Animation Portfolio Workshop Voted One of the Top 100 Animation Schools in the World

I am very happy to announce that the Aninationn Portfolio Workshop has been voted one of the top 100 animation schools in the world by the Animation Career Review website...... An excerpt from the review mentions that "The rest of the world would do well to recognize the importance of this school and smart aspiring American animators use it to get a competitive advantage when applying to schools like CalArts, RISD and MICA". For the full review take a look at our website: APW voted one of top 100 animation schools in the world Happy drawing! Gerard

Drawings by Fannie Tan

Fannie Tan recently received an offer of admission from Sheridan's Animation Program. These drawings are from her animation portfolio. Students who register with the Animation Portfolio Workshop will spend the time between May 2011 and February 2012 learning Life Drawing for Animation and Drawing for Animation. The idea behind the timing of the course is to finish up our classes by the end of February which is when portfolios are due (for Seneca and for Sheridan). Fannie did some inpressive work on her protfolio drawings.

Robert Beverly Hale videos

To listen to Robert Beverly Hale speak in this group of videos is to listen to a master relay ideas of substance freely - one after the other. Any student of drawing will benefit from watching this series of videos (7 in all). Animation Portfolio Workshop instructors will from time to time introduce certain elements of anatomy to our students as they relate to the skeleton. Imagine being in this guy's class. Enjoy.

2010 / 2011 Fall Winter Session

We have decided to run a Fall / Winter Session that will start up on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 and run until Sunday, February 27, 2011.


Each week there will be four 3 hour classes for a total of 228 hours of instruction.
Classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays.

APW will run this session based on sufficient enrollment.
We will decide early in the week of August 16th whether the session has sufficient enrollment to go ahead.

New Portfolio Workshop International Student

.......happy to say that our new PWI student had her first classes today.

She will be spending a month with us doing a serious intensive program in life drawing for animation to help her put together a portfolio to apply for work in the industry.
We had a great chat this morning about making the animation portfolio, and the kinds of work she'll be focusing on with her team of four instructors and two T.A.'s.

She will work with the six of us on a one to one basis for the month, drawing in classes for 6 hours every day with the model, and spending Saturday and Sunday working on her drawing of animals at the ROM.
On top of that, she has 4 to 5 hours of homework everyday to complete for the following day.

I believe She's going to take off like a drawing rocket!!

PWI is the Cadillac of educational services...tailored to suit the needs of each individual student.

First Life Drawing Class of 2010/2011 Workshop

I started teaching the new group of Workshop students on May 1 and I must say that they look to be very promising in terms of their potential for turning out some great portfolios......
There is a wide variety of people with different art backgrounds in this group.
I find it so pleasurable to teach a group of eager students all focused on the same basic goals.

The main point of Saturdays lesson with them was simple, and it's one I always start the new groups with:

capitalize on being beginners at this practice, and of possessing a beginners mind.

There is a tremendous freedom in not having to carry around the baggage of all the conclusions one has reached about a given object when one is trying to see it as it is, as if for the first time , so as to find out something new about it and draw that.

Gerard

Another Info Session at Sheridan

On Wed. April 14 in room A-107 from 11am to 12pm there will be an APW info session at Sheridan (Trafalgar campus in Oakville, ON). There will be some students from the recent session of the APW on hand who will bring their successful portfolios along with them to display and APW director, Vince Peets will be there to answer any questions and show some student drawing examples from other recent sessions of the APW. Should be fun.

There will be a public information session at Sheridan College on April 7 2010 in the Art Fundamentals area of the college in room A-107 from 11am to 12pm.
The purpose of this session is to provide information to students interested in attending the upcoming 2010/2011 workshop.
Topics covered at the info session include; the Workshop program content and portfolio viewing as well as a chance to meet former Workshop students currently attending the Sheridan Animation Program.

Everyone welcome.

See you there.

Gerard

Meet the Parents

Parents of students have a lot to say about the workshop. In this APWnetwork video, Fatima Merpouya talks about her son, Bahador. She shares her excitement about the progress that she was able to see in her son's drawings of animal and room/perspective studies. Bahador went on to study animation at Seneca's Animation Arts Centre and presently works in the animation industry in Toronto, Canada. In addition to his work as a Drawing for Animation instructor with the Animation Portfolio Workshop, Bahador's professional Visual Effects resume includes work on the feature film "The Incredible Hulk".

APW network on youtube!

Tune in to the APWnetwork. Listen in on some of the interviews with past students as well as some conversations with parents of Animation Portfolio Workshop students.

http://www.youtube.com/user/APWnetwork

NEW EXTENDED NINE MONTH SESSION. REGISTER NOW

Guess what......
Animation Portfolio Workshop just got even better then it already is!!

