News
VanArts forms Articulation with Woodbury University
August 15th, 2011
VanArts is excited to announce our official articulation with the School of Media, Culture & Design at Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
On Thursday, August 11th 2011, Woodbury's Animation Chair Dori Littell-Herrick visited our campus in Vancouver and signed the articulation agreement with VanArts President Alan Phillips (pictured here).
Woodbury University has been named one of the Best Animation Programs in the Western US by Animation Career Review (the same website which named VanArts #1 in Western Canada and #11 Worldwide)
VanArts' articulation with the School of Media, Culture & Design at Woodbury University in Burbank, California allows any qualified students with prior general education requirements who enroll in our 2D/3D Character Animation diploma programs at VanArts to apply for continuing education at Woodbury University towards their BFA in Animation. Students can transfer into the third year at Woodbury's 4-year degree program as a result of earning their diploma at VanArts.
The award-winning, industry-experienced faculty at Woodbury includes our own founding advisory board member Bill Matthews, along with many other noted animation industry professionals.
In this video, Dori Littell-Herrick explains more about the benefits of their program for entering the animation industry.
Read Animation Career Review's interview with Dori Littell-Herrick here >>
For more information on the program at Woodbury University, visit mcd.woodbury.edu/animation and contact them directly for details.
Outtakes from Animation Student Story Pitches
August 15th, 2011VanArts Senior Animation Instructor Mark Pudleiner posted a fun video on his blog which our current 2D & 3D Animation students put together, of outtakes from their story pitches. These pitches are part of their course in Story & Visual Language, which helps them prepare the basic elements for their class projects and final demo reel.
As Mark comments on his blog, "they have fun as they are learning. Sort of the way it should be."
See the video with Mark's comments on his original blog post.
VanArts hosting SIGGRAPH 2011 Education Mixer
July 26th, 2011
VanArts is proud to be hosting a special Education Mixer for Side Effects Software during SIGGRAPH 2011. This exclusive event is for school educators and industry professionals interested in learning about teaching Houdini as a visual effects tool.
Please note that this event is not for undergraduate students. If you are an industry recruiter interested in attending, please contact Traci Martin at traci@sidefx.com.
Whether you currently teach Houdini or you wish to explore the option of adding Houdini to your curriculum, this mixer provides you with an opportunity to talk with the staff from Side Effects Software and to mingle with industry professionals from the visual effects and 3D animation community.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Monday, August 8th
Reception: 5:00pm-5:45pm
Presentations: 6:15pm-7:00pm
Location: Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, 570 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver BC
Directions for traveling to VanArts from the Vancouver Convention Centre via transit.
EDUCATOR SESSION
As a follow-up to this Education Mixer event, Side Effects Software will be conducting presentations geared towards educators at SIGGRAPH2011. This is a great opportunity for educators to learn more about Houdini and how it can be applied to your school's curriculum.
Animation Grads work on Short Films for Scholastic\Weston Woods
July 14th, 2011
Scholastic/Weston Woods has released a new short film on DVD entitled All the World, based on the NY Times best-selling book by Liz Garton Scanlon and illustrated by Marla Frazee (Caldecott Honor medalist). The beautiful illustrations were adapted to animation under the direction of VanArts graduate Galen Fott, through his own production company BigFott Studios. The film is all hand-drawn, and features narration by Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward.
Galen Fott studied 3D Animation with us from 2002-2003, and has directed several short films with the enlisting of other VanArts people to work on the animation. The new film All the World includes work by current animation student Steffrie Akers and instructor Ken A. Priebe, plus animation graduates Bridget Bougan, Emily Merl, Todd Wheeler, Kevin Yowell and Micah Baker.
Visit the official page for All the World at the BigFott Studios website, including a trailer for the film, links for the production artists and ordering the film on DVD: bigfott.com/All_the_World
Another new release from BigFott Studios for Scholastic / Weston Woods is Scaredy Squirrel, based on the childrens' book by Melanie Watt. This hand-drawn 2D film about a squirrel who is afraid to leave his nut tree was adapted & directed by Galen Fott with character animation done by VanArts instructor & communications director Ken A. Priebe.
Visit the official page for Scaredy Squirrel at the BigFott Studios website, including a trailer for the film, links for the production artists and ordering the film on DVD: bigfott.com/Scaredy_Squirrel
Click HERE to read our previous blog story all about Galen Fott and BigFott Studios!
VanArts Grads bring Harry Potter to the Screen
July 14th, 2011As the world anticipates the final installment of the 10-year odyssey of Harry Potter hitting screens tomorrow in The Deathly Hallows Part 2, VanArts is proud to reflect and recognize our Animation & Visual Effects graduates who worked on various films in the series.
