[3] A native of Winnipeg, he studied fine art at the University of Manitoba.
[1] He worked for Canadian animation studios for a number of years before moving to Hollywood, where he joined John Hubley's studio and was one of the animators of the Academy Award-winning A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Double Feature.
[4] Nelson also worked on the 1978 animated adaptation of Watership Down and the 1990 TV special Garfield's Feline Fantasies.
[5][6] Nelson also later made the short film Ten: The Magic Number, about the adoption of the metric system in Canada, for the NFB.
[7] In the United States he continued to work on animated films and television series,[1] and made at least four short films that were submitted for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film consideration: Keep Cool (1971),[8] Twins (1974),[9] Opens Wednesday (1980),[10][11] and You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks (1984).