APW Drawing Blog

animation portfolio workshop news
 by Vince

APW students ask Charlie Bonifacio

Former Disney animator Charlie Bonifacio was kind enough to be our special guest judge for the APW 2014 Character Design Contest.  APW Directors Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets gathered questions from APW students to ask Charlie.  In this video, APW students ask “What is the biggest challenge to being a Disney animator?” and “How do you stay creative?”  Since Charlie also has extensive experience as an animation educator, he took quite naturally to giving clear answers to important questions from people who are just starting out in animation.

 

 

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 by Vince

A word from Charlie Bonifacio

Animation educator, former Disney animator, and our 2014 honorary guest judge Charlie Bonifacio takes time to thank each and every person who entered the 2014 APW Character Design Contest.
Charlie identifies originality, and a sense of character and personal expression as some of the qualities he looked for as he approached the task of judging the animation character designs and choosing the eventual winners.

 

 

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 by Vince

Animation Portfolio Room Drawings

A huge part of the animation portfolio is the room drawing.  The room drawing is an opportunity to show the animation school that you’re applying to that you have a working knowledge of 2 point perpective.  For some schools, it also is a chance to pose a character within an environment. 

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As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.

 

Vincent Van Gogh
 by Vince

Animation Career Review Interviews APW Directors

In 2012, Animation Portfolio Workshop was proud to be  listed  in the Animation Career Review’s top 100 Animation Schools in the World.  To find out more about APW’s unique approach to helping students gain a substantial advantage in the competitive world of applying to top animation schools, writer Bonnie Boglioli-Randall interviewed APW Directors Gerard Sternik and Vince Peets.

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 by Vince

Jim Zubkavich on 2014 Contest Winner

Many thanks to each budding character designer who submitted drawings to the 2013 Character Design Contest!  Our special guest judge Jim Zubkavich (Program Coordinator for Seneca Animation Arts Centre in Toronto *at the time of writing this post*) looked at all of the characters and chose Maisie Li’s character as deserving the 1st prize – free tuition for the 2013/2014 session of the Animation Portfolio Workshop.  Here are some of Jim’s thoughts on what he saw in Maisie’s character.

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 by Vince

Pixar Animator Visits APW

Pixar Animator Visits APW 1

Pixar animator and Animation Portfolio Workshop alumnus Graham Finlay dropped by to speak to Animation Portfolio Workshop students.  Graham shared his story of starting off as a an APW student, moving on to 3 years of animation school at Seneca Animation Arts Centre and then getting his first job as an animator on tv series and feature films.  These experiences eventually led him to San Francisco CA where he currently works as an animator at Pixar.

There was no shortage of questions from these motivated APW students.  “What’s an average day like working at Pixar?…”How did you get the job?”…”Did animation school prepare you for the work you do now?” etc.  Graham happily took the time to answer each question and surely inspired some future animators along the way.  These students are at the beginning of the process of assembling their animation portfolios and then after that, applying to top animation schools.  This kind of encouragement goes a long way!

Pixar Animator Visits APW 2

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 by Vince

APW in Top 100 Animation Schools

The Animation Portfolio Workshop has been identified as one of the Top 100 Schools for Animation, Gaming and Design.  In the world.

“To help students navigate through the world of animation schools, we’ve put together the Top 100 most highly-regarded and sought after animation schools on the planet.”  Animation Career Review on April 17, 2012

APW in Top 100 Animation Schools 3

 

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 by Vince

Theo Cornejo Setember 18, 1982 – October 30, 2008

Theo Cornejo was a student with the Animation Portfolio Workshop in 2002.  After finishing the workshop, Theo studied Anatomy with Gerard Sternik and Storyboarding with Vince Peets.  These two drawings of Theo’s are posted here as a tribute to a gifted young man whose life was cut short far too soon.  We recently found out the very sad news that Theo was tragically killed in a car accident on October 30, 2008.  He was 26 years old.

This interview filmed in 2004 is a conversation between Theo and APW director Gerard Sternik.  Theo talks about his experience as a student of the workshop and shares his excitement about his first acceptance into a film festival – The Sacremento Film Festival.

Theo Cornejo Setember 18, 1982 - October 30, 2008 4 Theo Cornejo Setember 18, 1982 - October 30, 2008 5Theo Cornejo Setember 18, 1982 - October 30, 2008 6

 

 

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