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Aaron Long of BoJack Horseman fame, says his “terrible” drawing skills were what made him choose MTM

Max the Mutt’s animation diploma program graduate, Aaron Long, knew from an early age that he wanted to animate and make films. “I made my first animated film when I was nine”, says Aaron in my video interview with him from his home in Los Angeles. The film was called Hot Rod and Stinker, and he taught himself a lot from that point on how to create animated films.

It was drawing where he needed help. That’s where Max the Mutt came in.

“My drawing abilities were terrible” Aaron says reminiscing back on what led him to art college. Aaron recognized that being a good animator takes knowing how to draw well, something that is a significant part of the curriculum at MTM.

Drawing skills are key to being successful as an animator

It’s Aaron’s passion for animation that brought him to MTM, but he knew that he needed much more than just knowing how to animate. “They really pushed me to learn how to draw”, Aaron says of the instructors at MTM. Aaron wasn’t too keen on learning still life and painting, but later in his career, he understood how important that all was. It was also learning the History of Animation in year 1 that gave him his inspiration for Fester Fish, his animation series that caught the attention of the producer that hired him to work on his first studio production, TripTank, which was the reason for him moving to LA.

He’s been working consistently ever since graduating from MTM in 2013. After TripTank, he was hired to work on Bojack Horseman (starring Will Arnett), then Tuca and Bertie (which Aaron claims is the most fun show to work on!). He also finds time to visit his alma mater whenever he’s back in Toronto. Aaron was last at MTM in Nov 2019 to speak with current students and his fans about his journey as an animator and to offer some tips.

Personal work key to standing out in the animation biz

“Always work on your personal stuff; it’s what makes you stand out from the crowd”. Aaron still finds time, even as a busy director/animator, to work on his own projects, which since 2015 has been the show Sublo and Tangy Mustard, set in his hometown of Toronto. The show, based on his frequenting subway sandwich shops as a student, and observing store mascots wearing their outfits performing daily mundane activities like arguing with their girlfriend over their cell phone.

Several years later, he’s still making personal projects, just like that nine-year-old.

So, always find time to work on your passion projects; it can really pay off in the long run.

To see more of Aarons’ work check out his website AaronLongCartoons.com

Interested in a career as an animator? Check out our Animation Diploma Program. Want to try out a workshop? We’ve got a full range of workshops for you to choose from.

Love painting? Consider being a Concept Artist like Tiffani Brown

Tiffani Brown always knew that she loved art. So when she decided that she wanted to pursue a career as an artist, she thought that animation was the only way to go. “I thought Concept Art was for Video Games, I didn’t know!” Once Tiffani was enrolled at MTM, that’s when she discovered that a concept artist can do much more than video games. And so, her concept art training began!

A Career As A Concept Artist

Tiffani works as a background painter for the hit show Esme and Roy, season 2, at Nelvana Studio in Toronto. “I get to paint the world that they run around in!” she says of what she does for her job. “The company wasn’t even on my radar”, explained Tiffani in our interview with her. She thought she would have to start off small and work her way up. To her surprise, she was hired straight out of graduation. Proving that her concept art training was a success!

How did MTM help her achieve her dream of being a concept artist at a company that she loves?

“I love Max the Mutt because of how they push you into art.” It is this focus on traditional art skills, coupled with instructors who push you to do better that got her to the point where she was making art without even thinking about it; it helped build her confidence as an artist.

For the full interview and to see some of Tiffani’s work, see her website: tiffanibrown.myporfolio.com

Interested in pursuing a career in Concept Art? Check out our Diploma program! Want to getter better at painting skills? We have a series of Traditional and Digital Painting workshops that anyone can enjoy!

Goran Bukvic, Internationally Known Concept Artist, on Career Training in Concept Art

When Max the Mutt College first decided to develop a Concept Art Diploma Program, we sought advice from top Concept Artists within Canada and the USA about how we should structure the program, and what they felt we should include in our curriculum. We wanted to ensure we were preparing people for not just a job, but a full Career in Concept Art.

