Max the Mutt was founded by artists and animators with a mandate to be available to talent.  Before we were diploma granting or even knew what a career college was, we were indeed very affordable and  almost everyone who took courses with us (some subsidized by the CBC and Nelvana) ended up employed.

Once we applied to become a legally registered college tuition was forced up to cover new costs. Those costs are very high. Tuition is as low as we can make it while offering top quality programs, attempting to pay staff and instructors fairly (we’re not there yet), and staying financially secure.

I’m writing this in response mainly to Canadian students who may question why our tuition is somewhat higher than public colleges and universities. The answer is simple:  in Canada, your tuition at a public school is supported by tax payer dollars. Max the Mutt actually supports your education with less revenue per student than public schools receive. We also try to be fair to international students and, unlike public colleges and universities,  require only slightly more tuition than  Canadians pay.

It’s been a hard row to hoe, but, for those of us who care about art education and passing skills on to the next generation, well worth it. For me, since I’m the lead for Concept Art, seeing the amazing growth and the quality of work done by year 2 and 3 CA students is motivational.

It required enormous effort, dedication, and struggle on the part of many individuals to get this school established. Schools are living organisms and require attention, fine tuning, and new ideas to stay vital.  Behind the scenes, we’re still hard at work . The only thing that can make an endeavor like this worth the effort is the people we meet along the way (I stole that from Noelle Belgrave who’s worked hard on the nuts and bolts of operations), and the satisfaction of knowing that we’re helping to keep the arts we love alive.

Without students who appreciate what we’re trying to do for them,  and dedicated faculty, models and office staff,  it wouldn’t be worthwhile. Mediocrity is easy.  Maintaining excellence is hard. The positive energy flowing through the school  inspires me to come up with new ideas  and gives me the energy to keep working and stick to our core principles.

I know the rest of the faculty and staff would agree. We have some very well known people instructing who could earn much more money teaching elsewhere. They are part of the Max the Mutt community. They are with us because of the small classes, dedicated students and their appreciation for a school that respects them and values their ideas.

Our strengths are our willingness to allow the people who know the subjects design and alter the courses, and our insistence that students have a professional attitude about deadlines, attendance, and taking direction. It’s a winning combination.

Canadian students, in my opinion, are getting an education equal to top programs in the US that cost triple our tuition. The proof of the pudding is in the tasting.

Check out these year two and three Concept Art  blogspots:

Jake Griffith:   jakeg98.blogspot.com (year 2)

YEAR 3:

Kim Linn:   kimlinn.blogspot.com

John Newton: http://www.johnthebomb.com

Andrea Scott: http://andreascottportfolio.blogspot.com

Michele Assarasakorn:  http://candycrayon.blogspot.com

Including exploration of heads & features.

Learn to draw the head and to achieve a good portrait drawing:

• Explore anatomy of head, features, neck, and shoulder girdle;
• Learn to measure and achieve correct head proportions;

(more…)

The world we live in can be harsh.  Our culture seems to be having problems caring about anything but maximum profits. I wonder how many projects that have real merit have been shelved because the powers that be didn’t feel they’d make enough money, not that they wouldn’t make a profit, that they wouldn’t make a huge profit.

We’re deciding for our children what their taste will be by denying them access to films that don’t fit the profile of what’s “selling” right now. We’re limiting their exposure to a wider range of content and styles.

Technology may change the game for the better. Film makers can already distribute through Amazon. When creating an animated film becomes less costly, film makers will be able to bring films to life that just can’t seem to get produced today for purely financial reasons, and they’ll be able to distribute through outlets like Amazon!

My guess is that you lucky people who are currently in school will have much more freedom as creators in the future than those of us who are trying to create now.

Speaking of being in school, we are now in the heart of second semester and the time of year when people with mood problems often find themselves depressed. The Canadian government is asking everyone to take vitamin D supplements!  It seems that up here in the north, we are deficient. Lack of sufficient levels of vitamin D is associated with depression, and can also leave you vulnerable to cancer. Please check this out with your doctor, or look it up on a reputable web site. You can get vitamin D in liquid form and take it as a tasteless drop a day. My suggestion is to take natural vitamins, not synthetic vitamins.

I would also like to suggest almonds, trail mix and apples as snack foods that will give you ongoing energy. Stay away from processed foods, especially soft drinks and candy that can give you a rush followed by a crash. This advice is critical for students with a predisposition to depression, but really it’s sound advice for all of us.

( And my apologies: I hadn’t realized that soda pop had snuck into our vending machine! I’ve asked that it be replaced with water and juice.)

Last but not least, I’m determined that this week we’ll finally get some  work from Advanced Environment Design posted.  Please let me know if you’re as impressed with it as I am!

I’m writing this in answer to questions I’m asked on a regular basis!

There seems to be confusion about the difference between Video Game Design and Concept Art :  they are very different. The confusion is increased by the fact that many schools indicate that they teach both when in reality they are essentially teaching game design,  and offering a few concept art classes as part of the curriculum.

Video Game designers conceive and program games. Concept Artists design the environments, props,  and characters. To become a Concept Artist you will need more than one or two concept art courses.  This is a position that requires very developed art and design skills. Take a look at the curriculum of our four year diploma program in Concept Art for Animation and Video Games. Every course listed is part of the knowledge base required for this profession!

Although studying illustration in a degree or diploma program will teach you some of the skills required, they will not all be covered. Concept Art is really a mix of illustration, traditional fine art  skills, product design, animation and applied computer skills. It took us a year to work out our curriculum and we’ve been fine tuning it ever since.

I hope this helps!

Maxine

I’m happy to write that first year animation students are having a really exciting time in their first classical animation course, and Tina Seemann tells me  their enthusiasm makes it a joy to work with them.

Twenty year one students have signed on (pending successful completion of the first diploma) for the Advanced Diploma in 3D Computer Animation and Production. We’ll be introducing this group to 3D with workshops during years 2 and 3.

The current year 3 animation students are working on  the animatics for their film projects under the direction of award winning director Jean Pillote. The  films will be completed during a 3 week intensive at the end of this academic year. I’m looking forward to seeing them !

Carla Drmay,  Tina Seemann, James Miko, and the third year animation students recently visited Cuppa Coffee, a prize winning Toronto animation company, well known for stop motion animation, but also involved with computer animation. Three ’09 graduates are working there, as well as some graduates from former years, and the company is very happy with their professional attitude! The report is that Cuppa Coffee is expanding and has added many computer stations.

In fact, the animation industry in the GTA seems to be rebounding from a very slow fall.  The spring should see many companies ramping up.

Sequential Arts: Comic Books and Graphic Novels and Classical and Computer Animation Basics students who are slated to graduate in the spring, will be using Blog Spot to post their blogs very soon. Year 3 Concept Art for Animation and  Video Games students will also post. There will be links to all their blogs on our gallery page. Since all graduating students must put up a blog as part of their portfolio development course, everyone  who wants to will be able to see the full range of work produced by all Max the Mutt’s senior students.

That’s all the news for now. I’m hoping to have the time this week to get some recent art work from Concept Art students posted!