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.
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.
Our Industry Event was a huge success! From 3:30 pm until 9:30 pm on Wednesday, May 23rd, Max the Mutt was filled with visitors, including art directors, recruiters, and industry professionals, all visiting to see the work produced by 2017 graduating students from Animation, Concept Art, and Illustration for Sequential Arts and meet the graduates in person.
This year’s event was electric! The video interviews we are happy to share with you here, Â reflect what seemed to be unanimous amazement at the level of 2017 graduate work!
If you would like more information about this unique college, Contact us at admissions@maxthemutt.com to ask for more information about our diploma programs. A very few openings are still available for Sept. 2017.
For summer  “workshops”  to sign up directly through the website right now!
Van Lawrence Ching, Concept Art year 3, Character Design
3rd year animation student Josh Hill, character design                        exploration test.
Vlad The Impaler, 2017 Sequential Arts graduate Emilie Thomas
(Featured image at top by Caroline Davis, 2017 Concept Art graduate)
You are invited! Â Max the Muttâs annual year end Exhibition of 2017 graduate and undergraduate work will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 3rd and 4th.
See student films, slide shows of amazing concept art scenes, props and characters, childrenâs books and comic book art!
Saturday: doors open at 10:30 am
11 am:Â a presentation about the college, our philosophy, and the programs we offer, followed by a tour of the college.
1 pm: Bring your lunch, or return after lunch, for a free Cartooning Workshop, with Tina Seemann,  Director of the 4 year Animation Diploma Program &  illustrator of the recently published childrenâs book, âThe Life & Times of Sir Reginald Tubb.âÂ
Sunday: doors open at 11 am, Join us for coffee and doughnuts, tour the college, view student and graduate work, take free workshops!
11:45 am : Workshop with illustrator/comic book artist Kent Burles: Comic Book Layout
1 pm : Workshop with Director and Story Board artist Cilbur Rocha: visual storytelling basics for animation.
Max the Mutt draws passionate people who want to develop first-class skills.  Are you one of them?  Find out at our two-day Open House!  Weâve been voted one of the 5 top illustration schools in the world by the international art & design website  âThe Rookiesâ Â
Our graduates have gone on to careers at top companies including Pixar, Corus/Nelvana, Guru Studio, Toon Box, National Film Board of Canada, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Yowza Animation, Portfolio Entertainment, UbiSoft, Â & Warner Bros. Games. Â Come see where they got their start!
Come for one or both days. RSVP to admissions@maxthemutt.com or call 416 703 6877.
(If you plan to take a free workshop, please bring your sketchbook and drawing pencils!)
Max the Mutt College of Animation Art & Design will celebrate the work of 2016 graduates, as well as undergraduates!
2016 âConcept artâ graduate Harrison Smith (Camelot)
Acclaimed independent Toronto college of animation, art and design holds popular annual âIndustry Eventâ on May 18, and celebrating its 2016 graduates, gives the public a behind-the-scenes look at âYear-end Exhibition and Weekend Open Houseâ â with free workshops â on May 21 and 22
âA lot of potential talent here and we actually had two people working with us in the past. I would recommend it for students looking for a place.â â Mark Maia, creative director at Big Blue Bubble (Canada’s largest independent mobile gaming company)
âReally impressed with the student work. There are really talented people.â â Robert Anderson, supervising producer at 9 Story Media Group(world leading creator, producer and distributor of award-winning animated and live action content)
Toronto, ON, April 8, 2016 â Torontoâs Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design (2944 Danforth Avenue, M3C 1M5) holds much anticipated annual âIndustry Eventâ for animation, gaming and publishing professionals on Wednesday, May 18 (2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.), and gives the public a chance for a behind-the-scenes look at their year-end open house exhibition (free workshops with top industry pros) on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22, 2016 (detailed open house schedule below).
