Yon Hui | Learning To Entertain

OHKAYYY !!!!! You guys probably already know what I wanna talk about !!! Soooo -
The 1st day of the PIXAR TOY STORY 3 LECTURE SERIES was STUNNING !!! I even felt like I absorbed some of their super-positive vibes after the 1st day of the seminar !

Out of 9 speakers , 5 did the speaking today and 4 tomorrow.All I can say is that they were all amazingly friendly people and they even talked about their student life and dreams and how they ended up in Pixar. So the whole thing was inspiring inspIRING INSPIRING.I'm not over saying this because they're Pixarians, but because they DO know exactly what they are doing and what they wanna do.They're good at what they're doing.

Also , I had the opportunity to speak to Tim Evatt, the concept artist for Toy Story 3, and he's a super amazing guy.I even showed him my sketchbook and asked If he could comment on it.It was a really awkward moment cuz Tim's work are super Duper amazing and my sketches are unprofessional at all but I just knew that I had to show him my sketches and I wanna hear from him and I'm glad I took my 1st step.Tim gave positive comments of my sketchbook and of course I felt good with that but he didn't have time to flip over the whole book as time didn't allow him to, but he said he would really like to see my sketches again and I'm planning to show it to him tomorrow !

Tim shared some sketching tips that really got me interested in and I couldn't start experimenting on them.Tim suggests that It would be interesting to come up with a theme when you're sketching , and try approaching it in several different ways.Say the theme is Elephant , then try to work out varieties of design from the same theme.
Also,Tim mentioned " Figure why things look the way they do , and how do they translate to the audience".And I have to totally agree on that.
All these are pretty basic things that a lot of people already know , but they tend to slip away from it unnoticed,including me, but the masters got it right in their hands and they know how to play & bend around with it!They're just so darn good at it.Another useful tips from Tim, "Be PROACTIVE".

I also approached Beth Albright, a Shading & Grooming TD from Pixar , knowing that she comes from a 2D background and was involved in projects such as Space Jam,101 Dalmations 2 , Fox & The Hound 2 and recently the shading & grooming for the background toys in TS3.She's one of the magic behind the life of the background toys.I asked Beth what would be the best choice for a 2D animation college , one that she would recommend.I included Ringling , AAU (That's where TIM went!!), and CalArts in the list. Beth personally thinks that CalArts is the one that brings up your artistic side and most of the people she'd met before who graduated from CalArts has good portfolios.

Also there are many other great speakers who inspired me greatly to never give up on my dreams.I'll never EVER EVER in my life forget what Mike Krummhoefener said about your love for what you do. Mike said "Keep the passion and love going for something you love and you'll succeed" and "You succeed because you love what you do".

Mahyar Abousaeedi , the Layout Director shared some really great tips to enhance the camera movement throughout the whole film , and how that would enhance the feeling of the whole film.

Allisson Rutland , an animation TD , bedazzled us with her amazing animation tips and tricks and scenes she did for TS3.

Overall , we had a whole lot of fun during the Seminar , and it's worth the 9 hours of my life, more than I can ever ask for.We watched several clips of the making of the film , and it looks darn good even at the raw stage.I can't wait for the DVD release and I know I'm gonna watch it 24/7 till my DVD player cries for help.

Finally , on my way home , I drove to MPH to get the TS3 artbook so I could get their autographs tomorrow.I found the book but unfortunately there was a little fold at the edge of the outer layer cover so I didn't want it.Then I drove allll the way to Tropicana City Mall to get a better copy of it.I just can't wait for tomorrow!!!

Being at the seminar here today was one of the greatest gift in my life and it made my will stronger to work my ass off all the way to my dream life as an animator/story teller.I'll always remember art as part of me. My passion and love will always go on and on for it forever.