What are recruiters looking for?

In this article, VFXWorld interviewed recruiters from 6 major studios: Double Negative, Pixar, Rhythm & Hues, Dreamworks, SPI, RSP, and the Orphanage. They asked the recruiters what qualities they look for when hiring 2D artists. Of course experience is a must, but some recruiters look for more subtle qualities as well, such as strong acting skills or a sense of humor. This is a good read for animators trying to break into the indusrty. You can check out the entire article here: http://www.vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=319b255d&atype=articles&id=2919

NEW PORTFOLIO WEBSITE!

Howdy all! I wanted to direct you to my newly revised portfolio website. Since I have started Animation Mentor and have decided to pursue a career in character animation, I felt I should make my portfolio site more animation-oriented than it had been. On the site I feature my Progress Reel from Class One: Basic Foundations, as well as my drawings, photography, and some artwork that I had created previous to Animation Mentor. Hope you enjoy! :)

http://www.annarebeccaschmidt.com

Class One: Basic Foundations Progress Reel

Last week was my final week in Class One: Basic Foundations, and now I am starting Class Two: Psychology of Body Mechanics with Shaun Freeman as my mentor. I am with a fantastic group, and I even recognize some of my classmates from Basic Foundations. This semester is going to be cool, and I will try to post with updates as often as I can. Here, below, is my Progress Reel from Class One. It is not perfect yet, but I definitely had fun working on it.

AWN Interview with 2009 Oscar Animated Feature Nominees

Animation World Network's Bill Desowitz recently spoke to the directors of Oscar-nominated films Bolt, Wall-E, and Kung Fu Panda.  Each of these films is fantastic, and I'm glad they are all nominated!  In the article, the directors (listed below) discuss their processes in creating each film, as well as reveal upcoming projects.  You can read the interview here: http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&category2=&article_no=3914&page=1

2009 Oscar-nominated animated film directors...

Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda)

John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda)

Andrew Stanton (Wall-E)

Chris Williams (Bolt) 

Byron Howard (Bolt) 

It's All in the Eyebrows!

Top Pixar animators Carlos Baena and Victor Navone have written invaluable information about how the eyebrows are useful in conveying what a character is thinking and feeling. They discuss different brow shapes and uses, and give several examples of visual reference from drawings and acting clips. These are great resources for animating faces... check them out and book mark it for the future.

Victor Navone: The Brows Have It
Carlos Baena: Eyebrows

Additional Links:
John K. Stuff- Hierarchy- 3 Eye Area- eyebrows, irises, wrinkles

New Animation Mentor Assignment

I made some revisions for last week's assignments and finally have them ready to post! The first one is a ball traveling through an obstacle course. I used squash and stretch in the first few frames to show anticipation as the ball leaps into the course.

The second part of the assignment was to pose our Stu character as if he were devastated. Take a look:

Here are the drawings I created to plan out the pose:

Slashfilm Interviews Up Producer & Director

Interview with Pete Docter & Jonas Rivera
Early Buzz: Pixar's Up
Docter Goes Halfway Up
New Up Trailer!

More on Andrew Stanton and Wall-E

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-647332385884976683&hl=en

2009 Oscar Nominated Animated Short Contenders

Oktapodi


Lavatory Lovestory

Alternative link: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/lavatory-lovestory/2873334156

La Maison en Petits Cubes (Clip only)


Presto


This Way Up (Clip only)

Coraline Behind the Scenes

Video: Coraline Featurettes

Article: On the Set with Coraline: Where the Motion Doesn't Stop

Article: Selick Talks Coraline: The Electricity of Life

WATCHMEN!

After much anticipation, Watchmen will finally hit movie theaters on March 6, 2009! Director Zach Snyder, who also worked on the film adaptation of Frank Miller's 300, began filming in 2007 after several script revisions and creative disputes. Alan Moore and artist David Gibbons created the original Watchmen comic book series, which has been regarded by many as the best graphic novel of all time.

I am very excited about this film! Check out the trailers and video clips below and see what you think.

Watchmen Trailer Blogspot
Yahoo Movies- Watchmen


Meet the Characters: Director Zack Snyder introduces the costumed heroes of the movie's alternate reality

WATCHMEN trailer 1


Trailer 2

Watchmen - Theatrical Trailer 2 | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Watchmen- Comic-Con Footage

Watchmen - Comic-Con Footage | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com