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1 Artillery
2 CTIAF
3 Edge Control
4 FUTURO
5 IAMC
IAMAG.CO
6 Icon Manila
8 12 13
14
5
7
3 4
7 IFCC 15 10
8 Industry Workshops 11
6
9 LiK: MeetUp
10 Non Stop
11 Pixelatl
12 Playgrounds
13 Promised Land
14 Splash
IAMAG.CO
Non Stop: Madrid & Barcelona | Spain | 8th–12th of May 2018 nonstopbarcelona.com
For details check out the calendar at firestartermagazine.com Since not all dates are set yet, the order inside the months is alphabetically.
Picture this: the most talented animators, illustrators, games creators, sound de-
signers, concept artists, all in one place. And you? You being able to pick their
brains, see how they did it, how they started, what they studied, how they became
famous as well as what amazing projects they are tackling at the moment. Imagine
an even play field. The ball is now in their court but it could just as easily pass to
you, or the person sitting next to you. This, is the essence of Playgrounds! A meet-
ing hub for some of the most remarkable digital artists but also a place where they
can interact with students – the talents of tomorrow, and fans. A series of events
that have inspiration as a currency.
For ten years the Playgrounds Festival has worked as a connector between makers,
industry, the educational system and audiences. It provided a stable fundament to
boost new and relevant developments in the moving image fields, showcasing
the most innovative productions involving animation, visual effects and sound de-
sign. Every year, during events spread over two to five days, thousands of visitors
and artists would be welcome to join the series of workshops, presentations and
masterclasses. During these years the festival also started including cutting edge
audio visual installations, exhibitions featuring props, sketches, illustrations and
VR projects. In order to reach wider audiences, locations have always been dis-
tributed all through the Netherlands, while strategically aiming at cities playing an
important role in the design and innovation landscapes.
In 2017 Playgrounds changed the rules of the game and it dramatically expand-
ed. It not only showcased talent but also nurtured it. Through the Playgrounds
Next project it created opportunities for a set of young talents to gather resources
for creating and exhibiting their works. The festival artists talks were split into the
Playgrounds Session events and spread all through the year. All culminating with
the intensive festival in autumn, Playgrounds 2017: The Art Department, featuring
more than 40 artists traveling from all corners of the world. So Playgrounds spread
its wings and spread its forces. It stopped being just a festival; it became a way of
thinking, of creating, of being. Imagine everything, we said. And thus we turned
the creative world into our Playgrounds! Thank you for joining our Playgrounds!
1
PLAYGROUNDS
FIRESTARTER
94 Artillery
98 CTIAF
102 Edge Control
108 FUTURO
112 IAMC
116 Icon Manila
120 IFCC
124 Industry Workshops London
128 LiK: MeetUp
134 Non Stop
138 Pixelatl: El Festival
144 Promised Land
148 Splash
154 Trojan Horse Was A Unicorn
We meet the people that make sure a factory for Philips. Nowadays the big Anthony Christov Marauder Film, Tokkun Studio, Ubisoft
the ’magic is real’, that we forget we are halls are home to a series of concerts, True definition of an “animation legend”, and last but not least, Axis Animation.
spectators and seamlessly immerse us in festivals and symposiums. The building’s this astoundingly talent concept artist Axis Animation creates hyper-real ani-
the narrative - The Art Department - and past and hidden stories breathe through collaborated with some of the biggest mated experiences designed to trans-
take this opportunity to find out how do the design and architecture and we ex- studios in the industry: The Walt Disney port viewers to never-before-seen worlds
they do it. Today we focus on this phase pect it to fuse brilliantly with our talented Company, Universal, Warner Bros and like in Assassin’s Creed: Identity and Des-
in the process of film making where tons guests. The Klokgebouw is set in Strijp-S, 20th Century Fox. Titan AE, Land Before tiny: Rise of Iron. Bram is also illustrating
of creative work is generated even be- a very creative area in Eindhoven with Time and Rescuers Down Under are just for Wizards of the Coast on their famous
fore a single movie shot is being filmed. splendid restaurants, art museum MU, some of the noteworthy productions he trading-card game Magic: The Gathering.
pop up stores and many creative hubs brought his contribution to as well as
Concept artists, props makers, anima- where design talents meet and work. some of Pixar’s most well loved produc- Bo Zonneveld
tors, background visuals, character de- Eindhoven itself is known for the top de- tions. Art director for Finding Nemo and Young and talented Berlin based concept
signers, robotics... some of the biggest signers and creative environment it nur- Wall-E, character and environment de- artist, Bo was the winner of Dutch Game
and most talented names in this field tures. Add to this the fact that it has its signer for Cars and production artist for Award in 2013 for the independent game
will be unraveling secrets of their artistry, own airport and it’s only one hour away The Incredibles... not a dreamt up, impos- The Flock. He once flirted with the idea
how they approach projects and collab- from Amsterdam and you can see why sible resume but actual highlights from of becoming a musician but happen to
orate with other creatives. Big Hollywood we love it so much. Anthony Christov’s spectacular career. stumble upon concept art illustrations
productions, indie films, games, VR expe- from the World of Warcraft and became
riences, these masters of design and ani- So who can you expect to meet during Bram Sels | Axis Animation irrevocably in love with the field. And
mation have seen it all and we’re beyond Playgrounds 2017: The Art Department? Bram Sels and is a freelance visual de- the concept art world fell in love with his
excited at the opportunity to pick their Our long time friend and host Fons velopment artist and illustrator from projects! Among numerous AAA projects
brains. The conference will take place in Schiedon will guide you through the pro- Belgium. He has been active in the en- like Trixter. Bo Zonneveld also collaborat-
the Klokgebouw building in Eindhoven. gram and below, here we’ve compiled, tertainment industry since 2012 working ed with One Pixel Brush, and worked for
Set in a historic industrial complex built in alphabetical order, all the artists con- on several incredible IP’s, most of them Atomhawk as an illustrator.
in the late 1920’s, it once functioned as firmed at this point. feature films. His clients include 3dtotal,
14 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Images: ©Leon Tukker ©Loish Images: ©Mike Azevedo ©Pablo Carpio 15
WEBSITES
Anthony Christov
imdb.com/name/nm0160663
Axis Animation
axisanimation.com
Bram Sels
bramsels.com
Bo Zonneveld
bozonneveld.com
Chris Rosewarne
chrisrosewarne.com
Pablo Carpio Stijn Windig Danar Worya Danar Worya
danarworya.com
Darek Zabrocki
darekzabrocki.com
Guerrilla Games
guerrilla-games.com
Jan Urschel
artstation.com/janurschel
Jesse van Dijk
jessevandijkart.com
Jort van Welbergen
artstation.com/jortvanwelbergen
Kevin Dart
Rex Crowle Bram Sels Sava Zivkovic kevindart.tumblr.com
Leon Tukker
leontukker.artstation.com
Pablo Carpio treasure Ralph Palmer is. He might have developed a strong passion for film and
Loish
He likes to push his skills to the limit. The started with an old school approach: animation, he decided to change his ca- loish.net
result? Intriguing framings, unexpected doodling on the edges of school books, reer path and focus on motion graphics,
mixtures of worlds, surprising combina- but he somehow ensured his works re- architectural animation and all things Martin Rezard
imdb.com/name/nm1306316
tions of textures, all working together mained timeless, beautiful and inspiring CG. He has a strong belief in devoting
with narratives that keep viewers on the for generations to come. time to personal projects, has received Mediamachine
mediamachine.nl
edge and leave them wanting for more. several awards and recognitions from
These are just some of the elements that Rex Crowle the CG industry and has also given back Mike Azevedo
artstation.com/mikeazevedo
make Pablo Carpio’s works so fascinat- You might know Rex due to his fabu- to the industry by publishing some of his
ing. He has successfully collaborated lous work for Disney, MTV or the BBC, or personal tutorials. Pablo Carpio
artstation.com/pablocarpio
with companies such as West Studio, thanks to his numerous projects he was
Ubisoft Montreal, MPC and Wizards of part of together with the supercreative Stijn Windig Ralph Palmer
ralphanimation.com
the Coast. At the moment he also works Media Molecule video game develop- His works show an incredible versatili-
as an instructor at CG Master Academy. ment studio. Not to mention, his BAFTA ty which is only to be expected from an Rex Crowle
Awards for Breakthrough Brit together artist with such a vast experience: over rexbox.co.uk
Ralph Palmer with the Littlebigplanet and Tearaway 15 years working in the industry. Enthu- Sava Zivkovic
The Care Bears Movie, The Land Before projects. Point is: if you don’t know Rex siastic CG artist with roots in traditional vimeo.com/savazivkovic
Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven... some of Crowle’s work, you definitely should! media, Stijn Windig’s visuals are both Stijn Windig
Ralph Palmer’s most notable and loved mesmerizing and thought provoking. stijnwindig.com
projects he completed before a lot of Sava Zivkovic While his works range from traditional STUDIO AKA
people currently shaping the indus- Sava Zivkovic is a designer and 3D artist filmmaking to 3D animation and even studioaka.co.uk
try were even born. Add to them The based in Belgrade, Serbia. Born in 1989, 360 VR paintings and Augmented Reali- The Line Animation Studio
Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, he graduated from the Belgrade Univer- ty, he is best know for his animated shorts thelineanimation.com
Tarzan and the Harry Potter franchise and sity of Arts in the department of Interior like Robots, Tinny Tom and the Magic Box, Wouter Tulp
you can understand just how much of a and Furniture design in 2012. Having A Monkey’s Heart and Jacob’s Lament. woutertulp.nl
12:15–13:15 lunch break 12:25–13:15 MEDIAMACHINE - 12:15–13:25 lunch break 12:25–13:15 SHOW IT
13:15–13:20 Opening Titles 2017 & MAXON CINEMA 4D New Talents Slide Show
Welcome back 13:25–13:30 Opening Titles 2017 & 13:30–14:15 MEDIAMACHINE -
13:20–13:50 MARTIN REZARD 13:30–14:15 PABLO CARPIO Welcome back MAXON CINEMA 4D
13:50–14:35 REX CROWLE 14:15–15:00 MEDIAMACHINE - 13:30–14:15 MIKE AZEVEDO To be announced
14:35–15:15 JAN URSCHEL MAXON CINEMA 4D 14:15–15:00 KEVIN DART 14:15–15:00 MEDIAMACHINE -
BO ZONNEVELD MAXON CINEMA 4D
15:15–15:45 drink break (TRIXTER) 15:00–15:30 drink break LEON TUKKER
15:30–16:20 break
15:45–16:30 JESSE VAN DIJK 15:30–16:30 THE LINE ANIMATION 15:30–16:15 AXIS ANIMATION
16:30–17:15 LOISH 16:20–17:15 LEVEL UP! SESSION 16:30–17:20 PIXAR BRAM SELS
17:15–18:00 STIJN WINDIG (ANTHONY CHRISTOV)
PORTFOLIO REVIEW AREA SCULPTING ATELIER PORTFOLIO REVIEW AREA SCULPTING ATELIER LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED
12:15–13:30 Portfolio Session 1 10:00–18:00 MARTIN REZARD 12:15–13:30 Portfolio Session 1 10:00–18:00 MARTIN REZARD 20:00–21:00 FIRESTARTER TALK
15:00–15:30 Portfolio Session 2 15:00–15:30 Portfolio Session 2 21:00–22:00 DRINKS & MUSIC
