Category Archives: Entertainment Design

Entertainment Design Presents The Intern Show

Join Entertainment Design students and Chair of Entertainment Design Tim Flattery at the Intern Show on Sun., April 7, 12–5 p.m. on the Hillside Campus.

Entertainment Design

Entertainment Design concept art

The event, open to employers in the film, animation, theme park and gaming industries, showcases second- through seventh-term students looking for summer internships. Students will display environment, character, hardware and story concepts, plus portfolios and sculptures.

Internships are an integral part of the educational experience, and those offered to students in Entertainment Design can lead to lucrative work. Production designers, art directors and other recruiters consistently come to scope out the talent. In the past, students have earned internships at Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony, Blizzard, Mirada, 343, Riot Games, Thinkwell and more.

Entertainment Design student Brandon Liao was in his fourth term during last year’s Intern Show when he had the opportunity to talk with an art producer from Riot Games. She was so impressed by his character designs that it led to an internship where he created new champions and costumes, or “skins,” for the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game “League of Legends.” He’s now working at Riot part time. “It’s actually really fun, because every assignment you’re doing something completely different,” said Liao.

RSVP by emailing maritza.herrera@artcenter.edu, or calling 626.396.2464.

‘Rise of the Guardians’ director to speak at Art Center

“Rise of the Guardians” director Peter Ramsey will speak at Art Center Thursday at 4 p.m.

Ramsey’s Hollywood credits include “Panic Room,” “Fight Club,” “Batman Forever” and “Backdraft.” And by helming DreamWorks Animation’s “Rise of the Guardians,” Ramsey became first the African-American to direct a major animated film.

His decades-long Hollywood career includes turns as a storyboard artist, illustrator, continuity artist and production illustrator.

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Art Center students win top honors in Disney competition

Art Center College of Design's winning team of the 2013 ImagiNations Competition with their project “Disney’s Ukaipo Resort at Auckland, New Zealand.” Pictured (L-R) are Sophie McNally, Angela Li, Jennifer Cho and Sunmin Inn. © Disney. Photographer : Gary Krueger

Art Center students Jennifer Cho, Sunmin Inn, Angela Li and Sophie McNally were awarded first place and best in show in the Walt Disney Imagineering ImagiNations Design Competition.

Their project, “Disney’s Ukaipo Resort at Auckland, New Zealand ” is an iconic resort modeled after a Kauri, one of New Zealand’s most ancient and magnificent trees, enabling guests to experience Auckland from high up in trees, enjoying breathtaking views of the land while relaxing in this all-inclusive vacation experience.

Art Center student Jane Liu joined with Carnegie Mellon University students on the second place project, “Legenda Emas at Jakarta, Indonesia,” this interactive boat ride, based on an Indonesian legend, follows a betrothed prince and princess, and a jealous witch who wishes to keep them apart.

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Exhibit reveals secrets of Hollywood monster maker

Film fans have one more chance to meet one of Hollywood’s greatest monster makers.

Art Center alum Neville Page — who created on-screen beasts for Cloverfield, Piranha 3D, Super 8 and Prometheus — is the mind behind “The Beauty in the Beast: Crafting Creatures.”

The exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art, which closes Saturday, features Page’s design progression creating mythical anatomies from early sketches to full 3D models.

In addition to a last look at Page’s process, attendees will be entered to win signed prints of his work. Admission to the exhibition and closing reception (5 to 7 p.m.) is free for OMA members and for Art Center students and alum; $10 for non-members. Page will give a private tour of the exhibition from 2 to 4 p.m., which costs $20 and includes admission.

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‘To the Batmobile!’ The iconic car makes a victory lap

The Batmobile has undergone several on-screen incarnations — from the finned Lincoln Futura designed in 1966 in three weeks to 2012′s tank-like Tumblers that were five months (and reportedly millions of dollars) in the making.

All seven of the Caped Crusader’s rides — including the Batmobile designed by Art Center’s Tim Flattery — are on display through Dec. 14 as part of a free exhibit at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.

More of Gotham’s finest are also showcased, including costumes and props from the Batman film franchise, as well as art from a traveling DC Comic exhibit featuring work by Jim Lee.

Flattery’s stealth-looking Batmobile, featured in 1995′s “Batman Forever” with Val Kilmer at the wheel, was powered by a 25-gallon propane tank that could shoot a 25-foot flame from the rear exhaust.

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Production Designer, alum Patrick Hanenberger behind ‘Rise of the Guardians’ look and feel

Even if you’ve missed all the great stories in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, you’ve no doubt heard that DreamWorks Animation’s latest film Rise of the Guardians—which takes childhood fantasy figures like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny and reimagines them as mythological heroes in an epic fantasy adventure—comes out in theaters Wednesday, Nov. 21.

