Scholarship Competition Offers Over $550,000 in Tuition Scholarships

For the eighth consecutive year, The Art Institute of California – Orange County offers high school seniors the chance to compete for one of nine half-tuition scholarships valued at up to $47,000 for bachelor’s degree programs.

All students are required to submit a 250-word essay, résumé, letter of recommendation and a high school transcript. Detailed entry requirements can be found online at www.ocscholarship.com.

Entries must be postmarked by Friday, April 2, 2010 and winners will be announced, Saturday, May 8 at The Art Institute of California – Orange County’s third annual fashion, music and art festival – Rock the Runway.

Mike Tracy Exhibits his Art @ Brewery ArtWalk

Mike Tracy, Media Arts & Animation instructor at The Art Institute of California – Orange County will be showing is artwork at Brewery ArtWalk on Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25. Be sure to stop by and check out his artwork.

Media Arts & Animation Alumnus Returns to Help Students with Their Portfolios

Not every student who graduates from The Art Institute of California – Orange County dreams of coming back to teach, but many alumni are open to stopping by occasionally to share a few words of wisdom with current students.

During summer quarter, Felix Urquiza, who graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Media Arts & Animation in 2007, hosted a lighting workshop for current Media Arts & Animation and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics students.

Felix works as a 3D visual effects artist at Hydraulx, the visual effects studio that has worked on such films as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Wolverine and the soon to be released 2012.

After showing the students a demo of the studio’s work, Felix spent a few hours walking the students through several rendering and lighting techniques. He also took the time to look over individual student work and offer pointers.

Workshops like these offer alumni a chance to give back to the school, and current students get to see what they can accomplish after graduation. Alumni interested in contributing to a workshop are encouraged to get in touch with their academic program director.

Alumni Success: Damon Martinez

Bachelor of Science – Media Arts & Animation
Winter 2008
Dimensionalist – In-Three

Media Arts & Animation alumnus Damon Martinez was meeting with his Career Services advisor when a lead came through with In-Three, a company that specializes in transforming 2-D films into 3-D. After he interviewed, In-Three offered Damon a job on a trial basis and eventually a full-time job.

“The Media Arts & Animation program taught me how film works but my demo reel showed them what I could do with images,” Damon said. “One of my scenes showed several images that had to be cut, color corrected and manipulated in a way that still blended together. It’s very similar to the type of work I do now.”

As a dimensionalist and occluded surface reconstruction painter, Damon corrects mistakes in the frames and puts back elements that were taken out during the earlier part of the editing process. He relies on the skills he learned in school to get the job done: frame rates, pixilation and image manipulation.

His favorite project is still in the works so he can’t talk about it yet, but he had this advice to share with students, “People may try to talk you out your passion but if you are dedicated to your niche, you can find a way to get paid for it.”

Alumni Success: Hayley Kohler

Bachelor of Science – Media Arts & Animation
December 2008
Storyboard Artist – Omation Studios

The most common advice offered to students is to build relationships with fellow students because they could be helpful in a future job search. For Media Arts & Animation alumna Hayley Kohler, this came true much earlier than expected.

“The lead storyboard artist from Omation Studios walked around the portfolio show asking students who the storyboard artist was and everyone pointed him in my direction,” Hayley said. “After the show, I was called to do a storyboard test and was offered the job.”

Hayley feels her experience at The Art Institute of California – Orange County has helped her be successful in her new career.

“My film, editing and storyboarding classes taught me the language and mechanics used in the industry,” Hayley said. “I learned to work as part of a team in a fast-paced setting through my portfolio and production classes.”

Currently Hayley is working on the animated series, Planet Sheen. Her multitasking skills are being put to the test as she must work on two to three episodes at once.

“As I am working on the thumbnails for an upcoming episode, I am also revising and cleaning a previous episode’s storyboards,” Hayley said. “My favorite episode so far is the one that features a character whose name I pitched to the executive producer.”

One of Hayley’s instructor’s offered the following advice and it is a message that has stuck with her: “You have to prove yourself everyday and learn something everyday.”