17:15–18:15 Portfolio Session 2 17:15–18:15 Portfolio Session 2
Tentative program, all rights reserved. Updates and definite schedule at www.playgroundsfestival.nl
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Strijp-S is the place to be for people who like small scaled initiatives, renewed concepts and challenging com-
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binations of fashion, food, (eco) design, re-used, vintage, interior and urban art. So if you have a spare minute, UK
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wander around in this industrial historic area. 10
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WHAT TO DO? WHERE TO EAT AND/OR HAVE A DRINK? ZW
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1 PIET HEIN EEK 5 FOODCOURT 9 KETELHUIS NS
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Halve Maanstraat 30 @ Playgrounds 2017 Ketelhuisplein 1 K 6 51
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It used to be a workplace for Philips Playgrounds has prepared a fine Simplicity tastes good. Ketelhuis B S KL
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where radio and television compo- foodcourt for you because we doesn’t make pears out of apples, 2 GE
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nents were created. Nowadays it know you love some good coffee, an orange is an orange and beef EEM
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is home to the internationally re- fine beers and nice lunch as an ad- simply tastes like beef. They use EE 8 ANTO
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nowned designer Piet Hein Eek. dition to our line up! fresh products and make delicious NALL TORE N GSTR
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Eek produces between 15 and 30 food. And Ketelhuis buys their PLA EE RD
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new designs each year as well as 6 VERSHAL HET VEEM products close to home. In winter, AN
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running about 10 interior design Torenallee 86 they cook inside, in summer they N ES TORE TORE
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projects. Besides his workshop, Vershal het Veem at Strijp-S is a love to cook outside. UK AA E
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the building houses a restaurant, a food market that offers daily fresh RE
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showroom, a shop that sells Eek’s food products. Passionate food 10 RADIO ROYAAL TR
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designs as well as other products, entrepreneurs work together at Ketelhuisplein 10
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an art gallery and an event hall Vershal het Veem. They are all The restaurant is housed in a fan-
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where concerts and comedy nights food specialists who share their tastic historical building, the Ma-
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are held that are open to the pub- love for food in an atmospher- chinekamer. They have successful-
KO KASTA
lic. Definitely worth a visit! ic environment. Here you’ll find ly retained the industrial character E NR N JEL AA
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good-quality bread, meat, chees- of the original building which ooz- D LAA
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2 MU es, vegetables, fruit, wines, beer, es history as you walk through N N KAST
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Torenallee 40 -06 coffee, fish and so much more! the door! Nonetheless, the atmo- L AA
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MU is an adventurous guide to the Vershal het Veem is a place for sphere is pleasantly quiet, and the CE
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suburbs of present and future con- food lovers that appreciate quality menu extensive. All in all, Radio
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temporary art for a diverse audience. and cosiness. Royaal is the ideal location for a
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MU is an open and dynamic space business lunch or dinner.
which allows hybrid talents to sprout. 7 PASTRY CLUB
Ketelhuisplein 7 11 INTELLIGENTIA ICE EG
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3 YKSI Pastry Club is a unique concept Leidingstraat 43
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Torenallee 22 -04 where a patisserie, a confiserie, Intelligentia Ice isn’t just an ordi- K
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Furniture, interior design accesso- a tea salon, tastings and an ice nary ice cream parlour but a tast- LA
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ries, bags, jewellery, art... Yksi can cream parlour are combined. Situ- ings bar. Gastronomic ice cream, A
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call itself a fully fledged lifestyle ated in a beautiful industrial build- patisserie and extraordinary tea B
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shop. Everything is about Dutch ing ’De Machinekmaer’ at Strijp-S. and coffee are specialities.
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Design: the products get designed
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and mostly produced in The Neth- 8 ONDER DE LEIDINGSTRAAT 12 CAFFEE ALLEE N
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erlands. Yksi sells famous brands as Leidingstraat 45 Torenallee 22–02 KL
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well as their own designs. A mini organic grocery store 13 POPEI MUSIC / FOOD FRE
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where you can find organic prod- Klokgebouw 300
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4 URBAN SHOPPER ucts or relax and have a bite. You 14 NATLAB
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Torenallee 60 can order one of the fresh, healthy Film & Theatre, Kastanjelaan 500 STRI J PS ES
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The Urban Shopper is a unique meals at Onder de Leidingstraat. 15 ENVERSED VR CENTRE
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and exclusive shoppers’ paradise Breakfast, sandwiches, home- Torenallee 100-02 TRA
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with over 20 extraordinary shops. made soups, organic wine, salads, UR G PS
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It is situated at Strijp-S on the delicious juices, carrotcake, coffee, More info: www.thisiseindhoven.nl S T
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ground floor of the Anton build- you name it. Take away or to enjoy NH
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ing, a former Philips factory. at Onder de Leidingstraat! EI
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22 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition All rights reserverd – Eindhoven 365, Eindhoven 247 nhe 23
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TALENT PROGRAM next step on to their creative paths. We
have confidence in their development
and will continue to report and encour-
film industry for the last ten years. An en-
gaged artist that combines and mixes
genres in a way to support her story. Her
28 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Images: ©Bram Knol Images: ©Jenny van den Broeke 29
Can you tell us about any bumps in the coaches really challenge you to try new
Next road? What do you find difficult in things and expand your skills. As a bo-
this program? nus, you get access to the big network
of Playgrounds.
Bram: It’s hard to turn down commercial
work, not because of money, but because Jenny: I would definitely recommend
you don’t want to lose the client. Because it. It is a big luxury to get the change
of this, freeing enough time to work on my to have space in your schedule to think
projects was a bit hard in the beginning. about bigger goals, get a work budget,
coaching and network. If you can form
Jenny: As a Next talent you are able to a sharp research question and have big
plan this creative journey at your terms, dreams, go for it!
which is a total luxury. The team of Next
is very supportive. There are some fixed Vera: I’m happy to be in this program,
program was a solo exhibition at TAC program components such as such as the team is very involved with the talents
Eindhoven. For this exhibition I made the occasional career analysis. But the and they are very positive, supportive
a series of paper sculptures. Together rest of the time, you make your own plans and generally nice people to work with.
the four sculptures form a landscape and schedules. This freedom can also be Also it’s inspiring to see what the other
through which whimsical campers drive. difficult as time runs fast and tends to two talents are working at. We see each
I’m interested in the idea of sequential slip through your fingers. Also, you are other every now and then on events and
sculptures. How can I use time in the always the one in charge. There is not re- it’s nice to hear their experiences with
same way that comic books do. In comics ally a team or a structure to lean on. Not a the program too.
every frame you read brings you ahead real problem for me, but sometimes you
in time. How can I let people read my must be really sharp! While working, oth- Playgrounds is all about dreaming big.
sculptures in this way? Now that I have er questions and challenges come along We are curious about your ultimate
made these static sculptures I feel like that can be distracting and take away the dream project.
animating them again so I’m meander- focus off the bigger goals.
ing between disciplines and searching Bram: My dream project would be to
for new forms. Vera: The start was a bit hard. Because work with a small but skilled team on
everything was possible, and we got the a super-cool short film or music video.
Can you describe some highlights in opportunity to create our own program, Both the visuals and viewer experience
your personal program? it was difficult to choose. It also starts need to be perfect and I would like to
with a thorough test of your creative take all the time needed to make them
Bram: For me the biggest highlights development which was really intense. I that way. It would be great to be able to
this far are the strength and weakness think because I got used to going ’with build some movie sets for it.
analysis at the beginning of the tal- the flow’ since graduation, and this was
ent program, the bkkc summer school a mirror. Not that I’m afraid of looking in Jenny: My ultimate dream is to connect
and coaching by Post Panic. All of them the mirror but if you haven’t done it for people through the stories I tell and the
helped me a lot in choosing where to put a while you have to get used to the re- work that I make. To create an under-
my focus and gave me good insight in flection again. But I think it helped me standing between people, so that they
opportunities I can take. Apart from that, a lot. Also because I realized that you dare to open themselves without preju-
it’s just really great to be able to work on shouldn’t change your reflection, you dice. To create work that really matters
my projects for this program. have to see it and accept it. See that fea- for us as society. To make a better world!
tures that maybe you don’t like so much I want to keep doing experiments, take
Jenny: The start of the coaching phase. are actually your special features. risks and make works for new platforms
using innovative techniques.
