Animation teams and individual animators, There is no rest for the AWESOME! (and there is no penalty for crazyness). Animate!
Theme: "Underdog"
Entries close August 6th 2010. Australian animation competition associated with the Sydney International Animation Festival. Use the music provided by the competition.
An email just in. Jess, who graduated from the SBIT Animation course in 2009, is an animator who has taken a different path from many of her classmates.
Initially in preparation for graduating and seeking employment, Jess sought funds for art projects relating to an associated interest in CosPlay and photography. She was successful, culminating with an exhibition of the work.
Further to that Jess has also taken the opportunity for paid animation teaching work at the 'Out of the Box' children's cultural festival hosted by the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
The latest news is that Jess has not let her 2009 student film gather dust and has just won a prize (cash?) at a local Brisbane Film Festival: "Mash It Up 2010". Congratulations Jess!
From each of these experiences Jess is gaining motivation, reward, contacts and skills required in pursuing a career as an artist. It takes some determination and persistence to travel the path Jess is on but I hope she is a glowing inspiration for the animators who follow.
"An innovative display of Disney style cartoons and 2D animation on both the wall space and the television at Strathpine Library"
Dana is an SBIT Aimation course 2009 graduate who is also exploring a career as a creative artist. Since graduating Dana successfully applied to participate in a regional art awards, has had her student film featured on the ARC blog, is a featured artist with an exhibition of art work, and has been producing character designs and a narrative for an ebroidery company project that show off animation influenced character posing skills. Dana has also gathered work on personal commissions by exhibiting her work.
I came by Rad Sechrist's "How to" blog via 2nd year Michelle's blog as she posted about working on the storyboarding assignment. I'd recommend students have a look through Rad's (and Michelle's) blogs for some excellent animation cogitation and tips. Thanks Michelle.
Nerdiness, when examined closely, is akin to crazyness (yes, spelt with a 'y').
Crazyness is a form of curiosity that manifests when an animator experiments with ideas*.
You may have heard me mutter in class, usually in regards to assessment, "There is no penalty for crazyness." It would seem that the same could apply to nerdiness, if either word actually existed in the English language.
Memories of the section in Jennifer Hager's showreel from 2007 ( from about 1:44 to 2:33) were re-kindled while I watched "How to Train Your Dragon". The character interaction and timing in particular were strongly reminiscent. You will note that Jennifer's hero is a girl.
With a bit more research I find she is animating at Disney. Again, great timing; to pursue traditional 2D animation skills as a student and then land a job when Disney needed 2D animators.
Animation is in the timing, Chuck Jones was correct.
It may be pleasing to note, by looking at Jennifer's blog, that she is a self-professed animation nerd (check out her cats' names).
The full "Sky Bound" student film can be seen here (as well as many other CalArts student work).
*That does not mean misunderstanding animation principles. Students have to demonstrate they understand and can apply the animation principles. In saying that, pursuing proper animation delivery should not be a constraint to an animator's imagination.And, hopefully, somewhere in the animation testing things were taken too far before returning to required perfection.
