles McKimson.

Tom McKimson was born in Denver, Colorado, but relocated to Los Angeles with his family in the 1920s. He attended Otis Art Institute (now called Otis College of Art and Design) in the 1920s. He began his career in animation in 1929, when he joined the Walt Disney Studio, becoming an assistant to animator Norm Ferguson. He left Disney a year later to work briefly for Romer Grey, then joined Harman-Ising Studios around 1932. After Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. for MGM, McKimson became a member of Bob Clampett's animation unit, where he is credited as a layout artist and the original design for Tweety Bird. McKimson also provided layout designs for Arthur Davis's unit after he took over Clampett's unit by 1945.