I’m amazed that it’s time for the new academic year to begin! Everyone has been working hard to get the school ready. Special thanks to all the students who’ve been giving us a hand ! When you graduate, it will be easy to answer questions about you from recruiters- they always seem to ask about generosity and team spirit.

Niall Dowdell, besides being a 3rd year animation student, is sharing his wealth of computer knowledge with us and has helped us to set up the new fourth year room. He is now part time staff.

Besides the computer desks, the fourth year animation room includes a meeting and lounging area, classical animation desks, lockers, and a microwave. No coffee maker or kettle yet!

Tina and Niall have also moved and redesigned the classical animation room. You will be surprised! The line testing lab and the computer lab have also had an overhaul.

Which reminds me: OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO EVERYONE AT TOON BOOM! Their technology is making it possible for everyone - including students - to produce first rate work more efficiently. It amazes me that they aren’t better known to the general public since shows like The Simpsons use their software, and all the major companies (Disney, Pixar, Warner Brothers) are using their software. The beautiful part is that you can animate classically with Toon Boom…or any other way…or combine elements of classical, 2D computer and 3D! This has to revolutionize animation. We are now introducing their line testing program, so that classical work can be easily imported straight into 3rd year films using Toon Boom software. I imagine that some students will design backgrounds with the computer, but animate classically. I can hardly wait to see the ‘09 film projects!

We are also excited about running the second year of Concept Art for the first time!

We have amazing new faculty joining us, including Don Gauthier who was an environment designer for Nelvana, and has now joined a new 3D animation company as Art Director (head of concept art). He’s teaching Intro to Concept Art, and will also help 4th year animation students with the concept designs for their group film.

(I know the web site needs an update: we need to add new faculty to the faculty page, and add the ‘08 gallery pages. We are working as fast we can and have had to prioritize. We should get it all done within the next few weeks and thank you for your patience.)

I’ve been having a great time preparing slide shows for Concept Art students! So far I’ve completed one on Velasquez and two on Degas , one on Cezanne, and I’m in the middle of putting something together as an intro to direct and indirect painting methods.

Several important announcements :

Congratulations to Raechel Dickey who is a finalist for the Teletoon scholarship!

We also want to thank Richard Pace, Van Olson , and Bev Maguire for everything they contributed to Max the Mutt.

Richard helped to organize both the Illustration and Concept Art Diploma Programs, and is now very busy with his own work in comics.

Van helped set-up many wonderful aspects of our recruiting and admissions procedures, including real support for out of town and international students (including the tour of Toronto and picnic on the Toronto Islands), and the BBQ, which all of us are looking forward to!

Bev Maguire has returned to working as a Production Manager.

We wish them all the best luck as they pursue other goals.

Incoming and returning students and faculty, the excitement is building and we really look forward to this academic year!

To those of you who are visiting the Blog, please don’t hesitate to visit us in person ! We are happy to give tours. just give us a call and book a time.

Max the Mutt Staff: Just a little treat to say thank you so much for a wonderful two weeks.  I have learned so much and am inspired to have a lot of fun “playing” with Flash in the following months.  The care, compassion and kindness you exhibit is phenomenal.  Your full time students are so lucky to be able to attend Max the Mutt for the high calibre of instruction and attention to their every need!

Glo-Dawn Warkentin-Coulter, Faculty, Richmond Hill High School

Hi Carla,
The maquette class was really fun, I think everyone got a lot out of it ! Steve Millard was a great teacher for the class, I hope he enjoyed it as much as we did. I’ll keep my eyes open for more fun sounding classes !
Have a great summer and best of luck with things at Max the Mutt !
Many thanks,
Tammy

The below testimonial was written by a student enrolled in our Character Maquette workshop this summer with Steve Millard.

“I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten this post a couple times and am still a bit at a loss for words to describe how much I like this place.

So, instead of a huge wall of text, I’ll just say that if you guys are interested in the school, after you talk to the people there, or meet them, you certainly wont want to go anywhere else ”
Visit www.conceptart.org to view comment. This post is #372.
Fernando.