Vera: For me, the biggest highlight hasn’t Would you recommend this experience
been an event but its the effect the pro- to other fresh talents? Vera: It has always been a dream to cre-
gram has on me. It’s a slowly growing ate a game, because my work is all about
mind-set that there’s a lot more to achieve Bram: I’m really grateful for being one creating worlds, and I would love to let
than I first expected, that I shouldn’t limit- of the Next Talents. I would definitely people visit them. Also living abroad for
ed myself in my dreams. recommend this experience to others. a while is something I dream about, and
The guidance we get is great and the going to Japan.
PLAYGROUNDS ...
One of the things we like about Play- I’m in awe of the talent on display and en-
grounds, is that you get to hear artists joyed hearing about everyone’s ground-
from very different sectors talk passion- breaking work.
ately and present their works. Promo – Curt Enderle
makers, animators, sound designers,
game developers... Playgrounds really Playgrounds is a trailblazer! The works that
gives you, as an artist the feeling that other festivals push to the side not know-
everything is possible! We’ve been ing how to handle them here find center
coming here ever since we were stu- stage. Because going on the same beaten
dents and every year we come back paths as everybody else, is no option.
with a lot of enthusiasm and energy to – Justin van der Lek
create new stuff.
– Job, Joris & Marieke The thing about Playgrounds, for me, is
that it’s grown a lot throughout the years
Playgrounds is a pioneer and leading in but it’s such a consistent experience be-
the field of digital arts in the Netherlands. cause the spirit is still the same as a small
You guys are so important for talent and festival. It is very democratic... it allows
education in the Netherlands. everybody to interact equally. The names
– Ania Markam, Post Panic are getting bigger, the program is grow-
ing a lot but I feel the spirit of equality is
Playgrounds Festival does not feel like a still there. It’s something that I look for-
conference. It is the perfect combination ward to every year to come back to. It’s
of community, entertainment, education been the source of so many everlasting
and party. friendships and collaborations.
– Aaron Duffy – Fons Schiedon
Character Creation
Since this was a one-man project, the
main character had to be designed
"on-the-fly" as the project moved into
production. I’m not a concept artist by
any means, but I did have a clear vision
of what the character should look like:
A likeable, clunky, old and overused
Typography
Typography is one of the aspects that
drove the concept for this piece in the
first place. I was always a fan of type that
seemed to inhabit the world itself: some-
thing about it always spoke to me on
some intangible level, and once I had the
first test render, I knew I wanted to incor-
porate this approach into the film. I spent
uncountable hours having fun incorpo-
rating the names of the artists in various
ways. This was definitely one of the high-
lights of the whole project for me.
PABLO CARPIO
my habits, goals, and objectives. One of
them, the most important, was to under-
stand that I needed to improve in the
BY DIEGO GISBERT LLORENS hard way, by painting everyday 8 hours
at least. Sometimes we need to know our
Pablo and I met roughly a couple of years very carefully, with THU and Playgrounds western painters, so I took Mark Maggio- place and be honest with ourselves, and
ago, while waiting for yet another talk to Festival very close and moving to Bar- ri’s work as an inspiration for those epic realize that to build a house you first need
start during Trojan Horse was a Unicorn; celona for a full time contract position clouds that rule the composition. to have a solid terrain. The second thing I
he shyly asked me for a quick look at his in between. Suddenly, in the middle of did was investing my money in trips and
portfolio and asked, with a voice full of this madness, Spiro appeared saying As I mentioned in the introduction of events where I could meet people, and
dreams and hopes, if I thought he could “let’s make a full four-pages-long cover this article, not too long ago you were develop my skills talking and making con-
get a job in the industry with that work. in A4!”. And of course I said yes, because not even sure to make into the industry. tacts. Two months later, I got my first gig
As a reply, after the first few images, I it’s said that you only live once. Since the What was your breakthrough? When did for ImagineFX making some tutorials, and
told him: “you gotta be kidding me”. In beginning Spiridon had in mind the idea it happen? after that everything started flowing.
the last couple of years, Pablo has gone of representing how it looks to start a
a long, long way, creating tutorials and career as a freelance in this industry. He
covers for several magazines, landing had this vision of people facing the edge
some serious freelance commissions for of a cliff, some totally decided to jump to
top-notch studios and sharing part of his the unknown and others still hesitant and
knowledge teaching some students in scared about it. The main inspiration for
Madrid, where he currently resides. this piece, as you can imagine, is David
Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of
Hello Pablo, and thanks for the wonder- Fog; this artwork always captivated me,
ful cover. What inspired you for this par- and I thought this was a good chance to
ticular piece? do some kind of tribute to it, since the
Thanks a lot! When Spiridon asked me mood and feeling that this piece trans-
to do it I just couldn’t say no. I was busy mits is very close to what one can feel
during those days wrapping up some when starting a journey like this. On the
works and planning the following weeks other hand, I’m a big fan of American
50 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Images: ©Brian Deakin ©Jaclin Natalia Kareta ©Spiridon Giannakis 51
Literally plot, artistic vision and
technique directly resulted from
working with what was available in
my student room: a great deal of
paper and cartboard , a window,
some books and a deep sense of
feeling stuck hoping to jump into
a new adventure. One Setting, one
character and no dialogues felt a
good limitation to start from.
HAPPY INSIDE THE BOX The short Much Better Now reso-
nated well with the audience, was
a Vimeo Staff Pick, won a few film
Who is familiar with the situation er under a limiting guideline but Cornered by those feelings I made festivals around the world and end-
where after many days of client perform so poorly the moment I the decision to make a drastic ed up being scr eened also at TED
work you finally seem to have would be let loose to create some- change. I had a lively interest for Long beach 2013 conference be-
spare time available, a good mo- thing on my own? animation and simple narrative so tween talks. If you want to see the
tivation and no art director hold- despite no practical experience on full short and its behind the scenes,
ing his metaphorical dagger on Through a few of my projects and the subject or real artistic skills at you can find it under Muchbetter-
your throat. You’re free, ready to experiments I want to briefly offer that time, I decided I would write now.net. While with its unorthodox
finally do some personal stuff, you my takeaways and experience and produce an animated short. structure i can see so many flaws,
whatever you want, something on how metaphorical boxes of It seemed the only way to test my now after all those years I feel it still
outstanding, really outside the various sizes helped my creative patience and determination in a The endless struggle iterating to finding the right character ended the holds its own because of its sim-
box – so you think. evolution – limitations less as ob- hope for a kickstart on the path moment I embrace the limitations of an actual folded paper bookmark. plicity and heartfelt narrative.
stacles but rather as a true safety towards a career in the animation
In those situations I inexplicably net and catalyzer. industry.
got stuck, every time. It can be
described almost like drowning 2011 The Epiphany: Work with what Short after a quick research and
in the unlimited possibilities and you have, stick to what you know being stunned by the myriad of
cornered by the pressure to final- Back in 2011 towards the end of possibilities or complex variables
ly come up with something great, an unexciting advertising educa- of doing an animated film, the
like we think should be capable of tion pursued with little ambition or idea of drastically limiting my-
passion, I felt stuck and uneasy to self dawned on me. Back then it
For the longest time, in particular the idea that in a short while after seemed like the ultimate limitation
during my education it felt like that my graduation I would need go being equipped just with an idea
I couldn’t achieve anything off my out and make a living with what- eager to build around a basic story
own personal voice. How was it ever those years had apparently a box of simple technical and artis-
possible I could somehow deliv- taught me. tic possibilities.
52 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition lipcomarella.artstation.com | salonalpin.tv Title image: ©Juraj Vuglač | IFCC, Images: ©Lip Comarella. 53
Start with a price
Once I read in an article about Ikea
designers being communicated the
very final retail price tag when de-
signing a new IKEA product. They
would literally get the briefing con-
taining a set price to start with. Ev-
ery decision of material and shape
complexity needs to realistically fit
into that budget limitation. While
almost an obvious principle of rent-
ability I found myself and many
other of my colleagues never truly rambling on for too long here, and and put thought into the artistic ar- Lip Comarella is a award winning
embracing this principle as a great this may be common knowledge, eas I want to explore and get better visual development artist and an-
tool for stylistic and technical exper- but this what I do: I get my box as at. From there it is then easy to po- imation director currently working
imentation. A good way to reduce narrow as it gets to start off, reduc- tentially evolve it into a very big and as an animation director at Passion
or limit certain things and accentu- ing the subject matter almost to a ambitions project. When it comes to Animation Studios, London. Since
ate others without draining yourself single object, i.e. a tree. I look for motivation and efficiency in practice 2011 he has run the animation unit
and overinvest every single time. opportunities within the subject to for me it is vital to focus on what in Salon Alpin.
experiment design, color, compo- particular this exploration and anal-
This is how the animated commer- sition or narrative. With every itera- ysis is going to be about. Because I
cial Falter Inferno came into exis- tion and growing confidence I also am a simple creature, I find it much
tence. With this line of thoughts try to look for ways to stretch my more exciting and rewarding to fo-
we approached the Falter Inferno initial concept a manageable little cus on just one single aspect such
project. Given the modest bud- bit. This way i have something basic as color handling, stylization, shad-
get we were forced to look for to just get going and I can practice ing, narrative or anatomy at a time.
an animation and style direction
that could be simple and reduced
enough to be viable, yet in same
time interesting and engaging to
make the whole thing stand out.
We decided to cut as much as
possible the expansive 2d anima-
tion and opted for a succession
of 12 frame loops welded togeth-
er with simple vertical transitions.
No color pass allowed us to push
clear, universally understandable
compositions, bold vision reduced
to the very naked bone of its mes-
sage. This made us to stay with-
in budget, enjoy some problem
solving and have a product that
eventually got as 4 golden Lions at
Cannes Creative Festival in 2016.
