Hello New York City!

VanArts is proud to present a masterclass in Story Development, Character Design & Animation, featuring instructors Matthew Luhn (Story Supervisor), Ricky Nierva (Lead Production Designer), and Andrew Gordon (Directing Animator) -- all from Pixar Animation Studios.

This marks the first time a Pixar Animator, Pixar Story Artist, and Pixar Art Designer have taught a 3-day seminar together. It's not easy to make something like this happen, so it represents an incredible opportunity to gain a wealth of knowledge in a very short time frame and at reasonable cost.

This exceptional 3-day event takes place in New York City on June 14/15/16th in 2013, offering participants a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from the industry's top talent. This class has toured the world, with this being one of only a few stops in 2013.
> view other locations on the tour

When it last stopped in NYC back in 2011, this class sold out completely. This time it's going to be even bigger & better. Ricky Nierva, acclaimed Production Designer at Pixar, has been added as a special instructor, teaching an extra full day covering Character & Production Design. This special extended masterclass is the only one on the tour, so definitely not to be missed.

Geared toward experienced animators, story writers, character designers, students and enthusiasts alike, the skill sets covered are not software-specific. Lectures are organized with visuals, including live-action and animated clips, supplemented by a printed workbook. This masterclass provides you with the tools needed to help create your own stories and feature-quality animation, plus offers a great opportunity to meet and network with others in the industry.
 

   
Curriculum 

-- times and content may vary and are subject to change --

Venue

Sunshine Cinema. This legendary, historic arthouse theatre features excellent sight-lines, a large bright screen and great atmosphere. Perfectly situated in the heart of Manhattan's Lower East Side, at 143 East Houston St., New York City. 

> venue location map
> venue website

Instructors

Andrew, Matthew and Ricky are all highly experienced, first-class educators who thoroughly enjoy sharing their incredible knowledge, experience, and passion for what they do.

Matthew Luhn
Story Supervisor, Pixar Animation Studios

Matthew Luhn began his career at Pixar Animation Studios in 1992 as an Animator on the very first CG movie, Toy Story. Since that time, Matthew has worked as a Storyboard Artist generating new ideas and characters on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, UP, Toy Story 3, Monsters University, and current Pixar movies in development.

Prior to Pixar, Matthew attended the California Institute of the Arts, and would later be hired as an Animator on the award winning TV show The Simpsons.

Matthew grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where his family has owned and operated Jeffrey’s Toys toy stores for three generations.

> view Matthew's IMDB profile
   

Andrew Gordon
Directing Animator, Pixar Animation Studios

Andrew Gordon has been animating characters at Pixar Animation Studios for 16 years. He joined Pixar in 1997 where he has been an Animator on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Toy Story 3. The characters he has worked on include Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc., Gill, from Finding Nemo and Edna Mode, the costume designer in The Incredibles, and Linguini from Ratatouille. He supervised animation on Pixar’s Academy Award nominated short film Presto, and is currently a directing animator on Monsters University, due out in 2013.

Andrew studied animation in Vancouver, New York and New Jersey, and prior to his work at Pixar, he worked in the Looney Tunes division of Warner Brothers. He was awarded "Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture" by the Visual Effects Society for his work in Finding Nemo.

Passionate about teaching animation for over 13 years, Andrew began teaching at the Academy of Art, where he taught all levels of the animation program there. He has taught animation intensives throughout the world. Andrew has been also actively involved in The Pixar Animation Internship, helping lead it for for 2007, 2009 and 2010. Andrew is a contributing lecturer at Animation Mentor. He is a frequent guest artist at CSU Summer Arts Program. He is one of the founders of Spline Doctors, a blog/podcast dedicated to animation education. He helped develop and teach at the California College of Art's new animation program. Andrew has recently co-founded a workshop called the Animation Collaborative, which brings some of the best teachers in the world together to teach animation, story and character design.

> view Andrew's IMDB profile
  

Ricky Nierva
Lead Production Designer, Pixar Animation Studios

SPECIAL GUEST INSTRUCTOR (NYC event exclusive!)

Ricky Nierva is a Production Designer at the critically acclaimed Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. The youngest of five, Ricky grew up in San Diego, California and attended the California Institute of the Arts. He credits his visual style to close mentor and famed Warner Brothers and Disney designer, the late Maurice Noble. Ricky has worked with talented artists at Turner Feature Animation, Warner Brothers, Baer Animation, and Hanna Barbera.

