Featured Student: Rebecca Perez
AnimationMentor.com:
What inspired you to learn animation?
Rebecca:
I've always been artistic, but I never thought that I could make a living at it... Until I was in high school and I remember seeing a CG commercial on television. It was a CG Listerine bottle swinging through the forest and splashing water onto the TV screen. The bottle seemed to be alive?... It was amazing to look at this inanimate object that had personality like a human. I remember seeing it and saying... "Whatever THAT is... I wanna do THAT" (years later I found out that commercial was created by a small studio called Pixar.)
AnimationMentor.com:
What would be your ultimate dream job?
Rebecca:
Animating on a feature film in a studio that puts story and entertainment at the top of the list!
AnimationMentor.com:
How has your experience at AnimationMentor.com been so far?
Rebecca:
Hmmm... Where do I begin? The school has been an amazing experience for me. From day one I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had faith in the "3 Amigos" (Founders: Carlos Baena, Bobby Beck and Shawn Kelly).
They had such an extensive background in Animation and every interview I read with them sounded so passionate and exciting. I knew that this was the place that would be able to give me the animation education I was so craving. At this point, 6 months into it... Animation Mentor has exceeded ALL my expectations!
AnimationMentor.com:
What's one of the most important and/or interesting lessons you've learned while at AnimationMentor.com?
Rebecca:
Wow... How can I choose just ONE?!? There are sooo many: Spacing, Favoring Keys, Strong Posing, (I can go on forever!)... But I would have to say the single most important lesson I learned at AnimationMentor was to ALWAYS entertain the audience. I think you can have the most technically sound animation, but if the audience is bored... you've completely missed the point.
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animator?
Rebecca:
It's really really hard for me to narrow this down to just one. I honestly love so many of 'em. If I had to choose one that's influenced me the most I'd go with Tex Avery. That guy's work still cracks me up. It's amazing how far he could stretch a pose or the acting in a shot and still make it believable. I strive to get this kind of exaggerated 2D animation into my own CG work.
AnimationMentor.com:
What is your favorite animated/CG scene of all time?
Rebecca:
Without a doubt... Jessie re-living her time with her previous owner Emily in Toy Story 2. I'm not sure if it's the animation, the music, the dialogue, the pacing, the rhythm... or everything combined... but that scene, 'til this day, ALWAYS makes me cry. I love to FEEL when I'm watching films. This was the first animated scene that made me really feel empathy.
AnimationMentor.com:
Anything else you want to say to your fellow and prospective students of AnimationMentor.com?
Rebecca:
The single greatest piece of advice I can hand out is to ALWAYS be positive and keep dreaming! Never give up on your dreams, because without a doubt, if you work hard enough... You can accomplish anything you put your mind to!!
Since this article was written Rebecca was recently hired at Disney Feature Animation. Congratulations Rebecca from all of us here at AnimationMentor!
What inspired you to learn animation?
Rebecca:
I've always been artistic, but I never thought that I could make a living at it... Until I was in high school and I remember seeing a CG commercial on television. It was a CG Listerine bottle swinging through the forest and splashing water onto the TV screen. The bottle seemed to be alive?... It was amazing to look at this inanimate object that had personality like a human. I remember seeing it and saying... "Whatever THAT is... I wanna do THAT" (years later I found out that commercial was created by a small studio called Pixar.)
AnimationMentor.com:
What would be your ultimate dream job?
Rebecca:
Animating on a feature film in a studio that puts story and entertainment at the top of the list!
AnimationMentor.com:
How has your experience at AnimationMentor.com been so far?
Rebecca:
Hmmm... Where do I begin? The school has been an amazing experience for me. From day one I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had faith in the "3 Amigos" (Founders: Carlos Baena, Bobby Beck and Shawn Kelly).
They had such an extensive background in Animation and every interview I read with them sounded so passionate and exciting. I knew that this was the place that would be able to give me the animation education I was so craving. At this point, 6 months into it... Animation Mentor has exceeded ALL my expectations!
AnimationMentor.com:
What's one of the most important and/or interesting lessons you've learned while at AnimationMentor.com?
Rebecca:
Wow... How can I choose just ONE?!? There are sooo many: Spacing, Favoring Keys, Strong Posing, (I can go on forever!)... But I would have to say the single most important lesson I learned at AnimationMentor was to ALWAYS entertain the audience. I think you can have the most technically sound animation, but if the audience is bored... you've completely missed the point.
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animator?
Rebecca:
It's really really hard for me to narrow this down to just one. I honestly love so many of 'em. If I had to choose one that's influenced me the most I'd go with Tex Avery. That guy's work still cracks me up. It's amazing how far he could stretch a pose or the acting in a shot and still make it believable. I strive to get this kind of exaggerated 2D animation into my own CG work.
AnimationMentor.com:
What is your favorite animated/CG scene of all time?
Rebecca:
Without a doubt... Jessie re-living her time with her previous owner Emily in Toy Story 2. I'm not sure if it's the animation, the music, the dialogue, the pacing, the rhythm... or everything combined... but that scene, 'til this day, ALWAYS makes me cry. I love to FEEL when I'm watching films. This was the first animated scene that made me really feel empathy.
AnimationMentor.com:
Anything else you want to say to your fellow and prospective students of AnimationMentor.com?
Rebecca:
The single greatest piece of advice I can hand out is to ALWAYS be positive and keep dreaming! Never give up on your dreams, because without a doubt, if you work hard enough... You can accomplish anything you put your mind to!!
Since this article was written Rebecca was recently hired at Disney Feature Animation. Congratulations Rebecca from all of us here at AnimationMentor!