Concept Art Site

NORTH AMERICA’S DESIGN EDUCATION FAIR FOR YOUTH
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE
NORTH BUILDING, 255 FRONT ST WEST, Toronto, ON

Mark your calendars! On October 1st and 2nd, senior high school students will discover the educational options available to them in graphic design, interior and fashion design, and design for video and film.“Explore Design ‘08” will feature 75 interactive exhibits from leading educational institutions, all designed specifically for students. There’ll be more than 30 seminars, workshops and presentations given by leaders and celebrities in the design industries, including Paul Rowan, Co-founder of UMBRA, HGTV’s Designer Guys, and Allen Kemp, founder of Silver Jeans.

Examples of topics will include skateboard design, video game design, and logo design. The schedule and program details will be available in May 2008. For more information, contact info@exploredesign.ca.

Max the Mutt is pleased to help promote this outstanding event. Visit our booth #38.

Explore Design 2008

ed-poster-2008.pdf

September 17 - 21, 2008

The Ottawa International Animation Festival is held every year in the fall. It’s a great meeting place for top animators and companies from all over North America and the world. Max the Mutt has attended every year since the school was founded, and we’ll be back again in 2008.

Ottawa Animation Fesitival

This year’s Ottawa International Animation Festival poster was designed by Ottawa artist Howie Tsui.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brad Johnston was a sensitive, talented young artist whose life ended too soon. He was a graduate of Max the Mutt and his family and friends established the scholarship foundation as a memorial. As a registered charity, donations are tax deductible. So far, the foundation has raised enough money to provide one full scholarship a year. The school itself grants two three year scholarships every year and simply doesn’t receive revenue for these students! Since our mandate is to keep tuition as affordable as possible without compromising the quality of our programs, this is difficult for us to maintain.

Max the Mutt also helps students who are working hard, have run into financial difficulties and don’t qualify for student loans from the bank. We provide them with tuition loans which are interest free until six months after they graduate or leave the program, and are then paid back to us at the lowest possible interest rate (bank prime until this year, and now prime).

These policies reflect our commitment to our students. However, we really could use some assistance! The scholarship fund is a totally independent non-profit registered charity for which donor companies or individuals can claim tax deductions and will get public recognition.

Checks made out to The Bradley Mark Johnston Educational Foundation can be sent to us at Max the Mutt and we will forward them to Mr. Stewart Johnston. Scholarships may also be established in your company’s name, and will be listed on our website. Every endowed scholarship will have a plaque at the school with the name of the endowing individual or company, and a brass nameplate for each recipient.

All donations, no matter how small, are welcome and will make a difference in a talented young artist’s life. If you share our commitment to passing on traditional skills, please consider helping our community.

The foundation is in its infancy and we need your help to build it. We are also interested in any ideas you may have for fund raising.

For more information, please check the website and/or feel free to contact us at 416-703-6877 (1-877-486-MUTT) or info@maxthmutt.com. You may also leave a message on this blog.

Thank you all.

Life Drawing Part 1:

This life-drawing course introduces students to drawing the human figure. It focuses on basic exercises in gesture, contour, weight and modeled drawing. Students are encouraged to work in a sketchbook daily. Materials used include pencil, ink, charcoal, and conte crayon. Major animation studios recommend this course of study such as Disney and Warner Bros.

Date: July 6 - 17, 2009 (July 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Class Size: Limited to 15
Cost: $400.00 + G.S.T. (10 weekday mornings)

Principles of Drawing:

This course will teach students how to express 3-dimensional form using shape, line and tonal pattern. Emphasis will be on composition, proportion, 3-D solidity, construction and weight. Students will learn how to create the illusion of 3-dimensional form on a 2-dimensional surface.

