I had a most amazing time going to CTNx (Creative Talent Network Animation Expo) in Burbank this past weekend. Here are a couple highlights from my trip.
The day before the Expo, we got together with people from the Oatley Academy. We had breakfast together and then we went to the
Getty Museum. It was amazing to be with wonderful people who I have taken classes with at the Oatley Academy who have become some of my best friends.
After looking around the museum, we had "OA family time." Chris Oatley, Lora Innes, and Justin Copeland gave us some great talks on what to expect at CTN, longevity of careers in art, and not quenching our passions because of what other people think.
Here's a picture of some of my favorite people.
After the Getty, we went to the Center Stage Gallery to see the Lovely Ladies of Animation exhibit. It was awesome to see their original artwork in person! Here is a picture of us gathered after to eat and visit. We ended up in a circle of drawing awesomeness.
The Expo itself was amazing. I met so many people that I knew from school, from Utah, and from the internet. I met new amazing artists. I got to talk with artists who I really admire in person. Glen Keane's opening speech almost had me in tears. I took many amazing workshops. I bought far too many books. I laughed until I almost fell over, and I got lots of giant hugs.
Helping out at the Oatley Academy Booth.
With Peter De Seve.
With Pascal Campion.
Hanging with friends. The Muppet Crowd of Awesomeness!
Now you might be wondering what a children's illustrator is doing going to an animation expo. Well let me tell you. I have learned so much from the animation industry over the last couple years. I had a very good education from BYU, where I got my degree. But character design, and story boarding were not really part of what I was required to learn. I think these are important skills for anyone wanting to make children's books. After all, making a children's book is almost like making your very own personal movie (without the animation part). Having well designed characters is going to be a big part of the appeal of your picture books!
Also, a lot of people in animation are also into the children's illustration world as well. I picked up a few picture books while I was there! I thought I would feel silly saying I was an illustrator (not a character designer or visual development artist), but it turned out that many of the people there exhibiting are illustrators just like me.
While I was at CTN, I got the chance to see so much good good art. The expo floor is like a giant Comic Con, but all the art is actually really really good (no crappy fan art). There was so much inspiration there. Some amazing character designers there that gave me some good advice for my character designs. I also went to a few workshops that were really inspiring and helpful to any artist.
Also, being at CTN was like a giant family reunion where so many of my friends were gathered. I loved going so much, and I hope I can go again in future years. I hope to see some of you there in future years!
Last fall I took a class with Virtual Animators (http://www.virtualanimators.com/) taught by James Lopez. I’ve had quite a few questions from the internets about what I thought, so I thought I’d write a note about my experience.
About the class: Character Design with Disney Artist & Animator James Lopez is a 12 week course taught online. See his IMDB here or amazing work here. The class is viewed through Adobe connect once per week for 12 (12!) weeks. You log in and the VA team, James and your classmates are online. You can ask questions via a chat box, and the VA team does a great job keeping track of the chat and bringing questions to James. The class is not structured, giving James the freedom to teach the class to the group’s skill level. You are also invited to send it work weekly to have it reviewed by James online.
What I thought:
1. The cost: usually where I’d start when considering a class. I didn’t have to consider the class cost here, since I won this class in a contest, but even if I hadn’t it would be a great deal. (As a note: this is not an endorsed post, haha). All of these courses are so affordable- This one was $250, which is really a couple of trips to the grocery store. For 12 weeks, that breaks down to $20/ class- for an experienced teacher at James, who teaches at Cal Arts… it’s beyond a bargain.
2. The class size: SMALL. There were under ten people in our class, which allows for everyone to ask questions and see James visually explain the answer. You can send emails with questions and receive individual attention.
3. The talent & experience of the instructors: I’ve only taken one class with VA (I am planning on another class this spring/ summer) and the instructors are so experienced and knowledgeable it’s unreal to have this sort of individualized attention. James is a friendly and giving individual who really cares about paying it forward and working with artists of all skill levels. He’s got so much knowledge and information it’s a thrill to see him visually work out problems and review your work.
4. The Virtual Animators team: Usually I wouldn’t touch on the “customer service” aspect in this sort of thing, but it was so amazing it needs to be mentioned. The small group who runs this online class system are probably the most genuine and friendly team ever. They’re focused around making a good experience for everyone involved, and keep up with their students. If I had a question or concern I would have an email back super quick. Also, as I mentioned above, they are in the classes with you running the sessions and keep on top of questions for the instructor.
5. Work Review: You send in your work, it gets a review online that week or the next. James was thorough and incredibly professional when reviewing work- it sort of felt like I was working with him at a studio! I learned a lot in such a small amount of time.
6. Recorded Classes: Classes are recored and posted on vimeo so you can watch later, or if you miss a class you can catch up. This was really helpful to me, watching in the midwest where the class time was late. Also, if you miss something, you can re-watch the class too!
7. A Personal Connection to the industry: As I mentioned above, I’m located in the midwest. It’s sort of like being on my own island, far away from the sunshine and talent network of California. Being involved in this class allowed me to connect at CTNX to the VA team, including founder Bill Recinos (who has an impressive IMDB himself), meet James Lopez and be involved in the community.
Ok, so, that’s a lot of writing. I guess you can see that I really loved the class. Negatives include the regular things of online classes- difficult to connect to classmates, really late live class times because of the time difference- but the benefits far outweigh these small points. I’m going to be completely honest, if you’ve ever thought of taking an online class, don’t think twice about this one, or any with these guys. This class is definitely the best online class I’ve taken based on the personal attention, small class size and the amount of information I learned in a short period of time.
One month to go.
The Creative Talent Network Expo (aka CTN-X), now in its fourth year, has established itself as the premiere character animation conference in the United States, if not the world. Attendance is virtually bursting at the seams of the Burbank Marriott – and yet, CTN head honcho Tina Price tells me that tickets are still available to Cartoon Brew readers if they use the special discount code – BREWX12 – which is good for any 1-day and 3-day general passport.
Why attend? For starters, we’ll be there with a table on the exhibit floor and are hosting a Cartoon Brew cocktail lounge in the lobby. If hanging out with us isn’t enough – how about these incentives:
• CTN-X opens with a few words from director Brenda Chapman (Brave)
• Keynote Speaker Glen Keane
• John Musker interviews Argentinian caricature artist Pablo Lobato.
• 102 year-old Disney Legend Tyrus Wong (Bambi) has confirmed his appearance in conjunction with a documentary-in-progress Tyrus Wong: Brushstrokes in Hollywood.
• Legendary futurist Syd Mead will be doing a seminar about his design career.
• Gaming panel with Doug TenNaple, Creature Box, Michel Gagne and the guys from Halon and Blizzard Ent.
• Sneak peek of Rise of the Guardians at the Dreamworks Animation theater on the studio lot.
• Wreck-it Ralph screening on the Disney lot, in the big theater.
• Gkids will screening all of their new Oscar-qualifying features at the nearby Laemmle NoHo 7.
• New Talent Spotlight featuring 10 international animators, including Jacob Wyatt, Faye Hsu, Elena and Olivia Ceballos and from Madrid, Nacho Rodriguez (I’ll be doing a Q&A with him).
•Other guests include illustrator Jean Baptiste Monge, and the key personnel from Blue Sky Studios.
Not to mention drawing workshops, parties and an exhibition hall with over 100 artists, schools and companies represented – including Stuart Ng, Walt Disney Animation, Dean Yeagle, Wacom, Focal Press, Ryan Woodward, Stephen Silver and on and on…
There’s really too much to mention. The whole thing is one giant artists’ party – and a fantastic networking opportunity. You really should be there. For more information, check the CTN website.
