Narek Chopuryan's Progress

A student from a local high school who enjoys drawing sports cars recently enrolled in the Academy's program. Narek Chopuryan started with Character Design 1. Although his interest lies in subjects other than characters, he dedicated himself to learning something new. A discipline essential to his artistic progress and for moving forward with us. By focusing on fundamentals, Narek made amazing strides. In just a few short weeks he went from about as raw as you can get to a level that stuns everyone who sees his current work.

This is what Narek created in the very beginning of his class.

And this is what Narek came up with in his most recent session of Character Design 1.

If you didn't know it there's little chance that anyone would think these two sets of drawings were done by the same person. This is indicative of the progress that our students routinely make. If you're looking to build a strong foundation for your art even at an advanced level you'll find The Animation Academy very beneficial in this regard. We accept new student enrollment on a monthly basis. 

Congratulations Narek on your admirable progress!

Haomin Lo - Before and After

Here's another example of the remarkable progress our students routinely  make on fundamental levels developing a foundation that will serve them artistically for the rest of their lives. Haomin Lo has recently completed Character Design 1. Here's what he created when he started the class and prior to any direction or instruction.

This is what Haomin came up with at the most recent session he attended last week as he wrapped up his assignments to complete the course.

A truly dramatic change in a short period of time. It's exciting to imagine what he'll be doing in the future as he continues to build upon the momentum he has going with his art. You can follow the progress Haomin made in the class by accessing his blog. Congrats on how far you've come in just one enrolled subject Haomin!

'Don't Work For Free' goes viral

For many years I've been discouraging my students from working for free and encouraging them to arrange an appropriate deal or compensation for the work they're asked to do. The epidemic of expecting artists especially students to work for free started a long time ago. I was addressing this way back when from the earliest days of the founding of the Academy and before.

When I began my career in animation working for free even at a student level was unheard of. Training programs at the studios were all paid internships. Today unpaid internships are the norm. When students were asked to work on a project it was expected that there would be financial compensation. That was the standard and the norm. Today that is not the case. Working for free in exchange for credit on the project or professional experience has become what most people expect from artists who are looking to break into the biz and even artists who are established. For example, it's become standard practice to require artists who are applying for a studio position to take a test and not be compensated for their time. Free test taking occurs even with seasoned veterans of the animation industry and nothing has been done about it. Even at a union level here in the Los Angeles market.

I first met Stephen Silver when he enrolled in my Visual Development class at a school I was teaching at in 1996 and 1997. It was called Associates In Art located in Sherman Oaks just down the road from Burbank. After I started The Animation Academy he joined my Character Design class in 1999 and soon afterwards began teaching here. Stephen went on to great things in animation picking up on our philosophy of developing an independent aspect to your career in addition to your studio employment. And he didn't achieve his success by working for free. While he was with us the subject of working for free was a highly discussed topic among our students. 

Last week Stephen contacted me with a request to help spread the word about his latest YouTube video. It contains much of what we were talking about at the Academy back in the day when working for free was becoming more and more prevalent. Since last week his video has become viral with animation media picking up on it. Hopefully this will get the message across to everyone. Take a look and a listen to what Stephen Silver has to say about the subject. You don't have to work for free and if everyone in the community of artists both student and professional just said NO THANK YOU things will be much different and hopefully the idea of expecting artists to work for no compensation will finally fade away.

It's up to us to make that change.

  

Moon over The Animation Academy Burbank

Thought I'd share something different with friends and followers of the Academy's blog. This is our conference room in Burbank California. Yes it is nice. It's even nicer than it appears in these photos. Chance Raspberry of The Simpsons was visiting the other night and we had a meeting at the conference room. It's the highest point in the Magnolia Park area in central Burbank. Kind of looks like an ancient temple. He took these shots during our meeting with his iPhone.

Here's another view of the January night sky with a full moon as our lamp. You can see the lights of downtown Burbank way off along the horizon. The conference room is on the fourth floor of a three story building above the tree line.

Chance is a former student of the Academy and is one of many who've gone on to become stars in the biz. He's recently succeeded with a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of his Little Billy project. We were having a strategy pow wow for the project. The Academy is located at the geographical center of the capital of the animation industry. A great place to be. Wanted to share this beautiful view. Thanks for the photos Chance!

The Animation Academy Celebrates 15 Years

Why is ArtShark so happy today?

If you answered that he's pretty much always happy you'd be correct of course. 

But today he is exceptionally upbeat and exuberant. 

That's because today is...

January 19 is a key day each year for ArtShark but this year it's especially signifcant...

That's because today marks the 15th Anniversary of The Animation Academy in Burbank !!!

It was 15 years ago today on the evening of Monday, January 19, 1998 in the back room of the Coral Cafe in Burbank that we held our very first class. Speaking of 15 that's how much money it took for me to start the business. I spent $15 on stamps and envelopes to mail flyers I printed from a little 486 PC and sent out to 35 former students and friends on a Christmas card list. I sold all 20 available seats and from then on it was history in the making as they say.

The Academy has been a hugely influential school since that time and continues to affect the animation industry to this day. It's had a big impact in the lives of a great many people who've gone on to significant achievements with their art and careers. I'm very proud of what's been accomplished since January 19, 1998.

So here's to the future of the Academy as we celebrate its past and head into the future! I hope it continues to be a positive influence for all!


Thanks to our students past and present, instructors, associates and friends as we celebrate the milestone of our 15th anniversary!

KEEP CREATING!!!

Charles Zembillas

President / Founder / Director

The Animation Academy

Burbank California

USA

Assorted student work

Happy New Year to our current and former students, to our instructors, associates and all our friends from The Animation Academy  in Burbank, California!

