Eddie Nieves turns it on

A new student to the Academy this semester, Eddie Nieves continues our tradition of excellence with these 2 assignments he completed, his 5 pose character rotations from concept sketches he developed earlier in class.

Clicking on the artwork will give you a better view.

Eddie's skills were commendable when he started, but they've really taken off as result of his time with us. We're happy to share his creative accomplishments with the community here on the Academy's blog, and look forward to the great things he'll be doing in the very near future. Keep up the good work, Eddie.

Animation Day 2008 a Hit!

In early 1999, The Animation Academy started a revolution in the industry by launching AnimationNation.com, a forum for animation professionals. A tradition has since grown whereby every April 1, there would be a workday gathering of the pros. A day of unity.

For the 10th year in a row, the event has occured in its most recent form as Animation Day.

Here's the turnout on Tuesday evening, April 1, with a crowd of about 100 attending and stopping by. Click on the photo for a better view.

A highly inspiring occasion with glowing words of review appearing at several places on the Web. A week later, the positive energy in the animation community is still riding the wave.

For more info, pictures and to follow the account of Animation Day 08, click on this link:

http://www.animationnation.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=013021;p=1

This year's theme of "The Future" was fitting since a big number of young people showed up, outnumbering the veterans. Groups from the Animation Design Center http://theanimationdesigncenter.com in Torrance and students in the Bachelors Degree program at California State University in Northridge swelled the numbers.

The Animation Academy continues to influence the industry.

Nelson Boles makes it 2 in a row !

I'm very pleased, proud and excited to share the news with the Academy's community.

For the second year in a row, and in only the second year of the existence of this prestigious national recognition for high school students, the 2nd Annual Warner Bros Hanna Barbera Scholarship has been won by a student from The Animation Academy!

Last year it was Kris Anka. This year, it's Nelson Boles!

Nelson came to the Academy and enrolled in our Teen Program after his family and had been flooded out of their home in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nelson came to Los Angeles to stay with relatives and spent two semesters with us while he was here. He returned to New Orleans and continued with his life, drawing and animating films.

Last week, he was contacted by phone and notified by representatives of Warner Bros that he was the recipient of this year's scholarship - $10,000 to go to Cal Arts and a paid internship to Warner Bros Animation Studios.

This link will take you to a YouTube video of the film that won it for Nelson.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zNGjruW_pEc

A huge congratulations going out to Nelson from everyone here at The Animation Academy in Burbank, California with our very best wishes for his continued success. We're looking forward to a great career from this very talented young artist, animator and filmmaker.

Keep Creating, Nelson!

Lopez brothers double up

Recently enrolled into the Academy's program, twin brothers Donovan and Dorian Lopez made a strong statement in their first semester studying Character Design I. Below is Donovan's initial attempt at his 5 pose character rotation.

This is Dorian's first character rotation. Clicking on the images will give you a better view.

The Lopez brothers contribute to the Academy's legacy of excellence in art training for the animation industry by virtue of the commendable job they did with this all important assignment. Their character rotations are professional quality and would rival many designers already working in the business.

Donovan and Dorian have a bright creative future ahead of them and we're looking forward to what they'll be accomplishing next.

Three's a charm

It was an excellent occasion at the last session of the Academy as we celebrated 2 surpise guest speakers in addition to our scheduled guest, Walter Gatus.

We had the pleasure of a visit from Snakebite, (third from the left) as well as Andres Alvarez (next to Snakebite on the right). Snakebite is a former student and instructor and a world class Photoshop artist. Andres is a former student of the Academy who went on to become an instructor with us and then founded his own school, The Animation Design Center in Torrance, California, which is in the South Bay area of Los Angeles.

Here they are in the company of a few of our admiring group.


Walter Gatus, another former student who made it big in the animation biz, stopped by to share his portfolio and recent work he's been doing as a character designer on the upcoming series "The Spectacular Spiderman" scheduled to air next month from Sony TV Animation. Walter is in the dark blue shirt to the left of the table.


The action at the Academy as Walter spends extra time with a group of students while others are channeling their inspiration by busting out their own artwork.


Andres Alvarez topped off the evening with a showing of his own, a collection of his work and those of his students from the Animation Design Center. He's the guy with the big smile on the left.


It's been an exceptional and memorable semester these past few weeks as we enjoyed the 10th anniversary of the school and a big turnout in students and creative activity. Thanks to everyone who's been a part of it. The next semester, 11.2 will begin March 4. Hope to see you there.

10 Years, Big Week

The 10th Anniversary of The Animation Academy was celebrated on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at a special animation event at the Burbank Public Library, on the date of the school's first class in 1998. The event included screenings, portfolios reviews and a panel discussion with the audience. It was a terrific afternoon. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The event was a huge success.

The panel of guest speakers included several from the Academy. From the left on the microphone, that's Walter Gatus from Sony's upcoming Spiderman series. Next to him is Bob Harper from Cartoon Network. Next to him is Gary Clair from Threshold Enterainment. Chance Raspberry from Starz Media is the second person over from him with the black t-shirt. Not pictured but to the left of Walter Gatus is Joe Pearson, renowned independent animation producer.