Max the Muttâs industry only event, represented by top companies including Entertainment, Big Blue Bubble, Drink Box Studios, 9 Story Media Group, Moovix Media, Corus/Nelvana, Portfolio Enterntainment,  Toon Box,  Yowza! Animation and more, gives the opportunity to students and graduates to display their work and for industry pros to scout for new recruits. Works to be on view include; children’s books, animation reels and slide shows, prop and character design, comic book pages, figurative and portrait paintings and much more.
Max the Mutt founder/director Maxine Schacker states, âOur year-end events are almost here! We’re happy to hear from so many companies that they will attend our Industry Event â it seems every year gets bigger! And we also look forward to welcoming the public to our weekend Open House, where weâre again providing free workshops on both Saturday and Sunday!â
OPEN HOUSE 2016 SCHEDULE:
Open to the public Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22. The main reception is on the second floor (enter through the side door, elevator is available). Year-end student and graduate exhibition, curriculum information, school tours and free one-hour workshops on both days.
ĂÂ Saturday, May 21:
10:30 a.m. â Doors open.
11:00 a.m. â Information Session; school philosophy, the curriculum for the three diploma programs, workshops and certificate programs. Followed by group school tours.
1:30 p.m.â Free workshop; âComic Book Layoutâ with head of Max the Mutt’s Illustration for Sequential Arts diploma program Kent Burles. Burles has worked with Malibu Comics on creating a series of Planet of the Apes comic books, and a series called The Adventurers. He also worked on many role playing games by Fasa, Steve Jackson, White Wolf, and recently on Anvil Galaxy and Rifts for Palladium Books.
5:00 p.m. â Doors close.
ĂÂ Sunday, May 22:
11:00 a.m. â Doors open.
11:30 a.m. â Free workshop; âCartooningâ with MTMâs animation director Tina Seemann. Seemann is the head of classical and computer animation, and a cartoonist. Her work has appeared on TVOâs childrenâs shows including Polka Dot Door and Bookmice, she designed the âMax the Muttâ mascot and is currently working on a childrenâs book. Seemann has also taught animation at Sheridan College andthe Bell Centre for Creative Communication.
2:00 p.m. â Free workshop; âCharacter Designâ with MTM instructor Greg Beettam. He is a veteran comic book/graphic novel artist, freelance illustrator, graphic designer, writer and visual storytelling expert with more than 20 years experience. In addition to his work in comics, graphic novels and cartooning, he has worked in advertising as a concept artist, specializing in storyboards, story development, scriptwriting and presentation design.
3:30 p.m. â Doors close
Summer Programming: Workshops and Camps
Max the Mutt summer programming offers students an opportunity to upgrade skills or develop new ones. There are workshops and camps in drawing, painting, computer animation, cartooning and comic books and a new certificate program for Fine Art Skills & Portfolio Development. They are taught by the same industry professionals who teach in the diploma programs and they run on different dates starting from June 25 to August 2, 2016. See the website for full schedule: https://mtmcollege.ca/workshops-camps/.
ABOUT:
Founded in 1996 in Toronto, Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design provides in-depth training via workshops and three programs of study; Classical and Computer Animation and Production diploma, Concept Art for Animation and Video Games diploma (only of its kind in Canada) and Illustration for Sequential Arts: Comic Books and Graphic Novels diploma (only of its kind in Canada). Max the Mutt prepares students for careers in animation, concept design, advertising, art direction, comic books and graphic novels.
Esteemed Toronto college holds annual âIndustry Eventâ (animation, gaming and publishing) â with a special remembrance for Canadian animation instructor Jim Macaulay â on May 27,and celebrates its 2015 graduates and students with an exhibit and weekend open house, Â
May 29 to May 31
âI think there is some tremendous work in the show tonight! I came last year and was equally impressed, and I actually hired one of your graduates, who is working with me on a feature film project.â â Clive Smith, founder Nelvana.