Her own advice to students is to never give up on their dreams so they’ll never lose sight of their goals.

High School Students Roll Up their Sleeves for the Red Cross at Summer Studio 2009

Nearly 100 high school students invaded The Art Institute of California – Orange County from June 23- June 26 to see if they had what it takes to be a fashion, media, design or culinary student.

The Summer Studio program gives teens a taste of what it is like to be a student at The Art Institute of California – Orange County. This year, Summer Studio partnered with the American Red Cross to bring a real world element to the projects the students completed throughout the week.

“The Red Cross is always looking for new ways to reach out to younger blood donors,” said Cynthia Lujan, Communications Specialist for the Red Cross. “We were impressed with the level of creativity the students demonstrated and the amount of work they were able to complete in such a short amount of time.”

Students were able to choose from one of 10 workshops according to their creative interests. In just four days, the students were able to produce the following:

Advertising: Developed an ad campaign complete with posters, billboards and public service announcements.

Culinary Arts: Catered the final presentation event by making a meal from scratch for over 300 guests.

Digital Photography: Captured a week’s worth of events for the Summer Studio 2009 DVD.

Fashion Design/Fashion Marketing & Management: Designed t-shirts that made giving blood a fashion statement

Game Art & Design/Visual & Game Programming: Created a simple video game about the importance of donating blood.

Graphic Design: Produced the artwork for the DVD cover.

Industrial Design: Proposed concepts for two different donation modules – special chairs that would allow people to be entertained as they donated blood.

Interior Design: Planned the space for a mobile disaster unit that could house a family that lost their home.

Media Arts & Animation/Visual Effects & Motion Graphics: Invented a Red Cross character and created a simple animation.

Web Design & Interactive Media: Helped author the Summer Studio 2009 DVD.

Check back here for information on next year’s Summer Studio.

Faculty Member's Work Makes Front Cover

Full-time faculty member Kevin McCarty's photography was featured on the latest issue of Visual Commnication Quarterly. Visual Communication Quarterly (VCQ) is an international, peer-reviewed journal of theory, research, practical criticism, and creative work in all areas of visual communication published by Routledge. Their goal is to promote an inclusive, broad discussion of all things visual, while also encouraging synthesis and theory building across our fascinating field of study.

Go to http://www.vcquarterly.org/ to learn more about the publication.

American Red Cross Teams Up with High School Students to Provide Real World Job Experience

Students will design projects that promote the Red Cross at The Art Institute of California – Orange County annual Summer Studio workshop

High school juniors, seniors and recent graduates interested in pursuing a creative education have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves to work with the American Red Cross at The Art Institute of California – Orange County 2009 Summer Studio Workshop. Students will work closely with the Red Cross to find out if they have what it takes for a future in design, fashion, media arts or culinary arts.

From June 23-26, students participate in an intense four-day workshop and experience a taste of the academic programs at The Art Institute of California – Orange County. They’ll work alongside industry professionals as part of a production team creating the many design, media and culinary elements that contribute to the promotion of a nonprofit organization.

“The workshop has been extremely successful since its inception in 2001,” said Melinda Lester, Dean of Academic Affairs. “It is a life-changing, eye-opening week for most of these students and many attendees later make the decision to study applied arts in college.”

This year the workshops focus on the American Red Cross and their efforts to attract younger blood donors. The theme of the campaign elements the students will be creating is “Roll Up Your Sleeve.”

Students can choose from one of the following ten specialized workshops, depending on their area of interest: Advertising, Culinary Arts, Digital Photography, Fashion, Game Art & Design/Visual & Game Programming, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation/Visual Effects & Motion Graphics and Web Design & Interactive Media.

Any 2009, 2010 or 2011 high school graduate from the U.S. or Canada, who is at least 16 years old, is eligible to attend. Tuition is $150 and includes all classes, supplies, meals and field trips. Supervised housing and daily transportation to and from The Art Institute is available for an additional cost.

For more information or to register, visit aisummerstudio.com/orangecounty.