Meet Goran Bukvic

Goran Bukvic is an internationally recognized Senior Concept artist who has worked on major AAA titles as well as animation and film projects, including:

- - - Jurassic World 2 – 2018
    - The Legend Of Tarzan – 2016
    - X-Men: Days of Future Past – 2014
    - Guardians of the Galaxy – 2014
    - Gears Of War 5 – 2019
    - Gears Of War 4 – 2016
    - Halo 4 – 2012
    - Tron: Evolution – 2010
    - Tomb Raider

Character by Goran Bukvic

He has supported Max the Mutt from the start, including a visit earlier this year to speak with Max the Mutt Concept Art students about the industry and how he built his career in concept art.

He was part of our original consultation process in 2009. As part of our conversation, I asked how much our Concept Art students would need to learn about animation to be successful. Curious about whether he thought things had changed since then, I recently sent Goran a copy of the advice he gave me back in 2009 – and he confirmed that it is still exactly what he would say today! Check out Max the Mutt’s Concept Art Curriculum, and you’ll find that our program is still firmly rooted in traditional representational art skills.

Here’s my candid conversation with Goran. I hope you enjoy reading along and find it as insightful as I did!

What would you want a Concept Artist to understand about animation for classical, 2D computer & 3D animation?

It’s all about motion. Chances are that, if you are hired as a Concept Artist on a project, you will be involved in the very beginning, bringing ideas to the table; however, your work will not be the final product. The final product will be something that’s moving, one way or the other. In other words, your conceptual designs should inspire the animators down the pipeline, making sure that it stays consistent throughout the whole process.

Concept Art and Animation have a lot in common, especially when it comes to Character Design. A Concept Artist’s job is to take a particular character through a range of poses and emotions that best describe their personality and their role in the story/gameplay. In animation, “key poses” play a crucial role in “selling” the character, much the same as when designing it. You will want to make sure that it is as expressive as possible in the early stage, so the more familiar with animation you are, the more fluid and believable your designs will be.

Are there special concerns Concept Artists should consider when designing for 2D/3D games?

Not really. It’s more about the idea and concept, no matter what medium will be used for the final product.

How about when designing for animation versus designing for a game?

Animation is “set” and a game is interactive, however, the design approach is the same. They both contain animated assets as a final product. You will want to provide modellers, texture artists and animators with as much information as possible so that, when the initial design is approved, it will be easier for them to follow through and stay on the right track.

Anything to consider when designing for 2D versus designing for 3D?

Again, it is about the idea and concept first and foremost, however, designing for 2D may require a simplified design philosophy because each frame has to be drawn over and over by hand. This is in order to save production time and cost. In 3D, this process is much easier and more effective due to being able to build the model only once and have it rigged, textured and ready to be animated in any way needed.

The importance of storyboarding skills for Concept Art

Other than the above, I think it might be difficult to incorporate a “bit” of animation into the Concept Art program. As you know, learning to animate is a very long and hard process, and it probably should be exclusive. It starts with animating a simple bouncing ball, through flower sack and so on. By the time students get to learn something, the focus will shift away from Concept Art.

In terms of being trained as a concept artist and keeping the focus on that, I think Storyboarding courses would be much more fitting. They may actually have to do storyboarding at some point on a job. It can be structured so that exercises contain some principles of animation that are important in design, like key posing, heavy action scenes, exaggeration and so on.

What should Concept Art training focus on?

The most important part of Concept Art training is focusing on realistic drawing and painting, anatomy, architecture and colour theory.

Cool and original ideas won’t come until students acquire the skill to seamlessly project from the brain to the image. This will take a long time. I feel that the focus should strongly remain on that so that once they graduate, they can show enough “specific” potential to get hired in the industry.

Character design by Goran Bukvic

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The 2D Animation Artist is definitely not a thing of the past – Interview with Josh Hill

An Interview with Animator and MTM Graduate Josh Hill by MTM Outreach Director, Natalie Kauffman

It’s a good thing Josh Hill didn’t listen to people’s advice when he was considering what kind of animation to focus on when he started at Max the Mutt (MTM) in 2014. At that time, a lot of people outside of MTM were saying 2D animation also known as traditional hand-drawn animation, was dead. Well, they were wrong.