Date: July 6 - 17, 2009 (July 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Class Size: Limited to 15
Cost: $400.00 + G.S.T. (10 weekday afternoons)

Life Drawing Part 2:

This life drawing course is Part 2 and further introduces students to drawing the human figure. It focuses on basic exercises in gesture, contour, weight and modeled drawing. Students are encouraged to work in a sketchbook daily. Materials used include pencil, ink, charcoal , and conte crayon. This course of study is recommended by major animtaion studios such as Disney and Warner Bros.
Date: July 20 - 31, 2009 (July 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Class Size: Limited to 15
Cost: $400.00 + G.S.T. (10 weekday mornings)

Perspective and Structural Drawing:

This course helps students develop skills in the basic mechanics of linear perspective. Students will learn one and two point perspective, how to construct a plan view, how to draw incline planes and ellipses. They will also apply their knowledge to drawing both still life objects and imaginary environments.
Date: July 20 - 31, 2009 (July 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
Time: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Class Size: Limited to 15
Cost: $400.00 + G.S.T. (10 weekday afternoons)

Contact: Carla Drmay,

Max The Mutt Animation School

952 Queen Street West, Suite 300 Toronto, M6J 1G8

Tel: (416) 703-6877 / Toll Free 877-486-MUTT Fax: (416) 703-3930

Email: cdrmay@maxthemutt.com

What’s been happening lately? Oh, so much! Tina’s (Tina Seemann, Animation Director) returned from vacation in Vancouver and is raring to go, setting up new equipment and getting ready for September. The “Learn to Draw” summer workshops have completed their first week . Dave Ross has developed a new first year illustration course on drawing figures from your imagination, and, with Ty’s assistance, several new enthusiastic and talented instructors will be joining the Illustration for Sequential Arts program.

In fact we have many new instructors joining us in all the programs and I’m personally excited about them. Sometime soon, in addition to our faculty listings, we’ll try to introduce them all to you in greater depth.

We’ve been working very hard on all those things I never knew took so much time. Besides looking for instructors who are right for our programs, we’ve been trying to get all the scheduling done. A faculty composed of working professionals makes the school exciting and I wouldn’t have it any other way…but you can imagine what it means to schedule them all!

By the way, we plan to update the student galleries as soon as we can get to it. This year’s work is outstanding. Most of it is still on display, so if you live near by please come and take a look.

I’m hoping to get all my work done by the end of July so I can have a real break in August. I will take my own advice and get into my studio without any distractions and get re-energized before September. I’m full of painting ideas.

By the way, we will continue to accept applications for ‘08. Last year we had a sudden rush of applications in July, and at least 8 of them were people we really wanted with us. We finally decided to open a new section, and were glad we did since many of those students turned out to be great additions to the community. Based on that experience, we’re doing the same thing this year.

I hope more of you will start to leave comments. Please feel free to let me know if there are subjects you’d like me to speak about. If I don’t have the answers, I’ll find someone who does.

I hope you are all having fun, painting and drawing, spending time looking at nature, getting some exercise, and enjoying some night life too! This season seems to go so quickly….

I’ve been taking a vacation from writing for the Blog, but this news is too important to the animation and comic book industry, and I wanted to share it with all of you. I found it on the Huffington Post.

By BROOKS BARNES

Published: June 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Google is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the Web, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed.

Enlarge This Image

Seth MacFarlane, the 34-year-old creator of “Family Guy.”

In September, Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy” on television, will unveil a carefully guarded new project called “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.” Unlike “Family Guy,” which is broadcast on Fox, this animation series will appear exclusively on the Internet.

The innovative part involves the distribution plan. Google will syndicate the program using its AdSense advertising system to thousands of Web sites that are predetermined to be gathering spots for Mr. MacFarlane’s target audience, typically young men. Instead of placing a static ad on a Web page, Google will place a “Cavalcade” video clip.

Advertising will be incorporated into the clips in varying ways. In some cases, there will be “preroll” ads, which ask viewers to sit through a TV-style commercial before getting to the video. Some advertisers may opt for a banner to be placed at the bottom of the video clip or a simple “brought to you by” note at the beginning.

Mr. MacFarlane, who will receive a percentage of the ad revenue, has created a stable of new characters to star in the series, which will be served up in 50 two-minute episodes.

In an interview, he described the installments as “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier.”

For a more substantial fee, Mr. MacFarlane has been working with advertisers to animate original commercials that will run with “Cavalcade.” Google and Mr. MacFarlane would not reveal any of the advertisers, but the two said that several deals are among the largest ever landed by AdSense, which went into business in 2003.

