California State University, Fullerton
Robots and rednecks. War heroes and wooly mammoths. For the past decade, the popularity of animation has blossomed to the point that it can be found in just about every form of entertainment - films, television, computer games, music videos, even in commercials. But, whether the characters, backgrounds, storyboards, layout, special effects or other aspects of the form are created by hand or state-of-the-art computer program, for most artists, it all goes back to a pencil and piece of paper.
And, that's where it all starts for Cal State Fullerton students in the Entertainment Art/Animation program.
The program, which formally began nine years ago, has formed the foundation and helped launch the careers of many Titan alumni in the fields of television and film animation, and computer gaming. These artists are found in most of the major animation studios and gaming companies, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Pandemic Studios, Cartoon Network, Electronic Arts, Blue Sky, Film Roman and Klasky Csupo.
Auxiliary courses in animation were offered at Fullerton in the 1970s, but "when the instructor left, the program left," says Dana Lamb, professor of art. "Animation as a career had been dying in the '70s, and most artists went into other directions.
"Then 'The Little Mermaid' came out, followed by 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Lion King.' It became clear that animated features had a viable market base and could make a profit. Two major studios were born: Warner Bros. Feature Animation and DreamWorks. Studios were raiding each other - they couldn't get enough artists."
At Warner Bros., Dave Master, who was then director of artistic development, responded to the dilemma by developing a pilot program, ACME, that brought professional animators into the classroom for real-life, hands-on instruction. (ACME is named for the ACME products that Wile E. Coyote used to get through mail order while trying to catch the Road Runner). “It was based on industry/professional expectations,” he says. “For the students, at least they know what they can work on while they’re still in school.
“I visited 94 schools and picked three CSUs — Fullerton was one that met the criteria. Enthusiasm of the students. Enthusiasm of the teachers: they had to be able to open themselves up to outsiders, which is hard to do. Having the interest of the students is No. 1. The third was an administration that understood that this program has special needs.”
ACME serves as an adjunct to Fullerton’s entertainment art/animation curricula, and, as Master is quick to point out, “We don’t teach the classes. We bring them in contact with people who work in the real world.
The teachers are actually preparing these kids ahead of time to teach and develop the skills and technology that are already in the industry.”
Because of the breadth of the industry and its potential opportunities, students in the program are exposed to a wide range of classes, from the basics of drawing to current animation software programs, like Maya, and motion capture hardware and software — the technology used to animate Tom Hanks’ characters in “The Polar Express.”
For all the technical advances, however, whether
a project is created on paper or through a computer, most everyone — industry professionals, faculty members, alumni, students — agrees that strong drawing skills are paramount.
Even before Fullerton’s program was fully on its feet, “we had alumni getting jobs based just on their drawing skills,” says Don Lagerberg, professor of art. “That’s one of our strengths — classically trained artists with discipline, who are responsive to team leadership situations.”
“Paper is still part of the animation process,” says Rachelle Lewis, a recruiter for Sony Pictures Imageworks. “If you’re only taking computer animation classes, your work’s going to look like crap. You will not work at an animation feature studio.
Working on a computer-generated feature requires the same discipline as a traditional animator. You have to understand the anatomy of a line, weight, movement. We care that you can make an inanimate object come alive. To entertain people you have to be an actor.”
Garrett Shikuma ’04 (B.F.A.) is a character animator on the fourth installment of the “Medal of Honor” computer game series at Electronic Arts, one of the biggest publishers in the gaming industry. He’s on a computer eight to 10 hours a day, but “after hours, I’m always drawing. I’ll take my sketchbook, go to Starbucks and draw people.
“My acting skills are good, so they put me on cinematics — little mini-movies in the game. When I have these scenes, I think about the character’s emotional state. Sometimes, I take out my sketchbook, draw it out, then put it in the computer.”
Audiences for Blue Sky Studios’ “Robots” have seen the work of character animator Hans Dastrup ’03 (B.F.A.), who helped bring to life the Robin Williams-voiced Fender, and Wonderbot. “All my work is done on computer, I don’t need to draw,” he says. However, “my drawing skills at times do come in handy — it’s still a necessity. The reality is, the guys who become editors or directors can draw.”