Personal projects
Coming back to my starting point,
there is nothing more stressful than
having all the creative freedom of
the world, especially in personal
work where the own quality expec-
tation is set the highest. So without
54 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Excerpt from the lectures at Artillery and IFCC. #LetsTalkArt 55
»EVEN IF YOU HAVE NEVER
DRAWN A SINGLE STROKE,
YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME
TO MAKE YOUR FIRST STEPS WITH US.«
If you visit Berlin you can be sure to encounter artists. A lot
THE EMPIRE
OF A MADMAN
THE FUTURE ILLUSTRATED
BY M.M.A REKKERS
four rooms for The Haus was probably So what are your plans for the future?
the biggest external project we’ve had so Do you have more goals waiting on your
far, and it was a great success. The whole bucket list?
team was super close, and we were all Julian: Our main goal is to keep on grow-
stunned by the reactions of the visitors. ing in complexity, and to cover as many
An unforgettable experience, that we will art sectors and disciplines as possible.
hopefully be able to repeat soon! We are hoping to become an art acad-
emy one day, but with a new concept,
I heard something about an event with which allows every student to prop-
Wacom, is there a cooperation going on? erly develop their skills. We feel there
Bajar: We’ve been working on several shouldn’t be so many boundaries in ar-
events for and with Wacom now; mostly tistic fields, and you should be able to
organizing digital art battles with many work collaboratively or experiment freely
amazing artists – sometimes combined with different techniques. Everyone has
with workshops by popular profession- the potential to be creative, and we want
als. Last time we were hosting an exclu- to build a space for people to explore
sive masterclass in four different cate- themselves, and their ability, through all
gories: Illustration, Concept Art, as well kinds of art.
as Comic and 2D Animation. We had
artist gems like Josan Gonzalez, Adrian
Wilkins, Goran Sudzuka, and Raman Dja-
fari. It was very exciting and we are look-
ing forward to more like this!
one: you explore, you learn, then you share. Outside of his
64 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Portrait by Natalia-Jaclin Kareta | Interview by Diego Gisbert Llorens 65
new media culture, learning as much as not a part of my “day job”, I do them out-
I could along the way. I had many great side of my normal admissions duties. It
mentors. One such mentor and good gets difficult at times, but I honestly love
friend was named Santosh Oommen. He to coordinate workshops, and I enjoy
inspired me to start doing workshops. He attending them too. I personally appre-
was the Academic Department Chair for ciate art and design and those willing
the Media Arts and Animation Program, to share their personal techniques and
and had a love for the industry that was experiences. I keep doing it for the core
contagious. We used to compete on group of regular attendees that I consid-
who could book the bigger workshop, in er friends. Their support truly humbles
terms of established talent. I remember me. I continue to do it for the students
he booked James Gurney. Not wanting sitting on the edge of their seats, hang-
to be outdone, I returned fire with an Ian ing on to every word and piece of advice
McCaig workshop. We did it because a professional is willing to give them.
we loved it. We were charged up and Yeah, I do it for them!
inspired when we’d host a workshop.
Eventually, Santosh separated from the
school, and I took over the workshops,
establishing it as a part of our culture in
the Inland Empire. I’m still friends with
Santosh, and he is still one of my biggest
supporters and friends. So, long story
short, I have always wanted to work in the
creative industry, and it is all the inspiring
people that I’ve met along the way that
make me want to keep plugging away.
Norway, who has worked for clients like Riot, Blizzard and
70 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Portrait by Natalia-Jaclin Kareta Portrait by Mariana Galiano | Interview by Beard Bros 71
Even, tell us about Tegn. understanding of who he is as a char-
Tegn is a collection of drawings I did ev- acter. Essentially it’s this obsessive little
ery day last year, each of them accompa- thing I have created about something
nied by a small backstory. I took some that is my job but usually I can’t go this
of those stories, and incorporated them much in depth with any given character.
into the back of the book. But I am rambling.
Very cool, so, how did you come up with That’s absolutely fine! So, this is the first
the name ’Tegn’? book out of three in total. Do you have
Well, Tegn is a Norwegian word that has a plan for the two other books to come?
several meanings in a way. It can be a sign, Well, the first book will be shipped
symbol, omen, or it can actually also mean around November, and I have actually
’to draw’. There’s a bit of symbolism in the been thinking about sort of an interlink-
story, there are a lot of suggested omens ing ’meta-story’ for that world and pick-
in the story, and a bunch of drawings. ing out cool combinations of cultures
that I can play with. I’m not sure if I’ll post
those online, or maybe start up a Patreon
page. Mainly because I’m not sure if I can
produce a proper amount of artwork in a
relatively short period of time.
and how his course can take you from a beginner to a work-
76 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Portrait by João David Fernandes Portrait by João David Fernandes | Interview by Gordon Neill 77
So Maxx thanks again for joining me and Wow like the old-style painters where was ready to go freelance, I think a lot of
giving up your time to talk to the pod- you would be an apprentice to a master people want to jump into freelance too
cast how are you? that’s quite rare, and with people going quickly, and honestly, I wasn’t ready. It’s
I’m doing good Gordon, thanks for hav- to start in schools like Learn Squared or hard to have regrets after being bless-
ing me! Gnomon being taught by such a master ed with this incredible career, but if I did
in their field wasn’t that scary or intim- have one, it would be not staying with
So for those who maybe haven’t heard idating? Did you ever envision some- Syd longer. I said to myself, I have a port-
your name before or are unsure about thing like that happening? folio now, I have a couple big shows un-
your skillset can you tell us what you do When that happened, it was one it was der my belt, I should be able to get some
for a living and who you are? one of the best days of my life. When he freelance work. This was right after the
My name is Maxx Burman and I’m a took me on as his apprentice, I knew I was writers strike in LA, and the 2008/2009 fi-
Matte Painter and Art Director. My spe- going to have a career in this industry. Syd nancial collapse, the timing couldn’t have
ciality is creating environments for films treated me amazingly, taught me so much been worse. I hit a dry spell that really
and games and I do a lot of concept art and we had a lot of fun. He has a great shook me, I started looking at restaurant
and art directing as well. sense of humour. I was terrified and al- jobs to pay rent. After a couple of months
ways wanting to get his approval, and he of ramen noodles and having absolutely
Great! Maxx can you tell us how you got would come up behind me, see my paint- nothing, I got 2 offers in the same day.
your start in the industry and maybe talk ing, and just go “ah he’s lost the magic”, A remote freelance job with Playstation
about your beginnings in painting and knowing it would mess with my head! and a staff job with Stargate. I was so des-
finding your style? perate to work, I took both, and for the
I got lucky with matte painting. I had been Wow, cruel! But I guess if he’s wanting next 8 months, I would work 10 hours at
using Photoshop for a while and I always you to improve he can’t really give you Stargate, come home and work another
liked doing photo real work. I was show- his good graces straight away, he would 6 for playstation.
ing my portfolio to a couple people and want you to keep pushing forward. What
someone said “oh, you’re a matte paint- about the calibre of shows you were At Stargate, I was sooo fortunate to meet
er?” and I responded with “Yes I am!” working on during your time at Zoic? my second mentor, Cedric Tomacruz.
That’s how I found out about matte paint- Zoic mostly works on television shows & He really honed my technical skills. We
ing specifically. In terms of how I got in commercials. My first couple of shows worked on shows like The Walking Dead
the industry, I knew I wanted to work in vi- were V and another one called Flash For- and Pan Am, and a ton of others. I spent
sual effects, so I went through the phone ward, after, I got a chance to do some a year there, learned as much as I could
book at that time and called every studio paintings for True Blood, Fringe, and a from Cedric, and went back to Zoic as a
in LA, offering to work for free. I knew I bunch of those kinds of TV shows. lead matte painter for a brief stint before
needed to be in a studio, and to learn moving on to Sony Imageworks.
from people doing this every day. After While working on those IP’s did you like
calling all 200 studios in LA, Zoic Studios what you were doing or did you have vi- So you tend not to try to get too comfort-
got back to me (Z, the bottom of the list) sions of working on bigger productions? able? Do you want to try and be pushing
and offered me an internship. Shortly af- I was excited to be working on shows outside your comfort zone a lot of the
ter I started, Syd Dutton, the legendary and be able to turn on the TV and see my times.
matte painter, joined the studio and took paintings. Part of me didn’t care about I try to never get comfortable, even now.
me under his wing as his apprentice. I the project and always just really cared I’m coming up on 10 years in this indus-
was so very fortunate and lucky. That’s about the paintings. The other part of me try and if there’s something comfortable
how I broke into the industry. always had a hunger to work on the big- but I’m not interested in it then I won’t
gest movies and biggest projects, so, it do it. The leaps of faith I’ve taken have
So, am I right in saying you didn’t really go was kind of both. I was happy to be there been absolutely terrifying, but they have
the traditional route which for most peo- but I also had this ambition to do a lot always paid off.
ple is education in a school like Cal Arts more. I guess everyone does?
or Art Center you kind of taught yourself? What was the next challenge? When did
Yeah, I was taking classes at Gnomon, That was quite an amazing start in the you want to go to feature films or was it
but I wasn’t enrolled full time. I was just industry, how quickly after working on something else that called you out to it?
kind of taking classes on the side. I start- those projects did you leave Zoic behind? I was actually really interested in anima-
ed at Zoic when I was 18, so I was fresh I was there for a year and a half and then I tion because it was so different. Having
out of high school and taking night class- decided to break away. It was a big learn- done so many photoreal matte paint-
es when that opportunity came about. ing curve for me when I left. I thought I ings at that time, something about a
86 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition Image: ©Juraj Vuglač | IFCC Images: ©Björn Hurri 87
when speedpainting started pop- thoughts. See what comes out of it. benefit here, something I hope well, and seeing people take this
ping up, and when photobashing Push things more than you normal- you will take into consideration for thought process to heart led to
became something new and excit- ly would, just to make sure you took your own studies. great improvements; a lot of peo-
ing. Now it is relatively common. it far enough. Obviously you need ple started to have FUN again in
We are able to see clear steps into to treat these as explorations and 30 MIN WARMUP their art and not this daily grind of
the hybridization of 2D and 3D. throw-aways – don’t put it into your That being said, it’s a practice that studies and cramming knowledge
Your brain works in two different portfolio. But, I see a trend of many I’ll always appreciate, and the rea- into your brain. What good does
ways when it comes to knowledge: artists being afraid of posting. They son we used to take a half day off knowledge do, if you hate it from
implicit and explicit. Implicit mem- stay very safe, remain techniqually at my studio for personal projects. the start?
