BOB the Builder creator Curtis Jobling and Disney archivist David Williams are two of the high profile names taking part in a university's annual visiting lecture series.
Mr Jobling, an animator who also worked on the Wallace and Gromit films and Tim Burton's Mars Attacks, will reveal tricks of the trade today, as part of the lecture series at the University of Sunderland.
Mr Williams recently gave a talk on the history of animation.
His audience viewed the only existing hand-written production notes from meetings between Walt Disney and his team of animators in 1937, produced while they were working on the studio's first full-length animation, Snow White.
The lecture series includes leading artists in animation, model-making, illustration, electronic media and design.
Past speakers have included Lord of the Rings animator Barry Purves, Aardmans animator Liza McCarron and Judith Craig, senior sculptor for Madame Tussards.
The talks are an opportunity for students to get an insight into how the leading names in their fields operate.
Mr Jobling will speak in the Ashburne Lecture Theatre, Ashburne House, Ryhope Road, Sunderland, at 4pm today.
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