Toronto, ON, May 18, 2015 â Torontoâs Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design (at 2944 Danforth Avenue) holds well-attended annual âIndustry Eventâ on Wednesday, May 27 (2:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.) and year-end open house exhibition (free weekend workshops with top industry pros) from Friday, May 29 to Sunday, May 31, 2015 (detailed schedule below).
Max the Muttâs industry only event, much anticipated by the animation, gaming and publishing world in Canada (represented by top companies such as Corus Entertainment, Toon Box, Arc Entertainment, UbiSoft and Nelvana), gives the opportunity to students and graduates from each diploma program to display their work, and for industry pros to scout for new recruits. On view throughout the college; childrenâs books by illustration graduates, animation reels and slide shows from animation and concept art graduates, prop and character design, comic book pages, figurative and portrait painting and more. Note:Hors dâoeuvres and refreshments follow in the evening.
This year Jim Macaulay passed away at the age of 91. Macaulay was a revered animation instructor at Sheridan College (1974-1988) in Toronto and Max the Muttâs mentor. During the industry event, a special remembrance â complete with champagne toast and a video of Jim in his workshop â of his life will be held at 6:30 p.m. to honour his contribution to the school and Canadian animation. All the models he built and animal skeletons he assembled and mounted for the school will be on display.
Friday, May 29 through Sunday, May 31; open to the public, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The main reception is on the second floor. Year one, two and three student and graduate exhibition, curriculum information, school tours and two free one-hour workshops (Saturday and Sunday).
Saturday, May 30:
10:00 a.m. â Information Session; school philosophy, the curriculum for the three diploma programs, workshops and development programs. Followed by a school tour.
11:00 a.m. â Free workshop; âIntroduction to Cartooningâ with Toronto-based cartoonist and illustrator Megan Kearney. Learn the basics of cartooning including exaggeration, appeal and structure. Kearney manages Comic Book Embassy (co-work studio in Chinatown), and hosts High Tea at the Embassy (monthly mixer for women in creative fields). Her most recent works include Valor, and a graphic novel adaptation of Beauty and The Beast.
1:00 p.m. â Free workshop; âIntroduction to Freehand Figure Drawingâ with comic book artist, author and instructor Dave Ross. An outline of the methodology (straight from the mind to the page) behind freehand figure drawing. Dave Ross has mainly published in the USA; working on the series Rai at Valiant and such Marvel titles as Avengers West Coast and Marvel Knights: Daredevil and Inhumans. At DC Comic, he worked on JLA and Birds of Prey. He has a book coming out soon titled âFreehand Figure Drawing for Illustratorsâ.
Sunday, May 31:
10:00 a.m. â School tours all day.
11:00 a.m. â Free workshop; âThe Loomis headâ with head of Max the Muttâs Illustration for Sequential Arts diploma program Kent Burles. Andrew Loomis, the famed American illustrator, developed this system of drawing the head from life, reference or imagination.
1:00 p.m. â Free workshop; âIntroduction to Cinematic Layout for Comicsâ with head of Illustration for Sequential Arts Diploma program Kent Burles.
/director Maxine Schacker states, âOur first year-end events at 2944 Danforth Avenue are almost here! Weâre happy to hear from so many companies that they will attend our Industry Event and look forward to welcoming everyone to our weekend Open House, where this year, weâre providing two free workshops on both Saturday and Sunday! We invite everyone to see the amazing work all our students have createdâŠa school filled with art!â
2015 graduate images enclosed: Concept art students, left, Marion Manzo (lava rock monster) and right, Alessandro Constantini (dragon cove).
ABOUT:
Founded in 1996 in Toronto, Max the Mutt College of Animation, Art and Design provides in-depth training via workshops and three programs of study; Classical and Computer Animation and Production diploma, Concept Art for Animation and Video Games diploma (only of its kind in Canada) and Illustration for Sequential Arts: Comic Books and Graphic Novels diploma (only of its kind in Canada). Max the Mutt prepares students for careers in animation, concept design, advertising, art direction, comic books and graphic novels.
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