ory is long term memory, things correct, and each piece is just this Somehow, it always ended up be-
that are in there deep. Explicit soulless thing. Some of the best ing a time sink because people HOW DO I BECOME GOOD
memory is concious recall. That artists are those who don’t need started using it for relaxing and I see a lot of people asking things
is why studying and repetition is to worry about their most detailed surfing the web. So, 2 years ago, I like “how do I get better?”, “how
very important, because when we piece or the cleanest execution, decided we should start with dai- do I get hired?” and “what should
are in a “sweetspot” and create art, but rather, how they tie narrative ly warmups and it started out with I put in my portfolio?” The more
we are in a implicit mind state, we and technique together. Look clos- us giving eachother challenges you learn, the better you’ll be at
don’t think – we just react. If some- er! Especially in how they paint – on what we viewed as our weak making those decisions – but that
one asks you a question, and you you’ll see that they lean on their
have to think, you are immediately experience with failing and know
taken out of it. exactly when to reign in the crazy
or dial it further up.
BEING SCARED OF FAILING
So we are all afraid of failing, or SKETCHBOOKS
doing something that is not per- My sketchbooks, all 40+ of them.
fect, but that is probably the single They were made in under 2–3
biggest hang up of most artists. If years – so that means I drew more
you look at the works of old mas- than 1 full sketchbook a month,
ters, you can see they did sketch alongside my full plate of univer-
after sketch to realize their vision. sity, freelance work, and digital
They would scrap and start over sketches. The reason I use these
with whole paintings over a single here is is not to showboat, or brag
misplaced brush stroke. about what I managed to draw,
but to highlight this: in those
If you have ever had the chance to 40-something sketchbooks are so
go to to a museum, and look into many failures, strange ideas, stu-
their sketchbooks, you know how pid aliens, and so forth.
amazing that is. Obviously their points. “Do studies of faces”, “Draw doesn’t just mean grinding tech-
skills were peerless, but they were I chose to buy cheap sketchbooks a car” and so on. It was a great nique. Of course, you will learn
constantly testing things, trying and use standard ballpoint pen or thing, though it wasn’t enough. It how to compress steps more
new angles, and experimenting. pencil. I set out to kill paper with was fun, though, so we ended up quickly, and utilize tools better,
What we should do is think about strange, unfiltered ideas, which gravitating towards a mandatory but what I have found to be most
the modern world and use all the helped me dramatically. Mind you, 30 min sketchfest every morning important is asking yourself what
methods available to us. We can none of these pages ever ended at the start of the day. It was a strict YOU want to do, and in what way
learn from our mistakes, yet there up in my portfolio, but worked de- 30 minutes of “do what you want, YOU yourself would like to do it.
are so many artists who hide their rived of those ideas or sketches but make sure to be creative”. There are always new artists look-
mistakes, sketches, and failures. definitely did. I would have never ing for the quickest answer, or the
I recommend that you create a had those opportunities if I had I decided quite early on to stream, hypothetical next step. If you can
seperate blog or sketchdump not tested out those thoughts in a so if you are interested, you can buy it, then it must be good, right?
where you share your tests. visual way. The fact that I did take view two years of daily warmups This often results in copycats. They
time to draw them out, and test at 30minwarmup.com. All those only see their progress compared
The greatest reason for this is to the ideas by constructing them streams I treated the same way: to how closely they can mimic
allow yourself to fail, to treat each brought the crazy ideas into a new day, new sketch, where I try their idol – not necessarily wheth-
sketch with clear and unfiltered whole new light. There is a huge things out. I started a Discord, as er or not that path is even right for
EXCEPTIONAL
are good, and get better! You STRENGTH OF SELF EDIT a little clarification.
must stop asking for things, and When you have a body of work,
start learning who you are. it’s important to take a step back, I’ve been thinking about this for
think about who you are as an art- quite some time: where you are
THUNDERDOME ist along with the choices you have now is just one frame in the full
DESIGN NEEDS
“Thunderdome” was a competi- made, and ask yourself: is this movie of your art journey. The
tion at conceptart.org invented by what I want to portray to the world more you learn and the more
the user skullsquid. It is a knock- of art? As someone who reviews awareness you gain, the easier it
out, one-on-one, randomly se- many portfolios, I can tell you that will be to move forward. With that
EXCELLENT
lected showdown. Whoever was seeing a body of work with a voice, being said, each step forward can
interested signed up for it. Pro regardless of skill level, will always be made up of different lengths,
and amateurs were paired up, and stand out first. depenting on your own under-
then waited for the countdown standing of your process, how you
to start. Everyone had a random This is done by looking at all as- think and what you love doing.
oponent, and you were only told pects of your body of work, and re-
PRINT WORK
who you were up against on day moving or adding images or parts
one. After each round ended, you of them while creating. This should Bjorn Hurri is a concept artist,
posted your entry publicly, for also be applied to the work you do known for his speed and imagina-
everyone, and most importantly, when adding images, but if you tion. Born in Sweden, Bjorn relo-
saw your opponent’s entry. There limit yourself too much creatively, cated to London filling his resume
was a body of judges who went it can cause you to stop yourself with clients such as NCsoft, Catalyst
through all of them, and voted dead in your tracks. Game Labs and SEGA whilst work-
for each one. There were less and ing for several years on a number
less people each round, until it One thing about editing yourself, of AAA titles before joining Opus
was down to two competitors and is that you have to own it. Don’t Artz as Lead Artist.
who would be the “last man stand- worry too much about what other
ing”. The reason I bring this up is people want you to do or how you
that much like university exams, should do it. There should always
work, or competitions, one would be a seperation between your
really need to apply oneself. That inner world and the outer world
included sketching it out properly around you. Strength comes from
and making sure the idea, level of being unique within the frame-
finish, and tactics against your op- work of the big picture.
ponent’s weaknesses paid off. It’s
really important to find that moti- There are many ways of self-ed-
vator, that drive to know yourself. iting your work, but perhaps the
most amusing way to see this
Do you need advice concerning paper quality, design
I would love to see a community clearly is when you put something
of file specifications? Contact us and we take care of it.
with more emphasis on feedback online. You almost magically see it
From quotation to delivery, we take care of your printing!
and constructive criticism. How in another light. You gauge it dif-
info@q-promotions.nl +3113 582 09 68
many posts on facebook have you ferently. Before you post anything
seen with actual feedback? Face- online, you should always try to re-
ERIC KENJI FILIPE PAGLIUSO LUCAS PAROLIN PEDRO DUTRA RODRIGO RAMOS VICTOR HARMATIUK
is an illustrator since 2008 and is an artist that grew up in a was born in Belém (PA) and is an eternal student eager to is an illustrator from Belo Hori- was born in Curitiba (PR), and is
currently works mainly with il- small city in the countryside of later moved to Curitiba (PR). learn and challenge himself. As zonte (MG), Brazil. Graduated in the co-founder and head of vi-
lustration and concept art. Pas- Brazil and loves to paint fantasy He was always imaginative as a a kid he was influenced by asian graphic design and with a fine sual development of Fish Films,
sionate about art in general, he themes. Currently working as a child, influenced by the series modern fantasy and western art background he has worked a Brazilian studio that produces
has studied drawing, traditional freelancer artist producing illus- he liked to watch as a kid. Born tales. He managed to find his side by side with professionals feature films, short films and an-
painting, sculpture, 3D art and trations for several companies. in the 80’s, he was Inspired by way in the industry by always from different areas, creating imation series.
is always looking forward to im- different universes and has the dedicating himself to the things illustrations for advertising and
proving his skills and knowledge. goal to inspire others. he loved. video games in the past 7 years.
100 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition 2nd–4th March 2018 | ctiaf.com Images: ©CTIAF 101
tralia. For South-African owned
properties, our Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) offers
a rebate of up to 35% on qual-
ified spending in South Africa.
DTI also offers incentives for for-
eign-owned projects on produc-
tion and post-production that is
completed in South Africa.
104 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition August 2018 | edgecontrolexpo.com Images: ©Edge Control 105
This year we included an hour us to realize the great value of live this, so why don’t we start some- unique to share with the audience.
long panel after the presentation events. There is so much talent in thing?” Of course, it was a lot more We had a highly motivating pre-
for predetermined questions. The Toronto! It’s ridiculous! But people work than we anticipated, but in sentation from Mike Azevedo that
panel was hosted by Frank Hong don’t have many opportunities to the end, the efforts we put in were hyped us all up for the rest of the
of Crush Visual (studio in Toronto). connect with each other and form definitely worth it. event. Even Amundsen gave us a
This allowed for some interesting a community. witty and informative talk about
answers that the presenters were Last year’s event (and our very world building, and the power of
able to discuss back and forth. At the time, we were students first) went far better than we could character archetypes. And to end
of RobotPencil, classes created have ever hoped for. We had more the first day, there was a surprising
After the panel, the attendees got by Anthony Jones. Kalen Chock, in attendance than we expected, and heartwarming joint-presenta-
the chance to recieve portfolio also a teacher at Robotpencil, was and the lectures were both infor- tion from Jana Schirmer and her
from not only our presenters, but hosting a livestream one day, and mative and highly motivational. husband Mathias (an art director
six equally amazing artists who mentioned how some of his stu- We owe a lot to the guest speak- at Blizzard). By the second day,
generously shared their time and dents in the past had managed ers, our portfolio reviewers, and people were already getting into
expertise. We made sure that ev- to gather artists from around the our supporters, who were so in- the swing of things. It started with
ery attendee was afforded the world for their event, Creative teractive and helpful during those Nacho Yague giving us some real
chance to get a personal review Juice Expo. The students planned fantastic two days. Speakers were talk with a universally appreciable
without a rush from their favourite it all, they took care of flights and drawing during the after-party, lecture that gave us some life ad-
artist and the others. itinerary, managed logisics for Crush Visual brought prints, and vice. Alex nonchalantly dropped
lodging, anything they needed. attendees brought art books to a mind-blowing 3DSMax demo.