Josh’s Journey Through Traditional Hand-Drawn Animation

We caught up with Josh, a 2018 Animation Program grad, who discusses getting his first job at YOWZA! Animation for the Netflix Series, Green Eggs and Ham, as a 2D animator. He landed this job while still completing his last year of school. He found out about the job from one of his instructors at MTM who knew that he loved traditional hand-drawn animation. Josh applied for the job by submitting a demo reel, and he got it! “I was on a high kinda after that…’cause I scored my dream job!”. It’s this kind of small community where instructors, who are working professionals, really help our grads to land the job of their dreams, that makes MTM special.

Take a listen to hear Josh’s story and find how he’s adjusting to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other interesting anecdotes. Images of Josh’s drawings and video clips are also played throughout the interview so you can get a good glimpse into what he does. For any students currently in or considering a career in animation, particularly 2D animation or traditional hand-drawn animation, this is a great interview of someone who pursued what he loved doing and made it work!

Interested in pursuing a career in Animation? Check out our Diploma program! Just want to give Animation a try? We have a series of Traditional and Digital Animation workshops that anyone can enjoy!

You can also view the video on Instagram, in Part 1 and Part 2.

Thanks Josh! We look forward to hearing what’s next for you!

Interested in hearing what our other alumni are up to? Read some of their amazing stories or check out a selection of their artwork from their time at MTM.

A Visit from YOWZA! Animation

Recently, Max the Mutt (MTM) was pleased to welcome Kat Curwin (Production Manager) and Jack Carr (Creative Producer) of YOWZA! Animation for a visit.

Kat and Jack gave a presentation on life at YOWZA and working in the industry to our Fourth Year Animation and Concept Art students. Students then got the chance to pepper our visitors with questions, which they took full advantage of! Since Kat graduated from MTM four years ago, it was exciting to catch up with her and hear about her career journey since then. It was also pretty neat to hear how many of her YOWZA Animation colleagues are former MTM students as well.

After the presentation, all the students in attendance were offered the opportunity to have one-on-one interviews with Kat and Jack, to show them their work, and get individual feedback and advice. We heard from several of them about what a valuable experience this interview was, and we’re grateful to Kat and Jack for all the time they spent with us.

YOWZA visit — Animation student Kate Reid sharing her demo reel with Jack Carr (upper photo) and Concept Art student Jayesh Naidu sharing his work with Kat Curwin (lower photo).

We have to say that YOWZA sounds like a wonderful place to work! Since they are a smaller studio, there is a lot of room to showcase your individual talents, and the company works hard to ensure there is are opportunities for artistic growth. In some cases, this environment might mean you get to explore career opportunities you never expected!

One of the important elements to career success stressed by both Kat and Jack was having a great attitude and being a good team player. How you work with others can have a big impact on how well you and your team do, and how far you go in your career in the creative industries. It was a great message for everyone to hear, and something we all should strive towards, regardless of where we are in our careers!

Thank you so much, Kat and Jack for taking time to meet with us!

Tina Seemann and David Huynh with Kat Kurwin and Jack Carr from YOWZA! Animation.

4 Traits to Look for in an Animation School

As one of the leading, private animation schools in Toronto and the GTA, we’re quite proud of the education and training we offer our students. But it’s not just our pride that speaks when we tell potential students about what to look for in a design and animation college.

We’ve been in your shoes too. We constantly doodled. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to download free versions of the latest animation and graphics packages. And we didn’t just laugh when we watched The Incredibles, we wanted to create and animate characters like Edna too!

With that perspective, we know what students want from a formal animation education. And our experience as professional animators and artists tells us what students need.

Look for These Traits in an Animation School

Whether you choose to enroll in one of the programs at Max the Mutt or at another school, identifying the following characteristics will help you know that you’ve made a good choice.

The Faculty – Who you learn from is just about as important as what you learn. Animation is constantly changing as new technologies and techniques emerge. Instructors should be currently involved in the industry as working professionals if you are to learn according to current industry trends and demands.
The Curriculum – Similar to the idea that faculty should be active in the industry, so too must the curriculum be kept current. This is not just to teach up-to-date skills, but also to help you know what employers are looking for in graduates right now.
Class Size – Regardless of how good the faculty and curriculum are at any school, their effectiveness shrinks as class sizes expand. It’s not difficult to understand the connection between smaller class size and how much individual attention you will get as a student.
A Career Focus – Animation is a profession. Employers look for job candidates who not only have the right skills, but who also demonstrate the level of professionalism that will help the company succeed. In addition to teaching you all the processes, tools and techniques, an animation school should also prepare you for the passion, discipline and commitment needed for you to succeed.