Google, which calls the distribution service the Google Content Network, until now has only dabbled in distributing original content. In May, it announced a deal with The Washington Post to distribute real estate listings from the newspaper’s Web site in a similar manner.

But the partnership with Mr. MacFarlane represents a bold step into the distribution business, one that, if successful, will surely send shock waves through the entertainment business. “Cavalcade” is not only from a high-profile Hollywood talent, but also carries a multimillion-dollar production price tag, by far the largest amount spent on original Internet content to date.

“We feel that we have recreated the mass media,” said Kim Malone Scott, director of sales and operations for AdSense.

Until now, budgets for original Webisodes have peaked in the low six figures because creators have not been able to figure out a business model that allows for higher spending. Either advertisers have not wanted to pay, or it has been too difficult to attract a large enough audience to support the cost of television or movie-quality work.

But Media Rights Capital, a boutique production company that has the ability to invest about $400 million a year in movies, television and Internet episodes, thinks it has figured out a sustainable business model with the Google Content Network. Every time someone clicks on one of the syndicated videos, the associated advertiser pays a fee, with shares going to Mr. MacFarlane, Media Rights, Google and the Web site that generated the click.

“We believe the revenue could be formidable,” said Karl Austen, a lawyer who worked on the deal. “What is exciting is that this is a way to monetize the Internet immediately. Instead of creating a Web site and hoping Seth’s fans find it, we are going to push the content to where people are already at.”

Media Rights sells the advertising inventory. Asif Satchu, the company’s co-chief executive, would not reveal how much advertisers were being asked to pay, except to say that it is “significantly higher” than if they were placing the same ad via AdSense.

Hollywood’s powerful Endeavor talent agency helped shepherd Mr. MacFarlane through the negotiations, which started during a recent gap in the animator’s contract with 20th Century Fox. Mr. MacFarlane said he wanted to take a stab at an original Internet program because he was feeling constrained by the “taste police,” a k a the Federal Communications Commission.

Sitting in his office wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, Mr. MacFarlane described feeling stifled as a comedian by an F.C.C. crackdown in recent years on what it views as unsuitable language and situations on television. Mr. MacFarlane said he believed that the public’s appetite for raunchy humor and coarse language was only expanding and that television networks like Fox were having a harder time capturing viewers in part because they had to tread carefully or risk fines.

“I just felt I could be a lot more honest on the Internet,” he said.

Mr. MacFarlane started the project on the assumption that he would do 20-minute television episodes and break them into segments to dole out online.

“But that seemed a little odd and a little pointless,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you just release the whole thing at once?”

Google executives also provided him with stacks of data showing how people interact with Web video, including how long the average user will watch before clicking on something new. That prompted Mr. MacFarlane to scrap his original project and rebuild the idea from the ground up.

Each installment is different, but a typical one is titled “Mad Cow Disease.” The clip, which is 38 seconds long, opens with a news anchor reporting on an outbreak of mad cow disease in a dry fashion, detailing the debilitating effects of eating tainted beef. The clip cuts to a shocked male and female cow seated in a tidy kitchen with giant steaks on their plates.

For Mr. MacFarlane, 34, the venture is more than just adding to his already sizable fortune. (His new multiyear contract with Fox, signed this spring, is valued at nine figures.) One goal is to use the venture as a testing ground for new material and a way to ignite attention. At the very least, “Cavalcade” will become a DVD, but the hope is that part of the series will click with audiences and perhaps lead to television or even animated movie projects.

Indeed, in a watch-what-you-want, when-you-want world, the standard processes of rolling out new television programs are breaking down. Even a decade ago, putting a new show on a network schedule would assure that it would be exposed to most of the country; people would either respond or they wouldn’t. Today, with television ratings in particular dwindling, creators like Mr. MacFarlane have to find new ways to introduce new material.

Nobody knows how content can catch fire in unexpected ways more than Mr. MacFarlane. In 2002, “Family Guy” was canceled for poor ratings after running for three seasons. But the irreverent series continued to make new fans through DVD sales. In 2005, Fox reversed itself, citing strong DVD sales, and “Family Guy” has gone on to be one of the biggest comedy hits on television.

(Note: for many years there was no market for shorts. Now there’s a market for short shorts….)