February 22, 2019January 14, 2020 by Vince

APW grad Graham Finley up for Incredibles 2 Oscar

We’re proud of the work done by APW grads. After learning drawing fundamentals at APW, these young artists go on to hone their abilities in other schools and programs and then on to the animation biz here in Toronto and internationally. The 2019 Oscars are an opportunity for Animation Portfolio Workshop to salute Graham Finley and recognize his outstanding work.

“Learning how to draw was the most important thing that I’ve taken from APW”

Graham Finley – Animator Pixar

Graham has worked at Pixar on a number of Pixar films: Inside Out, Brave, Monsters University, Piper, and most recently, Incredibles 2. A successful animator, devoted to his craft and producing top-notch work.

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February 21, 2019October 31, 2023 by Vince

Animation Portfolio Workshop featured grad Chang Dai

Chang Dai’s extensive animation experience covers character design, storyboards, art direction, hand drawn animation, game design and production design in Toronto (Yowza Animation, Arc Animation, Industrial Brothers, Jam Filled Entertainment, House of Cool), , Minneapolis, and in San Francisco (Play Studios). Chang’s professional animation experience shows a highly developed ability to draw well.

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February 19, 2019October 31, 2023 by Vince

Spider-Verse an antidote to boredom with current animated feature-film fare

Is it possible that the look and feel of current animation feature films has hit a wall? Is creativity still alive in feature film animation?

Consider the current response to the Sony Pictures block-buster, Oscar nominated “Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse” in this article from Animation World Network entitled “Art Triumphs Over Everything. Animation geeks and mainstream film-goers alike are finding a virtual treasure trove of inspiration and visual interest in Spider-Verse’s artful direction by the art direction team of Patrick O’Keefe (Animation Portfolio Workshop grad)

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February 17, 2019January 14, 2020 by Vince

Animation Portfolio Workshop Character Rotations

Once you design a character for your animation portfolio, you need to draw a turnaround that shows your character in four different views. The idea here is to demonstrate a knowledge of character construction and an ability to visualize and draw the character from different angles. Easier said than done. No youtube “how-to-draw” video can come anywhere near being a substitute for going and getting this knowledge for yourself through lots of drawing and helpful guidance from someone who has been where you are and knows what you need to know. Drawing. It’s awesome.

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February 14, 2019October 31, 2023 by Vince

Animation Portfolio Workshop Character featured grad Saud Boksmati

Animation Portfolio Workshop grad Saud Boksmati has made Visual Development and Character Design a matter of priority in his art practise. Soulful character designs filled with personality and humanity and meaningful story-telling are hallmarks of Saud’s personal drawings and illustrations as well as his professional work for Cartoon Network, LAIKA Entertainment,

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February 13, 2019October 31, 2023 by Vince

Storyboard artist Sonia Furier judge for the 2019 Character Design Contest

Animation Portfolio Workshop is pleased to welcome back a former Instructor – Toronto storyboard artist Sonia Furier as our 2019 special guest judge for the 2019 APW Character Design Contest.

Sonia got her start as an APW student,

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February 12, 2019October 31, 2023 by Vince

APW Grad Patrick O’Keefe – “Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse” Art Director

Award winning “Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse” Art Director Patrick O’Keefe talks abut his roots as an Animation Portfolio Workshop student. Patrick cites his APW experience as seminal in forming a passion for drawing that motivates him to constantly aim high in his work as a professional.

Moving into films and working digitally, even building these crazy video game worlds, that all came from an understanding of drawing and design that I learned at APW

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February 7, 2019January 14, 2020 by Vince

Jason’s Animation Portfolio Workshop Process

Jason walks us through the various stages he used while developing his character Sushi Cat. One of the benefits of studying at Animation Portfolio Workshop is learning how to

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February 6, 2019January 14, 2020 by Vince

2019 Animation Portfolio Reviews

After all of the months spent covering the basics in class, the time for creating the actual animation portfolio arrives and Animation Portfolio Workshop students get to work on the final pieces.

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September 11, 2014November 2, 2023 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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