Featured Student: Peter Starostin
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Peter_Starostin
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AnimationMentor.com:
What inspired you to learn animation?
Peter:
I think it was a combination of many things that led me to animation. When I was in Russia (my birth country) I saw plenty of transformer type animations. I doodled Robotech and Star Wars figures all the time. About twelve years ago I came to the US and saw Spiderman and X-Men comic books. They just blew my mind and became my new inspiration for doodling. I loved the Batman and X-Men cartoons, of course, and I made quite a few flip book type things out of my textbook corners (mostly involving Wolverine unleashing his claws). Up until five years ago I was on my path to becoming a French horn player and all the doodling was just an interest for me. But I was fortunate enough to have a friend who ran a web design company. He asked me to do some art stuff for the company and introduced me to 3D Studio Max and Photoshop. 3D graphics became my new obsession. I taught myself how to model, texture, rig (to some extent), render, and animate. By animate, I mean to press buttons and set key frames. I realizeed I was much more fanatic about 3D and animation so I switched schools and went for an animation degree at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. After that, my main inspiration in this field was Pixar features. When I saw "A Bug's Life" I was awed and I became determined to learn how to animate better. Since then animation features from Pixar, Blue Sky, DreamWorks and any traditional animations were all very inspirational. Any movie that used some type of digital character animation fired me up and kept me going. Also any web site I found with great animations fired me up as well. I think it was right after I saw "The Incredibles" that I decided to really concentrate on character animation. And now I'm one of the very lucky people to attend AnimationMentor.com. :) It's a really amazing experience to learn from people who inspired me to concentrate on character animation and who still continue to inspire me. :)
AnimationMentor.com:
What would be your ultimate dream job?
Peter:
Right now, I would absolutely and totally LOVE to work at any one of the top companies our mentors come from: Pixar, Blue Sky, ILM, DreamWorks etc.
AnimationMentor.com:
How has your experience at AnimationMentor.com been so far?
Peter:
Absolutely, SUPER AWESOME!!!!! :) I feel like I have learned tons of stuff and at a much faster rate than I would have on my own. I actually understood and applied the 12 principles of animation straight from my first class... or at least I think I have. The lectures alone are worth the money I paid. And having access to all the great mentors we have is really awesome.
Another thing I love about Animation Mentor is that everyone who is a student, enrolled in the AnimationMentor program because they really wanted to do so. Everyone at AnimationMentor seems to love animation and that creates such a wonderful community. Everyone is so willing to help and share knowledge. It's just the most awesome place to learn animation.
AnimationMentor.com:
What's one of the most important and/or interesting lessons you've learned while at AnimationMentor.com?
Peter:
Definitely, the principles of animation. Not sure if that's really the most interesting lesson I learned but it's definitely the most useful one to me. I feel like you can't progress without those fundamentals because they come into play all the time. Those alone improved my animation skills immensely. I'm not talking about just understanding the principles. For me that was only part of the battle. With the help of Animation Mentor I was able to learn how to use and apply those principles to my animations. Another huge eye opener for me was to plan out my animations first, instead of jumping on to the computer and start setting key frames. Personally, I feel like I'm stating some obvious stuff but before Animation Mentor I was really lacking these skills..
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animator?
Peter:
Whoever thought of contacting me about these questions. :)
Well, in all seriousness, I don't think I have a favorite but I have a huge list of people who inspire me, ranging from fellow students to seasoned professionals in the field.
AnimationMentor.com:
What is your favorite animated/CG scene of all time?
Peter:
Oh I have so many... but let me list just a few of them. :)
1) In Monsters inc, when Mike is upset with Sully while being banished and asks "[w]hat about everything we worked for.... does that matter?... We? owowow We! No! There's no we this time pal!" up until where Sully leaves. This scene really touched me somehow and I could really feel and somehow identify with what Mike was feeling.
2) I'm also in love with the new "Christmas Caper" featuring Madagascar penguins. Private has become one of my favorite characters. My wife and I actually paid for the Wallace and Gromit movie just to see the short. Alas, we didn't have time to stay for the movie, but the ticket price was well worth it just to see the penguins. Yeah, call me crazy. I don't mind. :) Looking forward to the Madagascar DVD, which I hope will have the short. :)
3) The Incredibles had tons of scenes I can't get enough of as well.
AnimationMentor.com:
Anything else you want to say to your fellow and prospective students of AnimationMentor.com?
Peter:
You definitely made the right choice coming to Animation Mentor. :) And if you're looking for an animation school.... go with the right choice (i.e. the one I just mentioned). :)
Take in as much information as you possibly can. And work hard. I strongly believe that hard work will surpass talent.