A veteran Pixar artist since 1997, Ricky has worked on Toy Story 2 and was the lead character designer on the beloved film Monsters Inc. He was awarded an Annie Award for his character work on Finding Nemo, and was the Production Designer for Pixar's 2009 Academy Award winning film Up. He lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys playing the ukulele, eating ice cream, and participating in triathlons -- not particularly in that order. He is currently the Production Designer on Pixar's upcoming 2013 release Monsters University.

Ricky is an incredibly busy person, so his appearance in New York is much appreciated, and presents a rare opportunity that's not to be missed!

> view a video of Ricky talking about Monsters, Inc.
> view Ricky's IMDB profile

What others are saying...

Click to view this video and hear from previous masterclass attendees:

"It was an awesome, awesome event. I loved it. I got a lot more out of it then what I expected. Thank you to everyone involved, especially the instructors!"

"The only way I could describe the masterclass would be energizing. I couldn’t wait to get animating again!"

"Shows, presentations and gatherings like this are gold to us working professionals. They are rare and there is a sincere need for us to congregate and learn. Make them available and people will come to learn and network..."

"Thanks so much to you guys for coming out here. It was a fantastic couple of days and I learnt so much!"

"This class was the best thing I could have done for myself as an artist/animator. It was both inspirational, and extremely valuable. I can't wait to go again!"

"Great class! I was very inspired and also exhausted by the end of the 2 days. :)"

"It was an awesome opportunity to meet Pixar artist and learn their works, and minds. Thank you for this great opportunity!"

"I was really impressed and loved it. I am so inspired and hopeful now. The information has helped me to assess my skills and help me to move in the right direction."

"I thought both Andrew and Matthew were excellent speakers/teachers, and answered all questions clearly. I was very impressed with their abilities to reach out to the audience, and make everything clearly understood."

"I'll never look at my work the same again. That's a good thing."

"Thanks again for a great masterclass. Both days perfectly complimented each other."

"The Masterclass was amazing!"
 

Registration

$649.00 Tuition Fee  ($US, no taxes)

INCLUDES:
- 3 full days of instruction
- workbook with notes prepared by the instructors
- custom class t-shirt
- refreshments during morning & afternoon coffee breaks
- draws for prizes & giveaways!

Class T-Shirt Registrants will receive a free commemorative t-shirt, custom-designed especially for this event.

Class size is limited and strong interest expected. To avoid disappointment, please register early (these classes often sell out weeks in advance). See below for the event Terms and Cancellation Policy.

REGISTER HERE
Register now using a credit card. Instant, secure online registration and payment powered by EventSpot® and PayPal®. Thanks and see you in NYC!

Facebook Event Page
	See who's attending, RSVP, ask questions and more... > visit the official Facebook page for this event Get in the loop! > sign up for masterclass email alerts

Terms & Conditions

Please read these before registering.

CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations for a full refund will be accepted up to 3 weeks before the event. Anytime after that date, a $100 cancellation fee will apply. Last day to cancel is the day before the event. Transfers (to a substitute attendee) can be accepted anytime and with no fee, provided they are first approved by VanArts. Transfers are the responsibility of the original registrant to arrange. Refund and transfer requests must be made via e-mail to: masterclasses@vanarts.com, and require confirmation of the original registrant's identity.

FEES & TAXES
There are NO ticketing fees, service charges, or taxes. However, for non-Canadians, a "foreign transaction fee" of 1-3% MIGHT be applied by your credit card issuer (this fee, if any, is beyond VanArts' control and is the purchaser's responsibility, including for cancel/refund and discount transactions).

CHANGES
The event organizer, VanArts, reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event with reasonable discretion and for any reason (inclement weather, low enrolment, instructor illness, or any other unforeseen circumstances). In the case of cancellation by us, registration fees will be refunded in full. If the event is postponed, registrants will have the option to either receive a full refund, or, transfer their registration to the rescheduled event. In all cases, we shall have no further liability beyond the registration fee, and regret that any transportation and hotel costs, cancellation penalties, or any other costs incurred by registrants are not reimbursable. In the event of any unforeseen last-minute scheduling problems, we reserve the right to substitute an equivalent, qualified instructor who might not be listed in the course description.

AGE RESTRICTIONS
This class is open to anyone, however minors under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult. The suggested minimum age to attend is 16. Please, this is not a beginner's class.

MISC.
For taking notes, pen & paper are recommended. Laptop/tablet computers are permitted, but please no recording with these. PLEASE, NO AUDIO OR VIDEO RECORDING OF THE CLASS MATERIAL OF ANY KIND IS PERMITTED. Out of respect for fellow attendees and the instructors, we ask that attendees please refrain from live tweeting, texting, cell phone calls, etc. during the class, and simply wait for a break to do so.

