Penaranda / Snakebite collaboration

The semester break provides an opportunity to present some archival work on the Academy's blog. Here's something that I'm happy to feature. This is a collaborative effort on the part of Byron Penaranda and Snakebite.

Both were enrolled as students at the time this artwork was created. Byron was an advanced student taking the Visual Development class. Snakebite was in the Concept Storysketch class. Byron's assignment was to come up with a composition that had a distinct light source and play that light source off of his compositional elements to help describe form. Snakebite, on his own initiative and with permission from Byron, took the drawing and rendered it in digital color using Photoshop. The result is what you see below. You can click on the image for a better view.


Both Byron and Snakebite are remarkable talents. Shortly after this, Byron went to Germany for a few months on a professional assignment. Snakebite went on to leave his mark on the comic book industry with his outstanding work on "The Red Star" series. He also became our Photoshop instructor and trained many artists through our program. Both Snakebite and Byron are doing well and continue to astound the public with their work.

You can see more of Snakebite's color work by visiting http://artbysnakebite.com

Ruben Arroyo from the archives

A well balanced artist can always be counted on to create a variety of subject matter in multiple disciplines. That's what we experienced when Ruben Arroyo was attending classes at The Animation Academy a couple of years ago. Ruben was a strong character design student and that strength played well into his assignments in Background Design. Here's a sample of his work from that time.


Ruben created this drawing with blue pencil. It's an excellent early attempt of his at establishing environmental composition through the use of tone and substance. Ruben wound up assisting in the Character Design class as a result of the progress he made while attending the Academy. Although we haven't had the opportunity to catch up with him to find out what he's been up to lately, he's well remembered at the school.

Edgar Recinos returns

It's not unusual for students from the Academy's Teen Program to progress with their creative education once they've graduated from high school. In the case of Edgar Recinos, he went on to Woodbury University in Burbank, California where he is currently attending college as a third year student majoring in animation.

Edgar returned to the Academy this semester enrolling in the Adult Program and reconnecting with Character Design I. Here's a sample of what he came up with at our most recent session.


Edgar's class assignment involved the development of action/attitude poses for the character he created. Although there's still some attention to detail that is needed in these sketches, he's making an impression this semester with the overall quality of his work. We're very happy to have Edgar back with us and excited to be a part of his artistic growth once again.

Kevin Poythress progresses

In a post from June 12, the class work of newcomer Kevin Poythress was featured on the Academy's blog. Kevin is now taking Character Design II and is developing well with his art. Here's his latest creation as of this week's session of the Adult Program.


Kevin created this shark man design from his initial studies involving the adaptation of the human body form to animation character design. As part of this specific assignment, he gave the end result an imaginative hook by assimilating shark elements into the end result.

In a similar manner, Kevin has assilimilated well into the Academy's process of creative development. His future endeavors look to be strong and we anticipate more exciting art from Kevin. As with many of our students, there's much to look forward to.

Arnold Doong revisited

We enjoy continuing communications with many of our students even after they've gone on from the Academy to other things in life. Recent correspondence with former student Arnold Doong has prompted me to feature him once again here on the Academy's blog. To see the previous post that featured Arnold's work, scroll down for the May 11 entry.

Arnold has strong illustrative skills which he utilized effectively in his studies in Character Design, Background Design and Visual Development. Here are more samples of his work. This is from his first class in Visual Development. Arnold used markers to render these two designs.


Arnold created the fantasy land below in his first experience with our Background Design course, incorporating the rendering skills he developed in Visual Development with what he already had in his artistic arsenal from his previous art education at other area schools.


To view more of Arnold's work feel free to visit his online portfolio by following this link: http://www.portfolios.com/arnolddoong

Introducing Amy Paulson

A new student to the Academy's Adult Program this semester, Amy Paulson has quickly established herself as an artist to watch as far as her initial improvement is concerned. Here are three images she's created from her time in the Character Design I class.


Image "A" on the left is Amy's very first drawing in the first session of the class. In image "B" in the center, Amy has shown significant improvement by the end of the very same session. In image "C" on the right, Amy really hit stride at a skill level that can be constructively worked with. This image is from her second class session.

Students like Amy continue to build the Academy's legacy and enhance the school's excellent industry wide reputation.

Lauren Finn's perspective revisited

Some of Lauren Finn's perspective studies were previously exhibited here on the Academy's blog. Lauren is enrolled in our Teen Program and has recently turned 14 years old. This is a sketch she created outside of class. It was drawn from her imagination without reference.


Her latest work, although still needing attention in certain areas, shows a lot of confidence and growth. Compare the above art with what Lauren was doing three months ago when she was just beginning to explore perspective and background composition.


Lauren's got a good head start on mastering a complex subject. We're looking forward to what she'll be attempting next.

Class sketches from James Brown

Every once in a while there's a student that emerges from the pack who not only exhibits strong fundamental skills, but has an abililty to communicate and share procedural information when it comes to their art. James Brown is one of those students. Here are some samples of his work. Clicking on the image will give you a slightly larger view.


James (not to be confused with the soul singer) has grown to become an assistant instructor in the Academy's Adult Program. He has a strong sense of design, especially when it comes to the male and female form. James helps out with the students who progress into Character Design II. He also assists students in the prerequisite Character Design I class as they evolve into more complex design assignments.

Disney poster from Rich Lynes

Here's a great example of the level that many of the artists associated with The Animation Academy operate at, both in terms of quality and clients and/or employers. This is a recent poster published by the Walt Disney Company's consumer products division. The composition features Mickey Mouse in a situation reminiscent of the Who's rock opera "Quadrophenia" from the 1970s. The artist is Rich Lynes. Rich was previously the Academy's instructor in our Background Painting class. He is also a veteran of Disney Studios and Warner Bros Animation. Clicking on the graphics will provide a bigger view.


Rich used Photoshop to create this fantastic art worthy of the Disney Company and Disney fans. Rich tells us that the file size was so big that it took as many as 20 minutes for his computer to save changes to the file as he approached completion of the job. We're very happy and proud to enjoy a continuing relationship with Rich Lynes. To see more of his work, visit his web site. http://www.lynesden.com

Alexis Arciniaga work in progress

The summer session of The Animation Academy's Teen Program began last Saturday and Alexis Arciniaga got off to a strong start. Alexis has been with us for several months now and is exhibiting a high level of sophistication in her work. All the more impressive considering that she recently turned 13 years old. Here's an example of what she is currently working on in class.


Alexis shows a lot of maturity and confidence in her drawing, design and compositional skills for her age. Imagine what she'll be doing in the future as she continues to progress.