What inspired you to learn animation?
Peter:
I think it was a combination of many things that led me to animation. When I was in Russia (my birth country) I saw plenty of transformer type animations. I doodled Robotech and Star Wars figures all the time. About twelve years ago I came to the US and saw Spiderman and X-Men comic books. They just blew my mind and became my new inspiration for doodling. I loved the Batman and X-Men cartoons, of course, and I made quite a few flip book type things out of my textbook corners (mostly involving Wolverine unleashing his claws). Up until five years ago I was on my path to becoming a French horn player and all the doodling was just an interest for me. But I was fortunate enough to have a friend who ran a web design company. He asked me to do some art stuff for the company and introduced me to 3D Studio Max and Photoshop. 3D graphics became my new obsession. I taught myself how to model, texture, rig (to some extent), render, and animate. By animate, I mean to press buttons and set key frames. I realizeed I was much more fanatic about 3D and animation so I switched schools and went for an animation degree at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. After that, my main inspiration in this field was Pixar features. When I saw "A Bug's Life" I was awed and I became determined to learn how to animate better. Since then animation features from Pixar, Blue Sky, DreamWorks and any traditional animations were all very inspirational. Any movie that used some type of digital character animation fired me up and kept me going. Also any web site I found with great animations fired me up as well. I think it was right after I saw "The Incredibles" that I decided to really concentrate on character animation. And now I'm one of the very lucky people to attend AnimationMentor.com. :) It's a really amazing experience to learn from people who inspired me to concentrate on character animation and who still continue to inspire me. :)
AnimationMentor.com:
What would be your ultimate dream job?
Peter:
Right now, I would absolutely and totally LOVE to work at any one of the top companies our mentors come from: Pixar, Blue Sky, ILM, DreamWorks etc.
AnimationMentor.com:
How has your experience at AnimationMentor.com been so far?
Peter:
Absolutely, SUPER AWESOME!!!!! :) I feel like I have learned tons of stuff and at a much faster rate than I would have on my own. I actually understood and applied the 12 principles of animation straight from my first class... or at least I think I have. The lectures alone are worth the money I paid. And having access to all the great mentors we have is really awesome.
Another thing I love about Animation Mentor is that everyone who is a student, enrolled in the AnimationMentor program because they really wanted to do so. Everyone at AnimationMentor seems to love animation and that creates such a wonderful community. Everyone is so willing to help and share knowledge. It's just the most awesome place to learn animation.
AnimationMentor.com:
What's one of the most important and/or interesting lessons you've learned while at AnimationMentor.com?
Peter:
Definitely, the principles of animation. Not sure if that's really the most interesting lesson I learned but it's definitely the most useful one to me. I feel like you can't progress without those fundamentals because they come into play all the time. Those alone improved my animation skills immensely. I'm not talking about just understanding the principles. For me that was only part of the battle. With the help of Animation Mentor I was able to learn how to use and apply those principles to my animations. Another huge eye opener for me was to plan out my animations first, instead of jumping on to the computer and start setting key frames. Personally, I feel like I'm stating some obvious stuff but before Animation Mentor I was really lacking these skills..
AnimationMentor.com:
Who is your favorite animator?
Peter:
Whoever thought of contacting me about these questions. :)
Well, in all seriousness, I don't think I have a favorite but I have a huge list of people who inspire me, ranging from fellow students to seasoned professionals in the field.
AnimationMentor.com:
What is your favorite animated/CG scene of all time?
Peter:
Oh I have so many... but let me list just a few of them. :)
1) In Monsters inc, when Mike is upset with Sully while being banished and asks "[w]hat about everything we worked for.... does that matter?... We? owowow We! No! There's no we this time pal!" up until where Sully leaves. This scene really touched me somehow and I could really feel and somehow identify with what Mike was feeling.
2) I'm also in love with the new "Christmas Caper" featuring Madagascar penguins. Private has become one of my favorite characters. My wife and I actually paid for the Wallace and Gromit movie just to see the short. Alas, we didn't have time to stay for the movie, but the ticket price was well worth it just to see the penguins. Yeah, call me crazy. I don't mind. :) Looking forward to the Madagascar DVD, which I hope will have the short. :)
3) The Incredibles had tons of scenes I can't get enough of as well.
AnimationMentor.com:
Anything else you want to say to your fellow and prospective students of AnimationMentor.com?
Peter:
You definitely made the right choice coming to Animation Mentor. :) And if you're looking for an animation school.... go with the right choice (i.e. the one I just mentioned). :)
Take in as much information as you possibly can. And work hard. I strongly believe that hard work will surpass talent.