We are now offering a new extended nine month session.
That's 38 six hour classes, bringing the total number of instructional hours per session to 228.
We still offer classes one day per week (on the weekend), with the same excellent teacher to student ratio.

The New Spring Session will be starting up Saturday May 1, 2010, with the final class of the session falling on Saturday March 5, 2011.
Classes will run from 11:00am to 6:00pm.

We've made the change to our program thanks to the suggestions of many of our graduate students.
The aim is to have the end of the Workshop coincide as closely as possible with the deadlines for submitting portfolio's to animation schools like Sheridan and Seneca College.

Registration for the new 2010 spring session has commenced, so REGISTER NOW!!

Look forward to seeing you there!

REGISTER FOR FALL/ WINTER 2009 SESSION

Registration is underway for the upcoming 2009 fall/winter session of the the Animation Portfolio Workshop.

Visit:

http://www.portfolioworkshop.com/register.html

to begin the registration process.


Here are the details for the upcoming session:

Date and Time:

Fall/Winter Session
28 six hour classes
(weekends)
starting Saturday October 3, 2009
ending Saturday February 20, 2010
(please enquire for detailed schedule)
11:a.m. - 6 p.m.

See you there!!

Animation Portfolio Workshop Info Session Update

A short note to those of you who plan on attending one of the upcoming Animation Portfolio Workshop info sessions at Sheridan College.

Workshop Co-Director Vincent Peets will be in attendance at the Wednesday April 1st info session, held in room A-107 from 11am to 12pm, to meet with students and answer questions about the Workshop, and what makes for a decent animation school entry level portfolio.

Everyone welcome.

See you there.....

Gerard

INFORMATION SESSIONS AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE

There will be three information sessions at Sheridan College for students interested in attending the upcoming 2009 spring/summer session of the Animation Portfolio Workshop.

Plan to attend, and meet former workshop students who are currently in the animation program at Sheridan, as well as recent graduates of the winter 2008 workshop, who have been accepted into the Sheridan animation program .
Former Workshop students will be on hand with their portfolios for all to see.


Dates of sessions:

Wednesday April 1 2009: Room A107 from 11am to 12pm

Friday April 3 2009: Room A107 from 12pm to 1pm

Wednesday April 8 2009: Room A107 from 11am to 12pm

PORTFOLIO ACCEPTED IN BOTH SHERIDAN AND SENECA ANIMATION PROGRAMS

Here's a great film clip of Graham Finley, a former Animation Portfolio Workshop student who was accepted into both the Sheridan and the Seneca animation programs with the portfolio he created in the Workshop in 2005.


Enjoy.

SENECA INSTRUCTOR TALKS ABOUT ANIMATION PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP

Here's a really interesting piece of film from an interview we did with Brian Lemay, an instructor in the Seneca Animation Program.

It speaks for itself.....

INFORMATION SESSION AT SHERIDAN COLLEGE

There will be one last information session at Sheridan College this week on Wednesday April 9, in room A-143 from 12pm to 1pm.

For all of you who haven't made it into an animation program for the fall of 2008, this is a must attend event if your planning to reapply for next year.

See you there!!

Xiaoyu Wang Accepted Into Sheridan Animation

Happy news.......

The drawings posted here are from the portfolio of recent Workshop graduate Xiaoyu Wang.

Xiaoyu just received word today of her acceptance into the Sheridan animation program.

Well done!!

Accepted at Sheridan College and Seneca College

Congratulations are due to Jasper Davis, a recent graduate of the Animation Portfolio Workshop.

Jasper applied for, and was accepted into the computer animation programs at both Seneca and Sheridan.

Jasper, a BFA from York University, Joined the Workshop in the spring of '07 and worked with us on his portfolios until the beginning of March '08.

The work posted here is from his successful entry level portfolio......

Way to go Jasper!!!!!

Best of luck !

Animation Portfolio Workshop Information Sessions at Sheridan College

There will be several information sessions for anyone interested in learning more about the Animation Portfolio Workshop, and the new Spring/Summer session which starts at the end of April.

The information sessions will be held at Sheridan College, Trafalgar Campus on these dates:

Information Session 1

Weds.March 26 2008

11am to 12 noon

Room A143

Information Session 2

Weds. April 2 2008

12 noon to 1pm

Room A108

There will be examples of recent student portfolio's to view, as well as a question and answer period for anyone wishing to get more info on the program.

Please contact :Gerard Sternik / Director

Animation Portfolio Workshop

gerard@portfolioworkshop.com

416 651 3658 line 1

if you would like more detailed information.

Visit:

http://www.portfolioworkshop.com/