One of the more unique grad stories is that of Mike Cusack, who worked on The Chamber of Secrets at MPC in the UK as a CG effects artist before coming to VanArts to focus on 2D Character Animation from 2003-2004. After his year of study here, he returned to MPC, this time as an animator on The Goblet of Fire.
Mike told us, "I was attracted to VanArts because their program specializes in animation. Studying the 2D Animation Diploma Program, I hoped to learn the industry-based skills and principles of character animation through the personal instruction that VanArts offers in the relaxed atmosphere of Vancouver. The progress I have made because of the quality of the teaching exceeded the expectations I had when I joined the school."
Here are all of the graduates who helped bring the boy wizard to theatres over the years. (Click on their names for their IMDB profiles)
Mike Cusack (Chamber of Secrets, Goblet of Fire)
Lionel Heath (Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince)
Nik Brownlee (Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Deathly Hallows Part 2)
Sam Osborne (The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows Part 2)
Aaron Brown (The Deathly Hallows Part 1)
Animation Grad from Nerdcorps visits Students
July 13th, 2011Our current senior students in the 3D Character Animation program received a visit today from 2008 VanArts graduate Chris Sokalofsky, now an animation supervisor at Nerdcorps Entertainment here in Vancouver. Chris was hired there upon graduation based on the strength of his demo reel and has most recently worked on the animated TV series League of Super Evil and Rated A for Awesome. He spoke to our students today about what it's like working in the animation industry, and showed some samples of the shows he's working on.
Chris is one of several VanArts animation graduates who shared his comments about the school and his career at the Spark Animation Festival last year, in this video below....
Disney's Bill Matthews returns for Annual Visit
July 12th, 2011
VanArts is honored to have our annual guest here at the school this week, Mr. Bill Matthews. Every year since the school was founded, Bill has come for a week of lectures, presentations, consulting and guidance to students in our full-time and summer intensive animation programs. This year during his visit, he will also be celebrating his 80th birthday!
Bill Matthews is one of the founding instructors and directors of the Sheridan College Animation Program and is recently retired as Manager of Artist Development and ongoing consultant for Walt Disney Feature Animation. Bill worked on effects animation for Disney's Sleeping Beauty and for NASA, and has been writing traditional animation curricula for public schools and colleges for over thirty years.
Yesterday we hosted our annual Q & A session led by senior animation instructor Charles Phillips, who interviewed Bill about his prolific life and career in the industry.
It's always a privilege to have Bill Matthews walking our halls and giving his encouraging support to our animation students. Check out this video we shot during his last year's visit to hear what he says to say about VanArts and his involvement with us.
Guest Speakers welcomed from Digital Domain
July 7th, 2011On Wednesday June 29th, VanArts was privileged to welcome representatives from Digital Domain to spend time speaking to our students & faculty.
Our industry guests were Recruiting Supervisor Karen Sickles and Associate Recruiter Eva Hoentzsch from Digital Domain Vancouver, who showed us their latest studio reel and fielded a dynamic Q & A session for our students. Information was shared about how to apply to Digital Domain and what to expect working in the industry.
Huge thanks to our special industry guests for spending their valuable time with us, and to our Visual Effects Dept. Head Bill Dwelly for arranging the visit!
Concept Artist from WETA Workshop visits VanArts
July 7th, 2011On Monday, June 27th, VanArts was privileged to receive a special visit by Paul Tobin, concept artist at WETA Workshop, who gave an exciting presentation of his work to our students & faculty. Paul's film credits include King Kong, Avatar, and the first two Narnia films, and he also authored The Crafting of Narnia: Art, Creatures and Weapons from WETA Workshop. More recently, Paul has authored White Cloud Worlds: An Anthology of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artwork from Aotearoa New Zealand, and is currently in North America to promote the book at venues such as the San Diego Comicon.
Huge thanks to Paul for spending time with our students, and to our Visual Effects Dept. Head Bill Dwelly for arranging the visit!
Career Update from Animation Grad
July 7th, 2011
VanArts has recently touched base with our animation graduate Windy Van Druten, who studied 2D Animation with us from 2003 to 2004, and continued her studies in 3D Animation through 2005.
Windy shares with us, "Hello World, I am originally from the concrete jungle Jakarta, Indonesia. I have studied international business relations at Asia Pacific University in Oita, animation at VanArts in Vancouver and even more animation at University of Westminster of London. I am now based in London as a Freelance Traditional Animator and Illustrator. Within my short years in animation, I have collaborated with a few names like R/GA, FrameFork, GrainMedia and National Film and Television School, with short film titles including El Macho, The Boy Who Wanted To Be A Lion and A Mano. Thanks for reading and stay gold!"
Check out Windy's impressive portfolio at cargocollective.com/windyvandruten
Windy Van Druten @ LinkedIn