Some images above are copyright © 1986-2013 Pixar Animation Studios, all rights reserved.

QUESTIONS?
Please contact VanArts at: masterclasses@vanarts.com

Spread the news!

Use the links below for Twitter, Facebook and more to help spread word of this event to your friends and colleagues. Stops on this 2013 tour include Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand, and New York City and San Diego in the USA. Thank you!

VanArts is excited to be participating for the first time at San Diego Comic Con, one of the largest events in the world for fans of comics, animation, games and movies. 

Come visit us at Booth #4837, Hall G to learn all about our programs and apply for scholarship opportunities!

Event & Registration details at: www.comic-con.org/cci 

Hello San Diego!

VanArts proudly presents a masterclass in Story Development & Animation, featuring instructors Matthew Luhn (Story Supervisor) and Andrew Gordon (Directing Animator) -- both from Pixar Animation Studios.

This exceptional 2-day event takes place in San Diego on July 26th/27th, 2013, offering participants a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from the industry's top talent. This class has toured the world, with this being one of only a few stops in 2013.
> view other locations on the tour

Geared toward experienced animators, story writers, character designers, students and enthusiasts alike, the skill sets covered are not software-specific. Lectures are organized with visuals, including live-action and animated clips, supplemented by a printed workbook. This masterclass provides you with the tools needed to help create your own stories and feature-quality animation, plus offers a great opportunity to meet and network with others in the industry.
 

   
Curriculum

-- times and content may vary and are subject to change --

Venue

Horton Grand Theatre
This legendary, historic theatre features excellent sight-lines, comfortable seats and great atmosphere. Perfectly situated in downtown San Diego's vibrant Gaslamp Quarter, it is located at 444 Fourth Ave. (between Island & J St.), San Diego, California.

> venue location map
> venue website

Instructors

Matthew and Andrew are highly experienced, first-class educators who thoroughly enjoy sharing their incredible knowledge, experience, and passion for what they do.

Matthew Luhn
Story Supervisor, Pixar Animation Studios

Matthew Luhn began his career at Pixar Animation Studios in 1992 as an Animator on the very first CG movie, Toy Story. Since that time, Matthew has worked as a Storyboard Artist generating new ideas and characters on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, UP, Toy Story 3, Monsters University, and current Pixar movies in development.

Prior to Pixar, Matthew attended the California Institute of the Arts, and would later be hired as an Animator on the award winning TV show The Simpsons.

Matthew grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where his family has owned and operated Jeffrey’s Toys toy stores for three generations.

> view Matthew's IMDB profile
   

Andrew Gordon
Directing Animator, Pixar Animation Studios

Andrew Gordon has been animating characters at Pixar Animation Studios for 16 years. He joined Pixar in 1997 where he has been an Animator on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Toy Story 3. The characters he has worked on include Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc., Gill, from Finding Nemo and Edna Mode, the costume designer in The Incredibles, and Linguini from Ratatouille. He supervised animation on Pixar’s Academy Award nominated short film Presto, and is currently a directing animator on Monsters University, due out in 2013.

Andrew studied animation in Vancouver, New York and New Jersey, and prior to his work at Pixar, he worked in the Looney Tunes division of Warner Brothers. He was awarded "Outstanding Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture" by the Visual Effects Society for his work in Finding Nemo.

Passionate about teaching animation for over 13 years, Andrew began teaching at the Academy of Art, where he taught all levels of the animation program there. He has taught animation intensives throughout the world. Andrew has been also actively involved in The Pixar Animation Internship, helping lead it for for 2007, 2009 and 2010. Andrew is a contributing lecturer at Animation Mentor. He is a frequent guest artist at CSU Summer Arts Program. He is one of the founders of Spline Doctors, a blog/podcast dedicated to animation education. He helped develop and teach at the California College of Art's new animation program. Andrew has recently co-founded a workshop called the Animation Collaborative, which brings some of the best teachers in the world together to teach animation, story and character design.

> view Andrew's IMDB profile  

What others are saying...

Click below to view this video and hear from previous masterclass attendees:

  
"It was an awesome, awesome event. I loved it. I got a lot more out of it then what I expected. Thank you to everyone involved, especially the instructors!"

"The only way I could describe the masterclass would be energizing. I couldn’t wait to get animating again!"

"Shows, presentations and gatherings like this are gold to us working professionals. They are rare and there is a sincere need for us to congregate and learn. Make them available and people will come to learn and network..."

"Thanks so much to you guys for coming out here. It was a fantastic couple of days and I learnt so much!"