Max the Mutt’s Animation Program is proudly endorsed by Brown Bag Films where many of our students enjoy internships and other wonderful positions!

If you liked this post, check out our recent article about one of our instructors, Dave Ross, a comic artist who’s worked for Marvel, DC and Dark Horse comics.

Brown Bag Films Visits, Hires Summer Interns, Endorses Max the Mutt’s Animation Program!

As seen in the above photo taken at Brown Bag Films – from left to right:
Erik Segriff – MTM Animation Intern, Kevin Seto – Recruitment Coordinator, Christine Huot – Recruitment & Resourcing Manager, Jana Kosanavich – MTM Rigging Intern, and Ryan Persaud – Recruitment Administrator

Max the Mutt has had many graduates hired by 9 Story over the years. They have enjoyed steady employment as animators, layout artists, storyboard artists, while working in all aspects of pre-production and animation. Now, as Brown Bag Films, there are even more opportunities for working on top quality projects.

Brown Bag Films is one of the world’s most exciting, original and successful creative-led animation studios. With studio locations in Dublin, Toronto, Manchester and an office in LA, Brown Bag Films creates cutting-edge animation for the international market. It was acquired and merged with 9 Story Animation, which is now 9 Story Media Group, in 2015.

Brown Bag Films, is a creatively-driven studio with a focus on producing the highest quality, cross-platform animation with strong stories and engaging characters. It produces both 2D and 3D animation, and is known for its high-end work on series such as Doc McStuffins, Octonauts, Nella The Princess Knight and Peter Rabbit. 9 Story’s Toronto studio has been known for its popular 2D series, such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood, Peg + Cat, Wild Kratts, 3 Amigonauts and the The Magic School Bus: Rides Again.

Erik Segriff, after his second year in the Animation Program at Max the Mutt, was hired at Brown Bag Films as a summer intern in 2018, and has been asked back again to work as a full fledged animator on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Erik Segriff at Brown Bag Films, graduates hired — Erik Segriff at Brown Bag Films, Summer 2018 intern

We were delighted to have recruiting and resource manager Christine Huot visit us this spring, accompanied by several animation and pre-production directors. They looked at demo reels and interviewed this year’s concept art and animation graduates weeks before our Industry Event.

Why is Brown Bag Films interested in Max the Mutt graduates and students?

“Brown Bag Films has had tremendous success finding very strong talent from the classes at Max the Mutt. Many of our very successful long-term employees are graduates of the Animation program. When I attend recruitment events I have been very pleased with how the students professionally present their work and themselves. With the staff we have hired from this program have very well honed artistic skills and they are very employment ready when they come into the workplace. These past 2 summers we have been highly successful with hiring students from the Animation program for summer internships. Erik Segriff has joined us for his second summer in a row this year and he is a very valued addition to the team, his teammates and supervisors were thrilled he could join us again this year. We also have Jana Kosanavich joining us this summer as a Rigging Intern. We are very happy to support the Animation Program at Max the Mutt and will continue to have them at the top of our list for Campus recruitment.”

Christine Huot
Recruitment & Resourcing Manager
www.brownbagfilms.com

Contact us for more information about Max the Mutt’s 4 year Classical & Computer Animation & Production and Concept Art Diploma Programs!

Book a tour today! Or email us at admissions@maxthemutt.com

And if you are considering an Art-based career, check out our eBook to help you decide.

2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards: Congratulations Adam Homonylo and Sergi Iranzo – Finalists for Concept Art

Thursday, May 9/19 was a great evening at Ubisoft Toronto, and a great evening for Max the Mutt’s 2 finalists.

In a year when none of Max the Mutt’s year 4 Concept Art program students entered, Sergi Iranzo, who just completed his second year, came in third, and 2018 Concept Art graduate Adam Homonylo came in second for the Ubisoft NEXT Awards competition Concept Art category.

