AM - Class One Reel

AM Newsletter Featured Student

Link Below:

http://www.animationmentor.com/newsletter/0609/feature_student.html

Class 2 Mentor at Animation Mentor

This term I have gotten the opportunity to work with Mike Walling! Mike is currently a senior animator at Blue Sky Studios.

Some of the animated features Mike has worked on have been :
























Our QA's are always fun and his teaching style is exactly what I am looking for! Both Victor Navone as well as Mike Walling have been awesome mentors! We are about half way through class two and I must say that joining Animation Mentor was the best decision I have ever made.

Thanks once again Bobby, Shawn and Carlos!

Animation Mentor Maya Springboard Progress Reel Class 0

Taking baby steps is the key to becoming a great animator. I am very proud of What I accomplished in the last three months here at Animation Mentor. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about Maya to being confident with the program. I have to thank three very special mentors who helped me accomplish my AM Springboard class goals; Derek Gladen (my mentor), Chris Caufield and Jules Jammal. Thanks Guys! The next batch of AMer's would be lucky to have any one of you guys as their mentor! And Of course thank you Animation Mentor for making all of this possible. :O)

Super Uber Update!

Hey Guys,
Wow... a lot has happened since my last post.... hmmmm where to start? First of all Animation Mentor is just as amazing as everyone told me it would be... it is all that and much more! Everyone at AM is really awesome and they are completely ready to share their wealth of knowledge with you!

As I mentioned before in my previous posts, I started out animation mentor as a Maya springboard student! I must say that without this course I would have been lost with the program. Before AM I was strictly a traditional artist. This is my first experience with any kind of a 3d program and Maya is a BEAST! lol... anyways here is my most up to date assignment with AM.

We were to create a set from scratch, texture, color, shade, light and render it... and here is the result:

Top Award at Normandale Art Competition

Last night at the Normandale Art Competition I was given the top award, the Purchase Award. Normandale purchases the piece ($150.oo) and places it in their permanent art collection. Twelve photographs of my father's hands (shown above) received the award. When capturing these photographs I really wanted the viewer to not only see beautiful hands but the essence of my father. For me his fingers spoke of his passion for life, love for others, and the work he does which daily grinds away at his skin. This event was a wonderful and truly humbling experience.

Judge: Andrew Wykes, Hamline University, Photo realist Painter.

Cloth Study (pastels)

I always say that an artist can never study something too much and I believe this whole heartedly. I think drawing cloth is a great way to learn control over values. Whenever I am doing a complicated painting or drawing of any sort and seem to get lost in all the shades of value, I return to the basics. Drawing cloth may be simple but it can teach you so much.

Accepted!!

I am just bursting with excitement... this morning I received an email from Animation Mentor congratulating me on my acceptance to the program. It's the best feeling in the world to be attending a school geared specifically toward my one true passion. I can't wait to enter into the online community and talk to the friends I've made, through this blog, whom are also AM students.

Even though out of all my school options AM is the best, I still feel that I know very little about the school.

I want to thank everyone who commented on the post below, offering their words of encouragement. Each of you mean a lot to me and I couldn't ask for cooler people to talk to. Thanks :O)

Animation Mentor!

After painstakingly researching the best animation schools for well over a year I have chosen Animation Mentor. I'm incredibly nervous yet excited at the same time. The school has all the wonderful amenities a junior animator like myself could ask for. My current college is all about traditional art and I can't express enough how glad I am to have started with theses skills before heading into animation. However I also can't express enough how eager I am to start animating. It's hard to tell people you want to be an animator when you have yet to even touch Maya for example. Now all I need to do is Breathe and hope my application goes through. :O)

It's Great to Be Painting Again

Once my painting course ended last semester I haven't really done anything with my paint sets. So this past weekend I whipped them out again and painted a 2x3.5 ft waterfall scene.

Just Purchased Illustrator CS3!

I've never used this program before and to be honest I wasn't quite sure I could really figure out how to use it. But After I played around with the program for a time I came up with this little scene. The look of illustrator is really appealing; I think I'm addicted to the program now.

Portrait Practice

Painting of a student who modeled for our class. I really struggled with this.

Pastel Tall Ship

I'm starting to get used to pastels. I really like doing ocean scenes.

Working With Pastels

I'm Posting Again!

I have been overwhelmingly busy this past month, so sorry about the posting blackout. The photo to the left is a pastel drawing; you all know how much I dislike pastels. But hopefully sometime soon we will become friends. :O)

Ghost Productions Studio Tour

(Photos are from their website)
The crew at Ghost Productions were kind enough to allow me a tour of their studio. These guys are truly talented at what they do and I was glad to have met them. The inside was exactly what I expected, many computer screens with people animating away. We all sat down and talked about everything and anything to do with animation. Stephan Kuslich (top left) gave me some great pointers on my portfolio and was highly impressed with my work. Of course this meant the world to me, until then my work had not been professionally critiqued. Jayson Slinger (right) is really funny and a pleasure to be around; he truly understands the business and you can tell he loves his job.