For Heather Martinez ’04 (B.F.A.), drawing is part of her job at Nickelodeon, where she’s is a storyboard artist/writer for the series “My Life as a Teenage Robot.” “I don’t have a computer on my desk,” she says. “All storyboards are hand-drawn.” Working in the industry since 1999, Martinez also was an illustrator for the “SpongeBob SquarePants” books.
It’s 11:30 on a Thursday morning and students from two upper-division animation classes are gathered in the basement of Pollak Library for an ACME teleconference with Disney Studios’ Don Hahn, producer of such animated blockbusters as “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” Snacks and water bottles are cleared from the tables and while they’re waiting out the final technical adjustments that will connect them with Hahn and two other schools, the students have their sketchbooks out, busily drawing and sketching.
With Hahn is Master, who moderates the two-hour, weekly sessions with professionals from Hollywood’s biggest animation companies. Taking turns, a student from each school shows Hahn something they’ve worked on: an animated clip, a background layout, a character study. The pieces are very good, and one in particular, elicits laughter from the gathering. But like a master acting coach or director, Hahn looks beyond the obvious, seeing much, much more.
Senior art major Dexter Caseres presents his character study, a lineup of high school teens whose personalities are depicted through their clothing, expressions and postures. About one of them, Hahn says, “I’d like to know a little more about the character — any clues beyond the stereotype. I’m asking you for more layers; use everything at your disposal.”
About the critique and the sessions in general, Caseres, who hopes to be a character designer or storyboard artist, says, “It’s very helpful to have someone in the industry see my work and tell me what they think of it. They know their stuff, what’s good and what’s bad.”
In addition to striving to give students access to industry technology that will further their future success, the program has brought on board such animation veterans as Chuck Grieb, who joined the art department almost three years ago and is teaching them how to master these tools.
“A lot of students are exploring 3D animation,” says Grieb, whose career credits include working as an animator, storyboard artist, director, character designer and Maya artist/animator for such studios as Walt Disney TV Animation, Cornerstone Animation and Flashbang Studios. “We’ve introduced a number of new courses that cover introduction, modeling and texturing, making films using 3D technology, building a game. Quite a few students are into gaming.”
Preparing students for the animation industry is not just a matter of offering classes. Says Lamb, “Studios used to have training programs, but those are gone. Now, they expect students to come out of school ready. So much is required of an individual, because the standards are so high. They have to have the passion, not just the desire.”
Jarod Daetwiler ’97 (B.F.A.), one of the first graduates of the entertainment art/animation program, still has that passion. He has worked at Film Roman for five years on “King of the Hill” as a background layout artist and continues to enjoy what he does. “I love it. It’s been great to do something you love to do. It’s a fun gig.”
From alumni whose works millions of television audiences, movie fans and gamers are enjoying, to feedback from industry professionals, the results of the program are impressive.
“I liked the overall support of the faculty,” says Shikuma. “Dana was always helpful in whatever we wanted to do. And, the faculty were up to date with what was going on in the industry, so you could go the traditional route or computer animation.”
“It was great,” says Justin Ridge ’03 (B.F.A.), an assistant director at Nickelodeon on the anime-influenced series “Avatar,” which premiered earlier this year. “It allowed me to experiment with different mediums, like oils with Don Lagerberg.
“I think all programs have merit, but I think we worked harder at Cal State Fullerton. We’re not one of the art schools — where the students tend to specialize, and their portfolios were just class assignments. We worked harder on our portfolios; I think we felt we had to prove ourselves.
“The biggest thing, for me, was making friends who have the same love. We would collaborate with other students, figure things out, look for new artists.”
Lewis, who has presented in animation classes, says of the program, “Fullerton definitely has a reputable program. They really listen to people in the industry and they’ve done a good job of transitioning — offering traditional classes and computer classes.”
Says Master, “I was having lunch at DreamWorks and saw two Fullerton grads. Fullerton wasn’t even on the map at Warners when I started there. Now, they’re probably in the top 10. I appreciate the commitment of the teachers and the administration, and I hope those kids appreciate what they have done.”
Dastrup, whose next project is “Ice Age 2,” does. Although he knew he wanted to be in art, it wasn’t until he learned that the university had an animation program that it was an area worth exploring. “I took a class and found that I really enjoyed it, had a knack for it. A big thank to you, Cal State Fullerton. It worked out perfectly.”
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