The panel looking from the other side, included guests from Tokyo Pop. The person on the opposite side of the table in the distance by the podium is Joe Pearson.



Here's a look at part of the crowd in attendance.



After the question and answer session of the event, the group spread out to speak one on one with visitors. Here's Gary Clair from the upcoming film "Food Fight", Chance Raspberry from "The Simpsons" and Walter Gatus from the upcoming "Spiderman" TV series. Three of The Animation Academy's many famous former students.



Looking the other way along the head table, the visitors gathering to speak with Walter Gatus, Chance Raspberry and Gary Clair.



In class this week, our first guest speaker of the year was someone very much distinguished in the animation industry. Tad Stones took time to stop by and talk with our students. An incredible guest, he spoke at length about his experiences in animation. An amazing career spanning the Disney Studios through more than 3 decades.



Tad's career from his time with Disney's training program in its earliest days through recent history and all the projects and shows he's developed captivated our group. Afterwards, students gathered round to speak with him personally.



Here's Tad being thanked by a couple of Academy students who were grateful for his visit and inspired by his talk.



The IMDb database gives a glimpse into Tad's extensive and intriguing career.

http://http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0832309/

A big thanks to Mr. Stones. He left a huge impression on everyone. Thankful for the generosity of his time and wishing him the best in all things.

We're tentatively scheduling our next speaker for this semester on February 12. When the final word comes in it will be announced on the Academy's home page.

10 Years Old Today!

Hello everyone and thank you for visiting the Academy's blog. A very Happy 2008 to you! It's been hectic recently with a large group of new students entering our program this semester and being caught up with preparing my first book which I'll disclose more info about later. So please excuse the delay in posting updates about what's been happening at The Animation Academy.

Today is a special day. It was 10 years ago that we held our very first class in the back room of the Coral Cafe Restaurant in Burbank, California on January 19, 1998.

It began at the suggestion of my friend, John Leousis, the owner of the Coral Cafe. I booked the back room of his restaurant and sent 35 flyers out to friends and former students whose addresses I had as part of a Christmas card mailing list. I had room for 20 students and sold out all the seats.

I spent $15 on stamps and envelopes. With that, a new business and a new educational endeavor was launched in Burbank for the community and the industry.

To everyone who's been a part of the school over the past 10 years, thank you! I hope you've enjoyed your experiences as much as I've enjoyed your company. If the school's helped make you a better artist, if it's helped with your career and creativity, if it's helped make the animation business more accessible and more fun for you, if it's helped make the world a little bit better place, then it's been worth the effort.

We'll be at the Burbank Public Library today, two stoplights up the street from the Disney Studios celebrating with a special animation event the library is sponsoring. Photos from the event will be posted soon.

Here's to the next 10 years and to the continued success of our students, instructors, associates and friends. Thanks again and God bless.

Keep Creating!

Kelly McGraw at the Academy

At the last session of the Academy we had a very special guest speaker. Kelly McGraw, long time Disney Feature Animation background painter and currently visual development artist. This was Kelly's first time ever making a public appearance to discuss his art and career.

Kelly is remarkable. One of my first students from when I began teaching in the LA area. He started from humble beginnings taking figure drawing classes at local schools and workshops, developing his fundamental drawing and painting skills, to become a fixture at Disney.

He had a captive audience in the students and instructors present. Kelly gave great advice for achieving a successful career in the very competitive world of animation, even in the face of dramatic changes that may affect the industry from time to time.

A huge thank you to Mr. McGraw for the time he spent with us.

We're lining up guest speakers into the spring at the Academy. Next semester will begin January 8, 2008 and will mark the 10th anniversary of the school.

Lilo & Stitch Night - 2002

An occasion of historical significance from September, 2002. This photo and several others were recently discovered and sent in to us by the photographer of the event.

It's from Lilo and Stitch Night at The Animation Academy in Burbank, at the height of popularity for the film. Organized through the enthusiastic efforts of former student and then instructor John Nevarez.

Pictured below, from left to right.

Dean DuBlois, Director.
Paul Felix, Production Designer
Chris Sanders, Creator, Director, Writer and Voice of Stitch
Jim Schlenker, Developing the TV Series

As far as I know, there has never been another occasion where the head creative staff of Disney's Lilo and Stitch team came together for an educational gathering such as the one that took place at the Academy in September, 2002. I'll be adding this to the school's archives along with the rest of the photos and follow up a little later with more pictures from that special night.

Anthony Nevarez stepping up

We've had the pleasure of enjoying the company of Anthony Nevarez for several years. First as a teen student, now an adult emerging into more sophisticated subjects and style. In a recent class assignment seen here, Anthony delves into character design and female anatomy, using a classic form construction method. Clicking on the image will give you a better view.

I'm happy to be featuring Anthony's work on the Academy's blog for the first time. Looking forward to the exciting images he'll be creating in the future.