Adam Homonylo - 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT - 2nd place Finalist — Adam Homonylo – 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards Entry – 2nd place Finalist

Sergi Iranzo 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards — Sergi Iranzo – 2019 Ubisoft Toronto NEXT Awards Entry – 3rd place Finalist

Ubisoft Toronto NEXT is an annual competition designed to display the talent of video game development students in Ontario and to help kick-start their careers in the industry. Winners of each category spend the summer learning from the studio’s top talent with a paid apprenticeship at Ubisoft Toronto.

Max the Mutt year 2 student and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo, here with Max the Mutt 2018 Concept Art Grad and second place winner, Adam Homonlyo with friend at the 2019 Ubisoft Nxt Awards — Max the Mutt year 2 student and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo, here with Max the Mutt 2018 Concept Art Grad and second place winner, Adam Homonylo with friend at the 2019 Ubisoft NEXT Awards

Sergi Iranzo, a friend, Adam Homonylo, Maxine Schacker -Max the Mutt Co-Director-, and Hilary Phillips- Concept Art Co-ordinator-, at the 2019 Ubisoft NEXT Awards

One of the best things about social occasions like this is networking and, for students, getting encouragement and feedback from the pros. Sergi really appreciated getting a chance to speak with Patrick Ingoldsby.

Patrick Ingoldsby, UbiSoft art director, with Max the Mutt year 2 student, and second place winner, Sergi Iranzo. — Patrick Ingoldsby, UbiSoft art director, with Max the Mutt year 2 student, and third place winner, Sergi Iranzo.

Max the Mutt 2018 grad and 2018 winner, Dhenzel Obeng was there and so was Zabi Hassan, 2018 graduate and third place winner in 2017. Both are now Concept Artists at Ubisoft Toronto.

Here’s a compilation of all Finalists for all Categories for the Ubisoft Toronto NEXT 2019 competition:

Congratulations to Damir Musken, of Fanshawe College, who won the first place Finalist and to all Finalists for the 2019 competition!

Check out Max the Mutt’s 4 year Concept art Diploma Program!

MTM Featured Instructor: Dave Ross – Canadian Comic Illustrator

Dave Ross wears lots of hats. Not because of the weather, but for his love of just about every aspect of sequential arts. His main ‘hat’ is: Dave Ross, Comic Artist.

Dave has achieved the highest levels of his craft as a comic book illustrator. This includes working for the biggest, most recognizable companies in the business, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

Instructor at Max the Mutt

All of us here at Max the Mutt are especially appreciative and proud of the fact that Dave chose to pass along his experience and knowledge to the next generation of sequential artists. As an Instructor, here at the College, Dave works with students in the Constructive Figure Drawing, Structural Drawing and Intermediate & Advanced Comic Book Composition Penciling courses.

Dave actually helped establish MTM’s Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts Diploma Program, which was the first of its kind in Canada.

Why did Dave choose MTM to pursue his interest as an instructor? Here’s what he says about MTM on his website at www.daverossart.com:

“All (Concept Art and Sequential Arts) are full diploma programs and all share the Founders’ commitment to first and foremost passing on solid drawing and painting skills to the students.

One of the things that I appreciate most about the school is that the class sizes are capped at 20 students. A good amount of ‘one on one time’ between student and teacher is crucial in this field of learning and the smaller class sizes ensure that the students are not shortchanged.”

Dave Ross’ Other Hats

When not passing along his wisdom, or working as an illustrator, concept artist and/or writer; with characters and character development for the most famous names in comics, including Captain America, Spiderman, Batgirl, Star Trek and Daredevil; Dave remains active in the business.

Author: Dave has published an instructional book “Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators: Mastering the Art of Drawing from Memory”, which, according to Dave, is to help readers “be able to draw off the top of their heads and figure any camera angle any pose that you can imagine.”

Guest Artist: Dave has participated in numerous national and international comic conventions and book signings around the world, including Toronto, New York, Hong Kong Singapore and Thailand.

To get a better idea of Dave’s scope of work, and the different hats he wears in doing his work, check out his profile at ComicDB.com.

If you liked this post, check out our recent article how to draw manga characters.