Animator Aaron Simpson has been nominated for an Emmy thanks to his work as producer of “Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island,” a flash-animation series on Kids’ WB.

On top of that, Simpson has a new job as vice president of animation, production, and development at JibJab Media, best known for satirical videos, such as the Bush vs. Kerry version of “This Land Is Your Land.”

He’d met the JibJab brothers, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, just as the first season of “Coconut Fred” was ending perfect timing.

“Their enthusiasm was really obvious,” Simpson said. “They wondered what I would be doing when the show was over.”

The Emmy nomination was a surprise for Simpson. “When we found out about the nomination, there was a fun day with a lot of really fun phone calls,” he said.

Even as a child, Simpson was seizing opportunities in animation. His father gave him a Super 8 camera when he was 12 years old, he started doing stop-motion films.

“I used it for a project I was doing for a class in junior high,” Simpson said. “I created a short film. Then video cameras became pretty inexpensive and my family bought one.”

Simpson earned a marketing degree from the University of Colorado and mvoed to Santa Monica. He worked for Disney and Sony, then joined Warner Brothers Animation’s pilot division, where he created “Coconut Fred’s Fruit Salad Island” and began producing the show.

Simpson is involved with business development at JibJab, deciding which projects the company takes on and planning for the future.

“When I’m halfway through one project I’m looking for the next,” he said.

Simpson lives in Venice with his wife, Daniela. He has been skiing since he was 4 years old, and enjoys hiking.