A good way to get 2013 off to a great start would be to showcase some of the artwork our students have been creating lately. Let's begin with something Kristen Robertson came up with as a result of a project she's been developing in her Visual Development class. Kristen is an Instructor-in-training with us and has been doing a nice job in assisting students in Character Design 1 with their fundamentals. In this sample she's created an unusual and fun character which she skillfully rendered in Photoshop. 

Maia Gross is a new student to our program and has already made an impact with her impressive work. This is an assignment from Character Design 1 in which she turned the subject in a three pose rotation appropriate for digital modeling. Clicking on the image will give you a better view.

Marietta Semerdjian continues to progress with her art in Visual Development as she prepares her portfolio for submission to a fashion design college upon her graduation from high school. She created the composition using one color of acrylic paint to practice her all important tonal rendering.

Also from the Visual Development class is some of the latest class work from Margo Akopov. Margo is attending the Academy courtesy of a scholarship from Major League Baseball and the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank. She's developing a unique style that is becoming more evident in assignments such as this tonal rendering exercise in acrylics.

Last but certainly not least is a recent work from Joel Valdez. Santa was good to him this Christmas as he has a new Cintiq to create with which he used in this composition along with Sketchbook Pro digital drawing and illustration software. Joel is also an Instructor-in-training.

This is just a small sampling of the artwork our students generate at the Academy on a daily basis. Creative vitality, diversity, exploration and discovery are par for the course within our program as everything is built upon a foundation of fundamentals. With a solid base in the basics artists are able to do things they never thought possible. Strong fundamentals gives our students the strength, confidence and freedom to go on to marvelous things.

Wishing you and yours health, happiness, prosperity and all the good things in life for 2013 and beyond!  

Charles Zembillas

The Animation Academy

Burbank California 

Disney's Lorelay Bove - Academy Student

I was looking through the Academy student archives the other day and discovered work that was created by Lorelay Bove when she was a student here. Lorelay is currently one of Walt Disney Studio's top visual development artists and a new superstar in animation. 

 

She was a designer for "Wreck-It Ralph" as well as "Prep and Landing" among other high profile Disney projects.

In 2002 Lorelay was a student at a local college and was in need of specialized training. She wanted to apply to CalArts and came to The Animation Academy to prepare her portfolio. As my student she successfully completed Character Design 1 and 2 and upon request was provided with a Letter of Recommendation which I happily provided. She was accepted into CalArts and the rest as they say is history.

Here's what we have of Lorelay's early work from her time as a student in Character Design 1. Click on the images for a better view. 

You can see how Lorelay was attempting to get her fundamentals down. Her artwork showed promise but still had a ways to go to distinguish herself from her peers. She was a very dedicated student and her perseverance paid off. Now she's at the top of the game. That's the difference that good fundamentals makes in your art.

If Lorelay can achieve great things in her career from these humble beginnings you can too! We've had many students who went on to become standouts in the animation field as a result of their time with us. The Animation Academy can make a significant improvement in your art. If you're serous about a career as a professional animation artist or in developing your skills in working from your imagination then the Academy can help you establish a solid foundation that can take you to the next level as we see with the example of Lorelay Bove.

Click here to visit her blog.

Keep Creating and focus on those all important basics and great things will happen for you with your art.

Dedicated blog for The Art of Philip J Felix

I'm excited to bring news of a new blog that's gone up featuring the work of someone very special. I first met my great friend and brother-in-arms Philip J Felix when we were both working at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City. He was only a year out of high school and working in a department that was revamping previously published greeting cards. Very menial tasks that didn't offer much of a challenge for someone with his amazing potential.

Since that time Philip got into animation and worked at many studios and on many significant shows over the years. Philip created some of the very first concept art for Shrek including this early development sketch from February 1997...

He also produced concept art for Jurassic Park...

That's just to name a few of the many projects he's done. Philip was among our very first instructors here at the Academy. You know the Felix family name in animation. Paul Felix is Disney's top production design and visual development artist. David Felix worked on The Simpsons before he passed away in the 1990s. Philip J Felix is their older brother and the one who brought them both into the animation business. He is also a pioneer of independent marketing for animation artists, going all the way back to the 1980s when he and Gary Montalbano started selling posters of their art at the San Diego Comic Con years before other artists  started doing the same. Philip helped blazed that trail.

Philip currently resides in Tucson Arizona where he is the owner of Red Sky Studio. It's a combination tattoo parlor and art gallery. Philip made the transition to tattoo art several years ago and is booked months in advance. On top of his tat work Philip continues to paint and inspire everyone around him with his masterful creativity and highly imaginative themes. He is also developing new projects that will be coming to animation in the future.

Thanks to Joel Valdez from the Academy, a new blog is up that features Philip's artwork. It's updated frequently with a mix of new images and older ones from Philip's extensive archives. Here's the link... http://philipjfelix.blogspot.com/

Lam's Brain - Joshua Lam's book online

Happy to pass along the news that Joshua Lam's new book "Lam's Brain" is online and available for all to see. Joshua is a former student from the Academy. Like many of our students both current and those who've been with us in the past, Joshua has utilized work he created through class assignments as content for his publication. He's also embellished his book with more recent art. Click on this link to peruse through "Lam's Brain - The Art of Joshua Lam". You can access Joshua's blog here.

Academy's Joel Valdez meets Glen Keane

Every year at this time the CTN animation eXpo takes place in Burbank. The three day event has become a major industry attraction. This past weekend at CTNX 2012 one of our stand out students hooked up with legendary Disney animator Glen Keane. That's Joel Valdez on the right sharing his experience with The Academy's community.