We started by bringing guest He told the stream that they didn’t share with other guests. We were And to finish off the lecture seg-
speakers that are not only badass care where they slept or anything, very pleased to learn that some ments, Joon Ahn presented us
artists, but those we felt stood “Just buy us some burritos and it of our participants were even of- with a brilliant art breakdown,
out from the crowd and offered a would be all good”. fered jobs. demonstrating his knowledge by
unique perspective to their pro- hitting an instant painting button!
cess, this industry, and the journey That gave us a thought: “Hey, we This year’s event was even better. His demo was that quick! And this
accompanying it. could do this ourselves! Toronto Each talk was informative. Each was just the lectures.
doesn’t have much going on like speaker had something truly
We started Edge Control partial-
ly because we felt there was not
enough happening in Toronto. Of
course, there are always loads of
forums, resources, and a vibrant
online community that anyone
can utilize, but in a way, we felt it
lacking something. Ultimately, we
felt these learning resources didn’t
do anything to nurture the artist
outside of their craft. Artists need
more than just art to grow as pro-
fessionals: They need real-world
experiences, other interests, and
most importantly, the ability to
step outside of their comfort zone,
and into other walks of life and
perspectives.
Varna is the third largest city in ucation, tourism, entertainment, cropolis and dates all the way back Eddie Bennun Mathias Zamecki
Bulgaria, and the largest city and healthcare. The city is referred to to 4200–4600 BC. FUTURO 2017
seaside resort on the Bulgarian as the Maritime Capital of Bulgar- will be the third consecutive edi-
Black Sea Coast. Situated strategi- ia, and headquarters the Bulgari- tion of the event, and with every
cally in the Gulf of Varna, the city an Navy and merchant marine. In passing year, it gains more and
has been a major economic, so- 2008, Varna was designated seat more noteriety. The event was cre-
cial and cultural centre for almost of the Black Sea Euro-Region by ated as the brainchild of sculptor
three millennia. Historically known the Council of Europe. In 2014, Zhivko Donchev and the world-re-
as Odessos, it grew from a small Varna was awarded the title of Eu- knowned artist Victor Kalvachev.
Thracian seaside settlement to a ropean Youth Capital 2017. Here, Lecturers in the first iteration in-
major seaport on the Black Sea. antiquity blends with the new. The cluded Michael Defeo, Igor-Alban
Varna is now an important hub oldest gold jewelry in the world Chavalier, Pierre Alary and Victor
for business, transportation, ed- was discovered in the Varna Ne- Kalvachev.
114 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition 16th–18th of March 2018 | itsartm.ag/iamc-18 Images: ©IAMC 115
and Sony Pictures. His work has
been publish in Spectrum Annu-
Two Industry Vets
al, ImagineFX, 3DTotal, Scholastic
Books, HarperCollins Books, and
Seek to Teach
more. Sam currently teaches for
the award-winning animation pro-
Business Savvy to Creatives
gram at BYU, in addition to giv-
ing online classes for Schoolism.
His classes cover lighting, digital
painting, character design, visu-
al development, gesture draw-
ing, digital sculpting, and anima-
tion. He has taught these subjects
at workshops around the world.
122 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition 28th of May–2nd of June 2018 | ifcc-croatia.com Images: ©IFCC 123
individual needs, while also han- comprehensive overview of con- that you are able to engage from
dling group dynamics in a more cept art, Leon Tukker will throw in any angle. Even if you aren’t cur-
focused manner. his two cents about environment rently involved in developing your
design, and Jort Van Welber- own project, there are always other
IFCC programs are always pre- gen will reveal his approach for creators there that you might con-
sented by professionals that have hard-surface robot design. sider supporting.
proven their worth with impressive
results in the business. The IFCC THE GAME WORKSHOP Think of The Game Workshop as
Academy Workshops are no ex- The IFCC team is never idle. your creative playground. It’s a
ception. So far, the IFCCA’s Live When they are not busy working place to promote your projects,
Workshops have included pre- on their next festival line-up, they learn new skills, write articles, pass
senters like Jama Jurabaev, Aris are devoted to several ongoing on your knowledge to others, and
Kolokontes, and Renaud Forestie. side-projects; the most massive of submit your work for challenges.
Just a simple Google search will which is the ever-evolving Game As a member of The Game Work-
tell you all about their many qual- Workshop. shop community, you can support
ifications. yourself while supporting others,
and – as always, The Game Team
will be there to support you.
IFCC 2018
IFCC 2018 will be all about learn-
ing, teaching and finding out the
best possible choices for your ca-
reer. The festival is partnering up
with some of the most amazing art
schools on the planet, top creative
studios, innovative young compa-
nies, and thousands of profession-
als. All this will be condensed into
Noah Bradley and Marta Nael one awesome force, taking place
in your favourite city with the weird
ONLINE COURSES Are you working on a game, an art name. It’s the festival where knowl-
The newest addition to IFCCA are book? Developing creative tools? edge rules, but hanging out at the
the online courses. Everything is Or perhaps you like to write arti- bar with a pen and sketchbook is
done live, and these classes will be cles about art and design? If that’s a close secon. “What happens in
available on the web for anyone the case, the IFCC collective would Zagreb during IFCC stays in your
looking to strengthen their knowl- like to invite you to become an ac- head forever!” Come on down,
edge in various topics ranging tive member of TGW. Our mission learn, drink, draw, make friends,
from character design to environ- is to help you develop projects, and network!
ments. All of this will be performed and promote them to potential
with the latest tools on the market, customers and investors. This proj- Next year’s Main Event will take
so you’ll be able to not only find ect is meant to encourage you to place from the 28th of May to the
new approaches and workflows, team up with other members of 2nd of June. Every year, the pro-
but get involved with some of the the community, submit articles, gram grows, with 2018 already
most recent exciting add-ons and promote your services, and join gearing up to be the best iteration
programs. TGW challenges. of the event to date.
Currently, a total of four online You are invited to join the club – IFCC is community funded, with
courses are anticipated for re- not only as a supporter, but as an almost 100% of the budget being
lease this autumn. Elize Ivanova active member of the website. Your collected through ticket sales. By
will be teaching you how to make opinion is valuable. Your input is al- purchasing a ticket, you are essen-
your drawings “jump” off the ways welcome. There are of course tially becoming an IFCC sponsor.
page, Steven Cormann will give a some rules, but the bottom line is
Industry Workshops is a collective nects the attendee and the lectur- For those who were on the hunt
of London based creatives, with er. Through personal interaction, for their next big job- the studios
a shared interest in establishing discussion panels, recruitment looking to recruit new talent this
a broad-based and vibrant visual and portfolio reviewing, we strive year included ILM, Framestore,
arts community through contin- to build a learning and thriving Vi- Splash Damage, the Creative As-
ued education. sual FX community. sembly, and more.
Founded by Levente Peterffy, Rich- IW_17 included free beers from Besides guests simply being audi-
ard Burns, Daniel Matthews and some of the best craft breweries ence members, IW_17 also provid-
Alex Heath, it now involves many in East London, speciality coffee ed a series of exceptional drawing
experienced VFX professionals made by the great folk from Moth- sessions throughout the weekend
from advertising, film, games and ers Milk, and amazing breakfasts for those wanting to get sucked in.
music videos in freelance and stu- with morning teas made by our Bodies in Motion and pre-eminent
dio capacities. Artist-inspired and favourite cafe, Embassy East of sculptor Scott Eaton featured a Dy-
artist-driven, Industry Workshops Hoxton. Attendees got a swag namic Figure Drawing workshop,
brings together leading visual ef- bag, and merchandise, too – all in- and the Art Model Collective held
fects talents to share their unique cluded in the ticket price of £320. a generous three-hour life draw-
approaches. Spanning three ex- Our venue is the East London in- ing session, along with Jennie
tensive days in vibrant London, stitution The Old Truman Brewery, Webber of Wildlife Drawing, pro-
the event showcases both techni- London E1 6QR. viding an extraordinary live animal
cal and philosophical aspects of drawing experience.
concept art, film, 3D, traditional Our early announcement artist lec-
sketching, digital matte-painting, turers this year were Cristina Laviña IW_17 marked our fourth year run-
and life drawing (to name just a (currently working at Blackbird In- ning, and it’s been quite a ride,
few). Industry Workshops also con- teractive), the ever prolific Mathias each year being bigger than the
126 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition September 2018 | industryworkshops.co.uk Images: ©Industry Workshops ©Natalia Jaclin Kareta 127
last, involving more interest both tween. We’ve had Oscar-winning money, in a relaxed social setting –
from an artists’ perspective and costume designers and Art Direc- attendees are right in amongst
a professional studio one. What tors, mech designers, and algo- it with leading professionals. IW
started off as a meeting between rithmic programmers. also provides a platform for you to
a small group of friends after a life show your work and get portfolio
drawing session in London, dis- We love to involve friends, or peo- reviews from some of the indus-
cussing how cool it would be to ple we feel can contribute to the try’s leading artists, and all your fel-
have everyone get together to talk energy of the event in a positive low peers. We’re all there to help
about their careers and workflows, way. This can be quite difficult, each other grow and improve!
turned into an international event but is very necessary. We like to
with hundreds of attendees. It’s keep our stages for artists and We have had software developers
a big task to organise something creators, and remove barriers that on site to introduce you to some
like this, but somehow miracu- can sometimes be put up by other of the latest tech around, and re-
lously we’ve managed to keep the big events, so we search for artists cruiters from world class studios
team quite small, so we can make who can teach on both a technical where many attendees have found
things happen, and make sure the and philosophical level. Buying a their dream job (or at least found a
event doesn’t become too corpo- ticket to IW will always ensure that great place to start out.) In a very
rate or watered down. All of our you experience a mind-expanding basic way, it’s just great to get
artists represent what we think are weekend with like-minded artists, people together, where they can
some of the very best elements of forge new friendships and per- discuss a thing that they are really
the entertainment and design in- haps reunite with old friends. It is a passionate about(that doesn’t get
dustry: from 3D product design, way to meet talented people who to happen very often).
to 2D character design, to motion you might admire without having
graphics and everything in be- to spend a tremendous amount of At IW the format is very simple
– one venue, three days of lectur-
ing and presentations. Our most
recent event saw 2 lecture stages,
and a demo space where people
work in real time. That’s nearly
1000 man hours of screen and lec-
ture time! After the event we have
a party, and with a bit of social lu-
brication, it’s a great time to show
your work around! If you’re ever
planning to come to IW, expect to
have your mind broadened and
your vision stretched. Expect to
make new friends and learn from
some of the best around. Expect
to have early mornings and late
nights- it’ll be three full days of
awesome artistic fodder for your
eyes and ears, and most of all, ex-
pect to be inspired!
