Kris Anka going strong

It's hard to believe that Kris Anka is only 17 years old when you look at his work. Here's a composition in progress he was touching up the other evening during the latest session of the Adult Program. Click on the image for a larger view.


Kris started with us as a youngster by enrolling in the Teen Program a few years ago. He currently attends our adult classes as part of the assistant instructor crew. He continues to challenge himself and kick it up a notch with each new work he creates. Kris is dedicated to his art, is very productive and seriously studies his craft. This is the result when backed up by an intuitive talent.

The new semester for adults will be starting Tuesday, November 7. Contact the school if you're interested in joining us.

Brandon Andersen goes macabre

And just in time for Halloween. Brandon Andersen started with us years ago at a young age within the Academy's Teen Program. He continues his art education at his high school during the week and attends our Adult Program even though he is only 17 years old. Click on his art to see it larger.


In the composition above, Brandon does a good job of distorting human anatomical features to achieve something unusual and unique within his design. Combining organic and inorganic elements as well. The somewhat forced perspective he positions his subject in adds interest to the viewing experience.

Brandon will be graduating high school this coming spring. Looking forward to what the future holds for him creatively.

Ronan Relosa gets to basics

No bones about it. Here's an example of some miscommunication that put Ronan Relosa down a new creative path.

Ronan is enrolled in our Character Design I class. As he was working a basic rotation for a character concept he was developing, he interpreted the emphasis I was placing on structure as direction to establish the skeletal foundation of his character. The result was what you see below. Clicking on the picture will provide a better view.


Ronan did a great job at showing what could realistically be happening within the anatomy of a form based entirely upon fantasy. Like the skeletal framework he drew, the additional work he created for his assignment revealed a deeper dimension to Ronan's skills. It'll be interesting to see the unusual approaches he comes up with in his future projects.

Amy Paulson revisited

If you scroll down the Academy's blog to the August 2 entry, you'll see the first post published featuring Amy Paulson. Amy was a new student in Character Design I. Compare what she was doing as recently as a couple of months ago to the work she is doing now. Here's some of Amy's latest assignments from her Character Design II class. Clicking on the image will give you a larger view.

Amy continues to make significant progress with her art. It's remarkable how quickly she's picked up on her fundamentals, making a real difference in the quality of her drawing. Students like Amy continue to build upon the legacy that The Animation Academy enjoys.

You can see more of Amy's work from her classes at the Academy by visiting her website. Click on the link below.

http://my.angeltowns.com/amy/ArtworkCD2TAA1.html

Manny Aguilar's twist on it

Don't just stand there. Do something. Inevitably, your character has to come to life. In this recent sketch by Manny Aguilar, the figure he's designed is animated and enlivened. The twists and slight distortions he included in this work, along with his commendable blue pencil rendering, helps lift her from the page.


Manny assists students prepare for their Character Design II curriculum. He's a versatile artist and has been featured before on the Academy's blog this past April 12.

Let it flow

During the last session of the Academy's Teen Program I sketched this demonstration emphasizing the importance of the flow in a drawing. Flow is an integral aspect behind leading a viewer's eye within a composition and in helping to create design appeal.


Class lectures are always more effective when backed by a demonstration. The Animation Academy encourages creative productivity while class is in session, even from our instructors.

A Chance sketch

At the last session of the Academy's adult classes, Chance Raspberry was in attendance. Chance is a former student and is currently working as a staff artist on "The Simpsons" TV series. Here's a quick sketch he created as a demonstration.


Chance was showing the proper use of blue pencil sketching in the Character Design I class. By establishing a composition in blue pencil first, it's much easier to extract forms once the final medium is utilized. In this case, graphite pencil. The character Chance sketched out here is a design of his own creation.

Model rotation by Viet Nguyen

Working professionals find the program offered at The Animation Academy a challenge and they rise to it once they get into the heart fo the course. Here's a class assignment from Viet Nguyen. He created these three poses of a character rotation at our most recent session of Character Design I. Clicking on the image will give you a bigger view.


Viet is employed at a major toy company in Southern California. He enrolled at the Academy to further develop his commendable skills. Viet came up with this design of a ninja monkey and once he worked out the details, proceeded to prepare his design as a production model. Well drawn, balanced and very suitable for the animation medium. Another excellent example of the exceptional work created by the first rate students we have with us.