Mentorship

Literal (Need to know)   

I did not leave the studio with any specific questions, but rather found many of my questions answered.

i.e.

How are you able you draw a character in several different poses with the same proportions every time?

How are you able you draw a character in several different poses with the same proportions every time without a model sheet of the character?

How do 3D glasses work?

What are in-betweens?

What kind of skills would you need to become a successful animator?

Interpretive

I learned just how complex animation really is.  2D animation is almost like an assembly line: one sketches the characters, one draws the background, one tests the rough animation sequence, one cleans up the lines, one scans the now clean art into the computer, one tests the animation again, one colors it, and finally it is finished. Another form of animation, known as CG, is apparently a little easier to create. You basically start with a simple shape and add features to it. All coloring and texturing can be done right on the computer, although it can be a little more difficult, as you have to understand all the program controls!

Applied

I had already planned on doing my topic on digital media from the beginning; specifically, I am most interested in animation.  I have this dream of creating my very own cartoon series.

Location	Contact Info	Date	Hours	What I did	Total Hours
Duncan Studios, Pasadena	Delia Fance (626)578-1587	8/27/2012	2 hours	Met with Ken Duncan, Delia Fance, and several other staff members. Learned they do both CG and 2D animation but they seem to primarily do the traditional animation; they sketch a drawing and scan it into the computer. Learned about storyboarding, rough animation, clean up artists, and special effects animation. Shown an animation sequence so I could witness how each step looked. I learned they worked on scenes from animated features such as Nine and Despicable Me and shorts from How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda.	2 hours
Graphic Details, Chino	Michael M. Barbin   (909)465-9978	8/28/2012	1 hour    30 minutes	Met with Michael Barbin.  Had me sit with one of his lead designers.   Learned they use different colors, text fonts, imagery, and creativity to design logos, banners, brochures, and signs for local businesses.  All their work was done on a computer using a program called Adobe Illustrator.  They showed me some of their current projects.	3 hours 30 minutes
Duncan Studios, Pasadena	Delia Fance (626)578-1587	8/29/2012	2 hours 15 minutes	Met with Delia. Witnessed and learned how 3D effects and glasses operate in a film. Was led to scanning room and allowed to scan in some drawings for a short, old animation project.  Was led to animators and shown how CG animation is done on a program called Maya. Shown how lighting and texture was done on the program.	5 hours 45 minutes
Graphic Details, Chino	Michael M. Barbin   (909)465-9978	8/30/2012	2 hours 30 minutes	Met with designers Josh and Spencer.  Learned that they must constantly email their clients in order to send proofs of their works in progress.  They stated that they may end up spending more time emailing than designing. Learned it could take anywhere from a few hours to days to finish one project, depending on the difficulty. At times they may change a detail or two (i.e. font size or theme) even if it differs from the client’s original concept, if it makes the finished product look more appealing.	8 hours 15 minutes
Duncan Studios, Pasadena	Delia Fance (626)578-1587	8/31/2012	2 hours	Met with Chris Suave, the head 2D animator of Duncan Studio. Learned how they use model sheets to help draw the characters and keep their proportions the same. Learned how certain expressions help with the character’s personality.  Shown a piece of paper with a large box in the middle called a “field guide” and was told how it works like the screen of a camera and that the drawings must fit into the box. In the end, Duncan Studios gave me the opportunity to sit and observe every production artist in their company.	10 hours 15 minutes