Nicolas Wiederhold (left) lifted my confidence to a new level. His words were very inspirational. "Z" ( bottom right) had a wonderful head on her shoulders; as the production manager, she keeps herself busy and loves being one of the guys.

I couldn't be more thankful that they took almost and hour and a half out of their day to help out a poor old college student. Everyone on the crew was extremely helpful with all their little tips and pointers about the business.

"Love to Doodle"

I will never stop doodling with a sketch pad and a fist full of pencils. I'm really excited, tomorrow I am visiting a local studio called Ghost Productions inc, for a tour. I have to give them a lot of credit for the work they do. Ghost creates medical animations for education, everyday patients and documentary's with National Geographic. Their company is really inspiring to me and I hope they continue to do well.

Check them out here: www.ghostproductions.com/

New Computer Program!

This is my first time using the program Painter and a tablet; above sketches are my first go at it. I have to admit that it was rather difficult; kinda like drawing with your other hand. But I think in due time I will get used to doodling on the computer. :)

Good old Practice Time

Practicing my human figures; the female model was great to work with. Also just playing around and doodling. It's good for the soul.

Thought I'd Share Some Snaps From Europe

Time to Relax and do Some Landscape Paintings

I think I have fallen in love with painting. Before this semester I couldn't even touch a canvas let alone use a paint set. Because of this course I can find myself painting for quite awhile. I have to take a moment to thank my painting teacher, Craig Hill he is truly a gifted and wonderful person; thanks Craig!

Pastel Pointillism (18x24 paper pad)

My father graciously posed for this drawing. I did him in pointillism to practice for my large scale project.

Yep you guessed it... the "nail bed" will be my canvas. Each nail will represent one point in my piece.


The picture below is the project in progress, I'm not quite sure of the image I will be using but I have narrowed it down.

More Painting Fun

Just something to do... The picture doesn't show it but the elephant is reading a book titled " How to Trick a Mouse"and there are mice in the palm trees.

And a painting of Yellowstone.

I can't decide how to lay it out.

more testing...

Quick 10 Minute Test Paintings

I'm planning on painting a large scale winter scene with sled dogs so I started testing to see if I can paint mountains. I think they tuned out okay for a trial run. The size of the final piece will be 16 in by 4 feet panoramic.

Long time no see!

I have been super busy these past few weeks; gladly things are now slowing down! Planning for my trip to Europe was the major cause for my lack of time. Speaking of which it is only a month away!

The pictures on the left are 2 minute gestures and 15 minute colored poses; I loved her body, she was a joy to draw ;)

People Are Tough to Draw

This was done in my figure drawing class; I feel that I'm improving but still am no where near where I'd like to be. The model was great, I just ran out of time to finish her.

Any suggestions on how I can improve?

Anatomy Study

I've been having a hard time creating dimensional forms in my figure drawings. I seemed to be stuck in a 2d, outlined, flat style. So today I did some research to really understand the anatomy of the human body, starting with the leg (Male).

Photography Relaxation

Today I felt like taking a break from the drawing routine. Here in Minnesota it was sun shinny and covered with snow. Sometimes photography is a little luck; at a local lake, an eagle opportunity came about. I think it was my best shot all day.

Stone Studio Visit

I never thought I would get the opportunity to carve something out of stone; but my friends and I went out and visited a studio. The second picture on the right, the man with the blue shirt, took time out of his day to teach us some useful skills and tips when carving. He is just the nicest guy you will ever meet.

Baby Illustration

(18x24 in)

The drawing was done in pastels; the medium I'm having most trouble with.

I think this would work well in a children's book.

First Time Painting a Landscape

Sorry about the bad photograph; it doesn't do it justice.

5 Minute Face Study

These are from my sketch book; I'm trying to do thumbnail sketches of random faces with a five minute time limit for each. This forces me to pay attention to the main shapes; what makes each person different. Any advice on the drawings?

Zeus Sketch 18x24 in

Today in class I got the chance to draw the Zeus statue again. Two post ago; you can see the first drawing of him in volume/cubic form. With this drawing we could do him realistically. Unfortunately I ran out of time so I couldn't finish him.

Pastel Hands and Feet Study 18x24 in

These drawings turned out okay, giving me the benefit of doubt, being that I have never used pastels before. I really am not too happy with them; the medium is very new for me and way out of my comfort zone. The drawings really show that I'm holding back. But it is exciting and necessary to explore other tools! Once I get used to them I'm sure I'll be fine.

Drawings Re-posted With Better Photos

All drawings below are 18x24 (except the fruit drawing)

Some of My Photography

Whenever I'm stressed out or have a not so great day, I love to do photography. There is just something special about seeing the world through the lens of a camera.