"This class was the best thing I could have done for myself as an artist/animator. It was both inspirational, and extremely valuable. I can't wait to go again!"

"Great class! I was very inspired and also exhausted by the end of the 2 days. :)"

"It was an awesome opportunity to meet Pixar artist and learn their works, and minds. Thank you for this great opportunity!"

"I was really impressed and loved it. I am so inspired and hopeful now. The information has helped me to assess my skills and help me to move in the right direction."

"I thought both Andrew and Matthew were excellent speakers/teachers, and answered all questions clearly. I was very impressed with their abilities to reach out to the audience, and make everything clearly understood."

"I'll never look at my work the same again. That's a good thing."

"Thanks again for a great masterclass. Both days perfectly complimented each other."

"The Masterclass was amazing!"
 

Registration

$499.00 Tuition Fee  ($US, no taxes)

INCLUDES:
- 2 full days of instruction
- workbook with notes prepared by the instructors
- custom class t-shirt
- refreshments during morning & afternoon coffee breaks
- draws for prizes & giveaways!

Class T-Shirt Registrants will receive a free commemorative t-shirt, custom-designed especially for this event.

Class size is limited and strong interest expected. To avoid disappointment, please register early (these classes often sell out weeks in advance). See below for the event Terms and Cancellation Policy.

REGISTER HERE
Register now using a credit card. Instant, secure online registration and payment powered by EventSpot® and PayPal®. Thanks and see you in San Diego!

Terms & Conditions

Please read before registering.

CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations for a full refund will be accepted up to 3 weeks before the event. Anytime after that date, a $100 cancellation fee will apply. Last day to cancel is the day before the event. Transfers (to a substitute attendee) can be accepted anytime and with no fee, provided they are first approved by VanArts. Transfers are the responsibility of the original registrant to arrange. Refund and transfer requests must be made via e-mail to: masterclasses@vanarts.com, and require confirmation of the original registrant's identity.

FEES & TAXES
There are NO ticketing fees, service charges, or taxes. However, for non-Canadians, a "foreign transaction fee" of 1-3% MIGHT be applied by your credit card issuer (this fee, if any, is beyond VanArts' control and is the purchaser's responsibility, including for cancel/refund and discount transactions).

CHANGES
The event organizer, VanArts, reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event with reasonable discretion and for any reason (inclement weather, low enrolment, instructor illness, or any other unforeseen circumstances). In the case of cancellation by us, registration fees will be refunded in full. If the event is postponed, registrants will have the option to either receive a full refund, or, transfer their registration to the rescheduled event. In all cases, we shall have no further liability beyond the registration fee, and regret that any transportation and hotel costs, cancellation penalties, or any other costs incurred by registrants are not reimbursable. In the event of any unforeseen last-minute scheduling problems, we reserve the right to substitute an equivalent, qualified instructor who might not be listed in the course description.

AGE RESTRICTIONS
This class is open to anyone, however minors under the age of 15 must be accompanied by an adult. The suggested minimum age to attend is 16. Please, this is not a beginner's class.

MISC.
For taking notes, pen & paper are recommended. Laptop/tablet computers are permitted, but please no recording with these. PLEASE, NO AUDIO OR VIDEO RECORDING OF THE CLASS MATERIAL OF ANY KIND IS PERMITTED. Out of respect for fellow attendees and the instructors, we ask that attendees please refrain from live tweeting, texting, cell phone calls, etc. during the class, and wait for a break to do so.

Some images above are copyright © Disney/Pixar, all rights reserved. This class is being organized and produced by VanArts.

QUESTIONS?
Please contact VanArts at: masterclasses@vanarts.com

Facebook Event Page
	See who's attending, RSVP, ask questions and more... > visit the official Facebook page for this event Get in the loop! > sign up for masterclass email alerts

Spread the news!

Use the links below for Twitter, Facebook and more to help spread word of this event to your friends and colleagues. Stops on this 2013 tour include Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand, and New York City and San Diego in the USA. Thank you!

Come and join us at Fan Expo in Toronto! 

Meet Director of Admissions Janet Cacchioni and find out more about our programs first hand. 

 @ Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 225 Front Street West

Thursday August 22  2pm - 9pm

Friday August 23  10am - 8pm

Saturday August 24  10am - 8pm

Sunday August 25   10am - 6pm

For more information and registration for this event, visit http://www.fanexpocanada.com

Come and meet us at the 2013 Ottawa Animation Festival!

Our Director of Admissions Janet Cacchioni will be in attendance to meet with you and share information about the fantastic programs we offer at VanArts.

More details coming soon! 

Visit www.animationfestival.ca for registration information