Mentor of the Day: Dean Yeagle

If you missed the opportunity to work with the legendary Dean Yeagle last time, be sure you don’t miss out this time!

Dean’s background includes producing, direction, design, storyboarding, layout and animation; character design for film and corporate clients, children’s books, comic books, editorial illustration and gag cartoons for Playboy Magazine.  He’s done just about everything in the animation industry and is back as a Spring 2013 mentor for anyone looking to get better at creating more iconic work.

Maca Gil, Dean’s past mentee learned a lot working with him.  “Dean is really nice and funny, but also really professional. He would tell me straight what I need to work on and how to do it. It was really pleasant to read his emails. I liked how I trusted everything he told me. With other teachers there’s always the possibility that you don’t always agree on what they say. Being able to pick a specific person who is your idol is really nice. You always need different points of view to see a piece of art and decide what the mistakes are, and having someone who you completely trust is just great for that because you KNOW they’re right! I liked how I could trust him. He also made me learn about so many different artists that inspired me a lot. He recommended an art book I’m loving and just the general experience was really great!”

She also learned “that I should draw everyday, all the time. I got used to drawing everywhere I went thanks to Dean. He taught me to draw from life a LOT and that has helped my art so much! It is really important to understand the real proportions and anatomy before being able to stylize them. Something really important he also taught me are some of the basic principles of animation (which I wasn’t aware of before talking to him) and how to treat the line of action when drawing. To make the figures expressive and loose.

But I think the most important thing for me was that I started thinking completely different about art. I was really enthusiastic to learn and Dean gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation throughout these 10 weeks! I now take art more seriously and try to draw things out of my “comfort zone”.  I’ve learned so much.”

Maca’s advice for Dean’s next mentee?  “Be ready to draw a lot of sketches! And that Dean is really funny and they’ll enjoy it a lot.”

Don’t forget to check out Dean’s profile page and past mentor of the day post.  Also check out this really cool video that shows some of his process!

Mentor of the Day: Leighton Hickman

As we continue our mentor of the day posts, we’re so glad to be welcoming back one of our favorite mentors, Leighton Hickman!  Leighton is currently a Visual Development artist at DreamWorks Animation where he worked extensively on “Shrek: Forever After” and the next Chris Sanders movie “The Croods” as well as a number of titles in development.  Since our first round, Leighton has been a great mentor.

Phil Mamuyac was one of Leighton’s mentor’s last Fall 2012.  Phil started off most interested in learning about how a Visual Development artist thinks.  So Leighton wound up sharing how he works- how he comes up with ideas and artistically/technically applies them to his own work.  ”I enjoyed meeting Leighton first and foremost. I hope to work with him in the industry down the line. He even let me visit his workplace which was an awesome experience, because I could see how he has his office setup and even see some of the pre-production work he’s currently working on.”

What was it like working with Leighton?  “Working with Leighton, he helped me direct my portfolio and get it industry-ready. My main goal was to work on full illustrations with color and prop designs. I now have several new illustrations, prop designs and material call-outs to add to my portfolio.

One of the many things I learned is to push your ideas and don’t set a limit on them. While it’s perfectly fine to set goals (i.e. learn how to paint color keys, revamp your portfolio), Leighton encouraged me–as far as the story itself–to imagine BIG: in terms of color, style, story. Especially because it was my own personal project–the only person who could set limits on me was myself. With this, my project was FUN and I hope it shows through that I did have fun working on this project with Leighton overseeing and helping me with it.”

You can see the amazing work Phil created with Leighton right below!

Phil’s final advice to Leighton’s future mentees? “To any prospective mentees, only apply if you’re serious about wanting to get better. Leighton is a busy guy and I’m grateful that he met up with me. Even after a long day of talking and creating art, he’s passionate about art and loves what he does. Not putting in the time and work on your own stuff will not get you better and would just be a waste of his time. Be professional. He related to me on a professional level and I felt it was only right to do the same. Be prompt, do your best and respect his time. You’ll be thankful you did.”