130 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition March 2018 | likmeetup.com Images: ©LiK: MeetUp 131
We also wanted to try something your comfort zone, the industry, LiK: MeetUp Monthly Talk
different with our second work- and finding happiness. From our Every month, we invite one or
shop, by demonstrating how survey, many said they were so two speakers to share with the art
three different artists might finish inspired by what was shared, they community here. The speakers are
a painting together. Each artist felt it was life-altering. usually Taiwanese or artists based
took turns finishing one piece, in Taiwan with a lot of experience.
which made for an interesting way The combined effort from all our Similar to our workshop, many of
of interpretting how three differ- guest speakers and professionals these monthly talks discuss the
ent professionals used their tech- helps nurture our creative industry creation process. There is no live
nique and experience to complete in Taiwan. We believe that positive demonstration, but the creators are
a project. Meanwhile, while one energy is contagious! Since our able to share invaluable knowledge
was painting, the other two would last workshop, many participants about how they think and work.
be engaged with the audience, from neighboring Asian countries
covering topics like getting out of have since joined in. Occasionally, we invite copyright
lawyers to share topics regarding
current law, and legal issues. The
lawyers even draft out a template
contract for artists and clients who
might wish to work on a project to-
gether. They stress the importance
of signing a contract, and how to
read it, as it safeguards both par-
ties against any future misunder-
standing. This is especially import-
ant in Taiwan, as in many Asian
countries, there is not much in the
habit of legal agreement for such
things. Having these issues stated
clearly is a great way to give every-
one a head start on what to expect thing called the Sunflower Stu- would bring us joy to hear it. Just as
3d.cgmasteracademy.com
in the industry. Many of the pre- dent Movement. The movement our speakers taught us during the
senters are freelancers or entrep- was to protest the passing of the workshop: Take charge of your own
eneurs that have developed their Cross-Strait Service Trade Agree- life, step out of your comfort zone,
own intellectual properties. They ment (CSSTA) by the ruling party and find what makes you happy.
have worked hard to get where Kuomintang (KMT) at the legis-
they are – the ups and downs as lature, without clause-by-clause Future Plans?
well as their solutions to challeng- review, which could negatively Just like what we have done in the
es are shared with everyone. The impact the livelihood of young last few years, we hope to keep
audience also shared their own Taiwanese down the road. The stu- spreading the love and our philos-
experiences, fostering a positive dents, through their selfless act, ophy of sharing. Starting this year,
community for everyone to feel managed to stop the trade pact, we have more speakers from over- Boon Cotter Heather Abels
they were on common ground. change public opinion, and sub- seas joining us in our monthly ses-
sequently the government itself. sion, and will certainly welcome
Why did we start LiK: MeetUp? This incident made us realize that others. We look forward to attend-
There are a few reasons we started if we wanted to see changes, we ing similar events in other coun-
this community, but a large part of it had to put our thoughts into ac- tries. We’ve postponed Workshop
was a social movement. We started tions. After preparing for a year by 2017 to 2018 (there are some oth-
as a studio focused on creating con- gathering opinions and logistics, er plans brewing that will be out of
cept art for games and film. During we started our first LiK: MeetUP the oven in November) The only
that time, we’d routinely have small sharing session. It was a tough at thing we’ll tell you is that it involves
get-togethers so we could get to first, as we had to balance sessions respite, recovery, and inspiration in
know other artists and designers. with our normal operations. nature! Taiwan has so much beau-
The most common things we heard ty to offer, so we couldn’t be more
unfortunately tended to be the We believe the effort was worth excited! With that, the next Work-
Luca Nemolato Pete Zoppi Bryan Wynia
“horror stories” (Clients not pay- it. It is a paid, ticket-based event, shop should happen around Feb-
ing, stolen works, large corpora- but we tried to make it as low as ruary or March, and we can’t wait!
tions abusing creative workers, low possible in order to take stress off In the near future, we will expand
wages, the list went on and on...). the attendees by ensuring it cov- to build a dedicated team from
Suffice to say, there are many chal- ers the speakers and location. We our current one in LiKStudios for
lenges we as artists face globally, didn’t know how far we could go, LiK: MeetUP, so that we can scale
but it doesn’t seem like there has but we had to start somewhere. It is upward and project our positivity
been a solution or a unifying front our belief that for a sustainable art even farther! It is our wish that we
to solve it. While we operate on a industry, everyone must chip in to can all grow and develop togeth-
bigger scale as a company, we al- help one another grow. We started er as individuals, as a community,
ways had our thoughts with those in Taiwan, and hopefully our neigh- and also as an industry. Lastly; If
who were working solo. In March boring countries will follow suit. you are interested in sharing with
2014, Taiwan went through some- Perhaps they already have, and it us, feel free to contact us.
Clinton Crumpler Ben Keeling
136 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition 8th–12th of May 2018 | nonstopbarcelona.com Images: ©Non Stop 137
shops and conferences have led or holding back, and of course, enjoying this unique experience
us to fulfilling these goals. Within bringing us closer to people, stu- in the magical city that is Barce-
these processes, during the Festi- dents, and peers. lona. With only two years in exis-
val, we presented for the first time tence, we have been able to grow
in Spain, the NonStop Concept • The speakers have direct interac- at a steady pace, conserving these
Art: Visual Development Seminar. tion with each attendee in a one- closely cultivated relationships
on-one portfolio session at the with our attendees and speakers.
The seminar is focused primari- end of each day.
ly on the visual development of We will be in Madrid for one day
movies, video games, and illustra- • We plan various, dinners and net- on the 8th of May, and then we’ll
tion – with the help of international working for everybody in atten- continue to Barcelona for the three
artists from the industry currently dance, as well as workshops for day main event, from the 10th to
working worldwide. It’s a new, ex- the opportunity to get a deeper the 12th of May.
citing, and different event that has understanding of specific ques-
allowed us to broaden our hori- tions. Among the confirmed speakers
zens and expand into other fields. for 2018 we are proud to present
•
We present various guest pro- Jama Juravaeb, Jomaro Kindred,
fessionals, who have worked on Anthony Jones, and Alex Kons-
several projects for companies tad. We will continue to grow our
such as: Blizzard, ILM, Dream- speakers list as the event draws
works, Marvel, Paramount, and closer, and we’ll be sure to include
Walt Disney, among others. a few special surprises.
•
We propose an event focused The schedule will be present-
towards young artists, their rela- ed as follows: We will have three
tionship with the digital age, the speakers per day, each being alot-
audiovisual industry, and video ted two hours for their demo and
games, contributing towards an answering any questions. Each
environment for development speaker is responsible for orga-
and creativity, and a chance to nizing their own time, so they are
use more tools for building their given full liberty and creative free-
road to an international audience. dom. The demos are generally giv-
en in English, but may also be in
We have the support of various Spanish (not to worry, we will have
entities, including Wacom, Sakura, interpreters and recieved posi-
various schools such as Escuela tive feedback for these in our last
Henceforth we would like to high- Joso, video game companies with two events). Afterwards, we will
light a few defining characteristics a home-base in Barcelona such as have onsite portfolio reviews and
that set us apart as an innovator. King, Social Point, Gameloft, and networking (drinking, talking and
We believe these offer a great and more. They are constantly partic- hanging out). Later on, we’ll go out
unique experience: ipating by sending their artists to into the city and enjoy what Barce-
the event, conscious of its impor- lona has to offer.