The Animation Show 3

I had a blast! the Animation Show is a collection, by Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt, of the greatest animation shorts from across the globe. The Pantages Theater in Minnesota was host to the event. My favorite shorts were:

Everything Will Be Okay - running 17 min
Directed by: Don Hertzfeldt

Guide Dog - running 5 min
Directed by: Bill Plympton

Dreams and Desires, directed by Joanna Quinn, had an incredible style in her animation. I fell in love with the look of her characters and the camera view approach. Very well done.

The show lasted about a couple hours and never once was I bored. Great job on another successful animation show!

First Time Painting

This turned out better than I thought it would for it being only my second try at painting. For this project we were restricted to using burnt umber, white and yellow ocher. I liked the combination. Other students in the course produced some great works of art as well. One of my fellow classmates painted a beautiful scene with a mask and books leaning against a bamboo plant. The lighting was magnificent and well controlled. I envy her ability to make values simplistic. I enjoy sitting next to her and I think watching her will teach me quite a bit. She is as great an artist as she is a friend and I look forward to rooming together with her on our trip to Europe.

I can't wait to continue the class, I want to improve beyond this painting.

Figure Gestures

Today in my Figure Drawing course we worked with our first nude model. Before the class started I was concerned that he, being nude, would cause me to get distracted.

Fortunately the opposite happened. While drawing, I concentrated so hard on solving the problem, I almost forgot he was unclothed. I enjoyed every part of this class and can't wait to do it again in two weeks.

People are very hard to draw... this will be a challenging course.

Minneapolis Institute of Art

I always knew about Minnesota's art museums and the great standards they hold for the quality in their exhibits, but I never took the time to actually visit one. Today I spent the majority of my day to do just that. I and a friend of mine, which will remain nameless, visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The photo on the left was my favorite piece. I stood next to it to show off its massive size. The detail in the calligraphy was extremely impressive as well as the gentleness of the brush strokes.

The photo on the right is in the European gallery.

Art Studio Finally Set Up

This is the beginning of my second semester in college and things could not be better. I spent a Saturday night setting up a place for me to work. Drawing at school is awesome but I produce my best work at home, there are no pressures. I'm currently enrolled in Figure Drawing, Sculpture 1 and Painting 1. Each one of these classes is going to be a challenge for me. I've never drawn a full body of a person before, never attempted to paint anything and sculpture is something I tried only in grade school. This shall be interesting.

Today I had a critique with someone I respect a lot. I'm very fortunate to know him and be able to learn from an artist one on one. I feel it's important that I learn from those who have, in my terms, mastered certain mediums of art.

Just a couple cool facts:

-On May 17th, 2007 I will be traveling to Germany, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic. I can’t wait; my sketch book will be attached to my hip.

-Going through all of the animation schools out there I think I will be attending Animation Mentor. They offer great teaching opportunities with people in the industry.

A Little about me...

Unlike a typical artist, I really only started to take drawing seriously in college. Growing up in my house, watching movies on a daily basis was nothing new. Almost every Friday my family and I would go out to see a newly released film at our local theater. When walking through our house it felt as though we had a big enough DVD/VHS collection to start our own blockbuster. Being surrounded by such a rich film atmosphere was a definite affect on my decision to become a part of the industry. I have always loved films in every aspect, from creating the story all the way through final editing. But it was animated feature films that stole my heart. I will never forget the moment I discovered my dream. It was late at night and I was sitting in my basement watching Beauty and the Beast, a traditional animation classic, and thinking about the magnificence of the images. It was odd, after seeing the film countless times before; it wasn't until then that I thought about the masters who created each frame. I used to just enjoy the film as a piece of entertainment. I remember watching the TV screen and feeling like I was strolling through a painting. Every scene became enhanced in my eyes and I felt the urge to freeze frame every sequence. I knew then I wanted to be a part of creating such a masterpiece.


It wasn't until ninth grade I realized my role in such a film was to be an animator. Through hours of well enjoyed research I learned massive amounts of information on the fun in being an animator and the inventive processes. Specifically the research on the creative teams of Pixar really inspired me. My hero at the time was Andrew Stanton. He had just come out with Finding Nemo which took my interest to a new level. I no longer wished to be an animator, I wanted to be an animator, it was in my blood and I was going to achieve this goal. Anyone who knew me knew who Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter were. I talked about them all the time. I drew a little bit my senior year but only brief doodling. For awhile I was concerned I was not talented enough to become an animator.

It was in my first semester at college I realized I do have talent; I will spend almost 60 hours a week perfecting my artwork. Now I have another question, "Do I have what it takes?" This business can be very cruel and heartbreaking; unfortunately I have no real way to prepare myself. Anyone who is rejected is hurt; it is just a normal reaction. It's whether you brush it off, stand back up and try again. In about a week I will be starting my second semester in college. My research has led me to discover that knowing how to draw from life is just as important as knowing how to animate. Currently I am trying to attain my Associates in Fine Arts. There is more I want to talk about but the night is quickly turning into day.