Teaching to Navigate in Stormy Seas
During the past year, we have witnessed the animation business in a state of flux. It has been a perfect storm of industry downturns, layoffs, canceled projects, generative AI technologies, and labor strikes. Thanks to social media, animation students are more aware of the current state of affairs than in previous decades. Adding to this is the existing problem of student mental wellness since the COVID-19 lockdown. As a result, 2024 is challenging animation educators like never before. How can we inspire and encourage the dreams of young artists when so much media is telling them to get into something else?
Join our moderators Tom Sito (50-year animation veteran and professor at USC) and Kathy Baur (assistant professor at CSU Fullerton) with guests Tamara Lusher (story artist on Moana 2), Carol Wyatt (color supervisor on Rick and Morty and instructor at CSU Long Beach), and Mark Pudleiner (former Disney animator and Vancouver Film School professor) to discuss lighting a fire under aspiring animators when all the matches seem dampened.