• Being in Barcelona as the first city tance and value in our community.
in Spain to offer this brand, and In the future, we hope to count on Our dream is a united community
this particular format, has been many more video game compa- that creates a constant enriching
fundamental for our project. nies in attendance. experience. For this dream to be-
come a reality, we must move for-
• The attendees: young artists with After two consecutive years and a ward with the same willpower and
completely new visions and new very positive reaction from all of energy that we have poured into it,
ways of thinking, who have given the parties involved, we are again so that we may continue to grow,
us a lesson in collaborating with sharing the opportunity for three and each year build a better, stron-
kindred spirits and sharing our intense days of learning, sharing, ger environment.
knowledge – without jealousy networking, portfolio reviews, and
140 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition 4th–9th of September 2018 | elfestival.mx Images: ©Pixelatl 141
Dara Terrance Mike Hollyngsworth issues. In 1997 Vasquez published of two music videos. In 2015, Oni
Dana Terrace studied in the ani- Mike was recently awarded Le Squee, a 4 issue series about a Press began publication of a com-
mation program at the School of Cristal d’Annecy at The Annecy supporting character from Jonny ic book series for Invader Zim, in
Visual Arts in New York City. She International Film Festival for the the Homicidal Maniac, and soon collaboration with Jhonen Vasquez
graduated in 2013, and was hired episode of BoJack Horseman he after came I Feel Sick, featuring and Nickelodeon, as a continua-
as storyboard revisionist on the directed, entitled “Fish out of Wa- Devi, “a girl who tries to maintain tion of the TV series. In 2017, Nick-
popular Disney Channel TV se- ter”. Mike has served as the Super- her sanity” (and another character elodeon announced a 66-minute
ries, Gravity Falls, in Los Angeles. vising Director on the Netflix series from Jonny). television film based on the series,
Not long after, she started working BoJack Horseman since the pilot in with the collaboration of Jhonen
as storyboard artist on the same 2014. In addition, Mike has written, With the fame he acquired as an Vasquez as executive producer.
show. Later, she was chosen to directed, and voiced cartoons for independent creator, Nickelodeon
direct some episodes of the new the Comedy Central series Trip- decided to hire him to develop a David Rosenbaum
Disney’s Ducktales TV Series. Cur- tank and was a director for their television show for their older de- At Cinesite, Dave is responsible
rently she’s working on a comic other series, Brickleberry and has mographic, and Invader Zim, was overseeing all creative aspects of
while developing other projects done work for HBO’s The Life And born, originally pitched in 1999. the company’s output, as well as
for Walt Disney. Times Of Tim. Mike is the creator of The show premiered in 2001 and cultivating new talent to work on a
the Shut Up Cartoons! YouTube se- enjoyed critical acclaim. It won wide slate of releases.
Catherine Turp ries, Nature Break. Mike originally
As Creative Director, Catherine moved to Los Angeles to pursue a
Turp is responsible for guiding the career in stand-up comedy. Once
team and maintaining the artistic he arrived in Southern California,
integrity of every project she works he started drawing cartoons for
on. Her immense breadth of expe- the LA Weekly, and other alterna-
rience allows her to conceptualize tive press publications. From there,
and design exciting multimedia he began making animated shorts
experiences, ensuring that they that appeared in many top film fes-
stand on solid technical ground. tivals around the world, including
The Annecy International Anima-
She has an extensive background tion Festival, The HBO Aspen Com-
in new-media art, video editing, edy Festival, Animation Block Party,
and broadcast media which has The London International Anima-
lead her to a rigorous work ethic tion Festival and The Melbourne
and value of of her client’s time. International Animation Festival.
Catherine received her B.A. in His love for comedy and cartoons
Art History for the Université de is combined in his animated comic
Montréal and is continuing stud- strip Stufffed Animals.
ies in Cultural Management at
HEC Montréal. She joined Mo- Jhonen Vasquez three awards (including one Emmy Prior to joining Cinesite, Dave
ment Factory as Assistant Cre- Jhonen started as a cartoonist in his Award and one Annie Award), sev- was at Chris Meledandri’s Illu-
ative Director in 2010 and Con- high school’s student newspaper, en other nominations. However, mination Entertainment since
tent Management Team, working publishing comic strips featuring the show was canceled in 2002. its inception. He oversaw talent
hands-on in a leadership role as a character: Jonny, The Homicidal Since then, despite its early can- acquisition and story across all
a Creative Director in 2014. She Maniac. After graduating in 1992, cellation, it has increased in popu- aspects of the company’s fea-
has worked on some of Moment he began taking film classes at De larity and is now considered a cult tures, shorts, games, marketing,
Factory’s most ambitious projects, Anza College, but he dropped out classic. Since then, Slave Labor has and rides for Despicable Me 1–3,
including a large-scale permanent to pursue a career as a profession- published other works. Jhonen Minions, The Lorax, The Secret Life
installation at the Los Angeles In- al cartoonist. Carpe Noctem Mag- has done several collaborations, of Pets, and Sing. Their films rank
ternational Airport. Catherine ex- azine started publishing one-page including participation in two is- among the most successful in
cels in long-range planning, and strips featuring Jonny the Homi- sues of Marvel Comic’s Strange animation history.
her willingness to take her artistic cidal Maniac, and in 1995 Slave Tales, and as a writer for Detective
vision seriously has given Moment Labor Graphics began publishing Comics. He has contributed to de- Dave received his masters from
Factory some of its most effective a comic book of the same charac- signing characters for Disney XD, the American Film Institute.
and innovative work. ter. The Jonny comic ran for seven among others, and was a director
156 PLAYGROUNDS 2017 Edition September 2018 | trojan-unicorn.com Images: ©Trojan Horse was a Unicorn 157
Rodrigo Blaas the constraints of budgets and
Rodrigo is a self-taught animator deadlines. While painting is her
who joined Blue Sky Studios in first love, she enjoys teaching and
2000 and worked on its first fea- mentoring the next generation of
ture film, Ice Age, animating on visual artists. She currently lives
characters like Sid the sloth and and works in Vancouver, Canada.
the acorn-obsessed Scrat. He lat- Movies she’s worked on include:
er joined Pixar Animation Studios The Incredibles, Angels & Demons,
and continued to pursue his pas- Gravity, The Book of Life, Rise of
sion for character animation, while the Guardians, A.I. , Pearl Harbor,
working on projects such as Find- and many, many more.
ing Nemo, The Incredibles, Rata-
Eric Goldberg touille, and Wall-E. Many of them
Eric is a veteran director, designer, became academy award winning
animator, and voice-over artist with films. After spending 9 years at
a lifetime achievement award in Pixar, Rodrigo moved to Los Ange-
animation. He began working with les and partnered with Guillermo
Walt Disney Animation Studios on del Toro to develop the hit Netflix
Aladdin, supervising the anima- TV series Trollhunters, based on
tion of the Genie. He then co-di- the book by the same name writ-
rected Pocahontas and animated ten by Del Toro and Daniel Kraus.
the feisty Danny DeVito-voiced Rodrigo is currently working for
satyr Phil in Hercules, followed by DreamWorks TV Animation where
Fantasia 2000, for which he di- he is the Showrunner and Exec-
rected, wrote and animated two utive Producer for this extremely Kim Jung Gi
critically-acclaimed sequences: successful show. Kim Jung Gi is a mighty Korean art-
Carnival of the Animals and Rhap- ist known and adored all around
sody in Blue. He animated Mini the world for his epic drawings
Maui in Disney’s Moana and was and illustrations. Serving in the
supervising animator for Louis, the army, precisely in the special forc-
trumpet-playing alligator in the es section, allowed him to memo-
hand-drawn feature The Princess rize an absurd number of vehicles
and the Frog an assignment that and weapons, often featured in
won Eric his third Annie Award for his drawings. Kim has published
best character animation. Eric han- five sketchbooks which gather
dled the entire Warners’ stable, nearly 3500 pages of his art. He’s
as well as providing the voices for also published two comics in col-
Speedy Gonzales, Tweety and Mar- laboration with the famous French
vin the Martian in Warner Bros.’ live writer Jean-David Morvan: SpyG-
action/animation feature Looney Negin Bairami ames and McCurry, NYC, 9/11, a
Tunes: Back in Action. Negin Bairami is a painter and vi- story about the world famous pho-
sual effects artist from San Francis- tographer. He draws on anything
co, California. During her 25 year made of paper, from sketchbooks,
career, she has worked on over 26 to toilet paper, receipts, and giant
films and numerous commercial art boards. Today, when he is not
projects. Having worked for such a working in advertising or manag-
range of media outlets, broadcast ing his drawing school in Seoul,
news, special effects model shops, he’s traveling the world to meet
stop motion animation commer- people and get inspired.
cials and films, and both CGI ani-
mated and live action feature films,
she has learned to infuse projects
with artistry and creativity under
Firestarter will keep updating you on the latest event news and provide reviews of the
festivals. There are certain things in the making that will enhance the experience, like
a community calendar to add your own events for all to see and also to include the
hundreds of conventions and workshops worldwide.
Apart from that, Firestarter is aiming to go a step further into the exchange of profes-
sional experience. There will be livestreams of a panel with artists that speak at several
events, and they will share their knowledge on different topics. Firestarter Talk will be
hosted by Jort van Welbergen and our first stream will be happening at Playgrounds
2017: The Art Department in Eindhoven.
Speaking of Playgrounds, I wanted to thank the Playgrounds Team for their massive
support. Leon von Rooij and Jort van Welbergen for being so open minded about
my concepts, Maria Dicieanu for sending me emails in the middle of the night like
she knows I am still working, and especially Paulien Mandos for dealing with all the
mess I create and being always willing to help me out, no matter what. You guys have
been essential to the growth of this project and I hope we will be working together
for many years to come.
Spiridon Giannakis
Very special thanks to Jens Kellersmann and Jeroen Van't Hoofd (WACOM) for the massive sup-
port and giving me essential directions. Also thanks to Olivia Ó Duinn and Kate Stork for proof-
reading this pile of letters and Pablo Carpio for the amazing cover. Thanks to all the contributors
and sponsors who helped me with their content and their time to create interviews and articles
for the mag. If I haven’t named you here I surely thanked you in person. I also want to thank Nas-
tia Lyakhova (Artillery), Dianne Makings (CTIAF), Dhenzel Obeng (Edge Control), Kaloyan Vasilev
(FUTURO), Patrice Leymarie (IAMC), Armand Serrano (Icon Manila), Marko Prpic and Sven Razum
(IFCC), Daniel Matthews (IWL), Kai Ng (LiK: MeetUp), Brian Deakin (Non Stop), Jose Enrique Iñesta
(Pixelatl), Marek Madej (Promised Land), Michal Benda (Splash) and Andre Lourenço (THU) for
sending me the content of their events. And I hope this list will grow!
If any of you want to contact me about festivals to add or about advertising in the mag or any
other kind of support for this community project, contact me: info@firestartermagazine.com
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