If you’re considering Leighton as a mentor, be sure to check out his profile page and his past mentor of the day posts here and here.  We’ve only got 2 weeks left for applications so apply soon!

Mentor of the Day: Craig Elliott

We’re honored to have Craig Elliott returning for our Spring 2013 Mentorship Program!  Craig Elliott is currently a freelance Visual Development Artist, Illustrator and Fine Artist.  He’s worked with many of the major studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Blue Sky, Illumination Entertainment, and Nickelodeon to name a few.  Craig has been with us since our first round back in Spring 2012 and has consistently had some of our best feedback.

“Craig was a great mentor, for starters…The critiques were great, Craig was very flexible, and it was so self-directed that it was a healthy obligation without getting stressful,” says Sam Gauss, one of Craig’s mentees last fall.

Chelsea Harper, another one of Craig’s fall mentees, says “He’s incredibly easy to approach, to talk to, and to ask questions. He’s also eager to help and provide any length of discussion in order to help you understand a concept, and if at first he doesn’t succeed in getting a concept across, he tries and tries again. He gives his all and he’s incredibly supportive.”

Craig has always been on our mentors that’s willing to take on international mentees.  He uses a variety of communication methods such as email, Skype, and Google hangouts.   Angela Pauly Llobet, a former mentee, recommends Google hangouts best, “Craig was great explaining things by mail and even better by skype or Google + hangouts. The Google + hangouts give a lot less lag and the image of the screen share is much sharper. I’d recommend this to other students!”

Each of Craig’s mentees took different approaches for their mentorships.

For Sam, “I let Craig decide what he thought would be the best things to focus on: I’d originally thought we’d do more narrative illustrations, but he thought my prop work was strongest and worth giving it the nudge it needed to be ‘excellent.’ All I said was that I wanted to get ‘better,’ and I thought he might have the best idea on how to go about that.

Craig suggested a few resources such as a sourcebook that were incredibly valuable, and we worked mainly on rendering. But the most important thing might have been to reorganize my website, which was assignment #1! Haha.”

For Angela, “I got a great head start on a beautiful project I want to keep working on as a big portfolio piece.  I had fun each and every single time, and I got over mayor work/method insecurities that were holding me back. And I can say we also cultivated a nice friendship!

I learned how to properly analyze other artist work to learn from it and apply this to my work. Also some awesome tips and work philosophy to make my life much lighter and easier. I can say that the knowledge passed onto me by Craig is invaluable.”

As for Chelsea, she was most interested in designing costumes, furniture, scenes, characters, and other items.  The most important thing she learned was , “that I don’t have to spend hours and hours rendering things when I can use short cuts instead. I thought it was an artist taboo, but any way to save time is a legitimate way to do digital art. There was also a lot of dispelling of myths that I had thought were truths in the art industry.”

What kind of people would Craig’s mentees suggest apply for Craig?

Sam recommends, “Recent graduates who have the time to devote to their projects without having to worry about classwork. I missed the guided instruction from my illustration classes, so this was a great experience.”

“Any artist who wants to polish their abilities and learn some insight from the animation industry in the illustration and Visual Development area. Everyone could benefit form this program, specially if their mentors are as incredible as Craig is!

I would say be highly prepared with everything you want to learn. Make a list with visual references of what you think is the hardest for you. Study as frequently as possible when given the assignments and try to dedicate a lot of time to the mentorship.The more you put in, the more you get out!” says Angela.

Chelsea eloquently sums up what it’s like working with Craig -  “I enjoyed not only learning from my mentor but also developing a friendship with him as well. It’s nice to see that great artists in the industry are just as human as I am. It made asking questions and being honest about my fears and concerns a lot easier to communicate.”

For more information about Craig, check out his mentor page, and previous mentor of the day posts here and here.

The following work is by Angela Pauly Llobet