And right in the middle of all that legendary action is the film’s production designer, Art Center’s own Patrick Hanenberger, who graduated from the College in 2003 with a degree in Transportation Design and is currently teaching a Visual Communication course.

We recently caught up with Hanenberger to ask him about his role in Guardians, how he ended up working in animation and which lessons from Art Center have stuck with him.

Dotted Line: First of all, how did you go from being a Transportation Design student to a production designer for animated films?

Patrick Hanenberger: I studied Transportation Design at Art Center and it taught me problem solving, 3D modeling, sculpting, sketching, designing around the human figure, rendering, research and most importantly presentation. These are all skills I use on a daily basis and are universal in any kind of design field. I always knew I wanted to work in movies and animated movies are great for designers since every single little detail needs to be designed and modeled. During Art Center I developed my portfolio to be very content based, which meant I always designed my vehicles for a specific story. After graduation I got a job as a visual development artist and from there on over the last eight years worked my way up to become production designer.

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Art Center announces Alumni Award winners

Art Center is proud to announce the Alumni Award winners in the categories of lifetime achievement, outstanding service and young innovator. The annual honors allow Art Center to publicly recognize the talent, service and design influence of our alumni. Awards will be presented at the Fall Graduation ceremony Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.

Bruce Burdick ENVL 61: Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award

Bruce Burdick at Art Center in 1961

Bruce Burdick’s credits include designs for Charles and Ray Eames, John Follis and Herb Rosenthal. The flexible office furniture Burdick designed for Herman Miller was named Time magazine’s the Best of 1981 for Industrial Design.

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Survey: Art Center ranks No. 1 for industrial design

Art Center’s industrial design graduate and undergraduate programs have ranked No. 1 by the Design Futures Council in its DesignIntelligence survey of America’s best architecture and design schools.

Additionally, DesignIntelligence named Integrated Studies instructor Randall Wilson among the 30 Most Admired Educators for 2013.

Art Center’s undergraduate industrial design programs — which include Product Design, Environmental Design, Transportation Design and Entertainment Design — were praised for teaching students communication, computer applications and design.

Deans and department heads surveyed said they most admired Art Center’s Graduate Industrial Design program, “For its forward-looking focus on the role of design in business and research.”

Art Center’s industrial design undergraduate program has ranked No. 1 in the survey since 2006, while the graduate program has ranked in the top three during the same time.

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Summer 2012 Graduation Events

The creative energy around campus is kicking into high gear as the College prepares for its series of Summer graduation events.

Thursday, August 16
If you’re lucky enough to be on the invite list for Graduation Show Preview, you’ll get a sneak peak at the work of the next generation of artists and designers. Held from 6:00 to 9:30 p.m. at Hillside Campus, the preview gives potential employers, alumni, donors and industry professionals an opportunity to preview the Graduation Show and meet our graduating students.

Immediately following the preview, all guests are invited to a reception hosted by Alumni Relations to welcome our graduating students into the alumni family.

Saturday, August 18
Join us at Hillside Campus from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. as we celebrate the accomplishments of our newest graduating class and present the Art Center Student Leadership Award to Product Design student Jenn Kuca.

We will also be presenting the Great Teacher Award to: Product Design instructor Pascual Wawoe (New Teacher); Environmental Design and Humanities and Design Sciences instructors Penny Herscovitch and Dan Gottlieb (Part-Time Faculty); and Illustration and Entertainment Design instructor Will Weston (Full-Time Faculty), who will also deliver the graduating class commencement address.

Can’t join us for the graduation ceremony? Watch our live online webcast.

After the ceremony, Graduation Show opens to the public from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. so everyone can enjoy the work of our newest Art Center graduates.

Let the celebration of our creative community begin!

Phas running shoes, designed by graduating Product Design student Jenn Kuca.

“Tron” at 30: How Art Center Helped Power the Grid

A tender moment from "Tron," which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Disney’s Tron, the movie which introduced a generation to light cycles, identity discs and a glowing spandex-clad Jeff Bridges. It was also the first time most filmgoers marveled at computer-generated special effects.

The history and evolution of Tron wouldn’t be the same without the work of a number of members of the Art Center community who were involved in the groundbreaking film, its 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy and the current Disney XD animated series Tron: Uprising.

To celebrate three decades of “the grid,” let’s take a look at how Syd Mead TRAN ’59, Eric Barba TRAN ’92 and current Entertainment Design student Annis Naeem helped shaped Tron’s digital frontier. Continue reading →