Animation still by Jessica Ruehl
In 2021, Northern Kentucky University’s School of the Arts (SOTA) Art & Design program established a new BFA degree track in animation, preparing students to pursue careers in storytelling with state-of-the-art digital tools and techniques. The program is Kentucky’s first dedicated BFA animation curriculum, and the only major of its kind offered in the tri-state region.
Though primarily based in SOTA, NKU’s animation major incorporates significant collaboration with the College of Informatics, merging leading edge technology with creative innovation to provide students with the skills to produce 2D and 3D animation at a professional level. Developed with help from industry consultant Allison Craig, supervising director at Titmouse Studios, the program puts graduates on the right track to attain careers in animation through motion graphics, television, multimedia or film. “The multi-media emergence has created opportunities for designers and artists like never before,” said Brad McCombs, Head of NKU’s Art & Design program. “Look at the end credits of any animated film, short or series to see the hundreds upon hundreds of unique creative careers available to artists today.” Read on to meet some of the people inspiring the next generation of animators at NKU.
“The multi-media emergence has created opportunities for designers and artists like never before."
If you grew up during the early ‘00s, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen a movie that NKU lecturer Tom Capizzi has worked on. A former CG supervisor, art director and modeler, his credits include “The Barnyard”, “Scooby-Doo”, and “Garfield”. His background in commercial art, however, goes back much further. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s Industrial and Product Design program, Capizzi began his career in the late ‘80s doing hand drawn illustrations of jet engine cross-sections for GE Aerospace and toy packaging for Kenner.
“All of a sudden, somebody came up with this thing called Adobe Illustrator, and they didn't need my hand skills anymore,” Capizzi says. “I needed to figure out how to use that computer, and I did. I moved to Santa Barbara, California and worked at a company called Wavefront, who were pioneers of 3D. I was doing full time work and doing user interface design, and then I'll stay another eight hours and teach myself how to use 3D.”
A call from a friend who worked at Atari Games led him to his first job working with CGI, leading teams of artists on arcade titles like “San Francisco Rush” and “Primal Rage”. Later, in 1997, he’d move on to work at the VFX/animation studio Rhythm and Hues, where he gained much of his experience in film.
"I'm So Scared" by Mary Bays
Capizzi has taught at NKU since the Fall 2022 semester, when he taught a Character Animation course that bridged the gap between working in 2D and 3D.
“We’d do a hand-drawn project and then we’d do a 3D project that would be roughly the same thing: walk cycles, sitting up, standing and other stuff like that,” he says. “That gave them a well-rounded background in animation as a whole.”
He recommends that students interested in animation use their free time to pursue independent projects outside of their normal coursework.
“Maybe write a self-published comic book or try to learn some software that you can get for free as a student,” he says. “Also, take a look at the fine arts exhibitions on the third floor of the Fine Arts Building in the University Galleries. They’re given so much creative freedom, and I think it’s huge to be able to express yourself like that.”
While Capizzi’s courses take place within SOTA, College of Informatics professor Sunil Ketty’s expertise in 3D Digital Design and Digital Effects (DFX) is also integral to the animation major. As part of the program’s track, he teaches courses like Media Aesthetics, 2D Design, 3D Modeling and 3D Lighting & Texturing, tethering the two colleges together.
“The core focus of the DFX program is to gain knowledge, skill, and techniques with 3D computer art, design, & animation,” Ketty says. “The overlap between the schools occurs between traditional animation, character development and the fine arts. Students apply these learned techniques through the implementation of 3D tools. Our program helps expand the understanding of character design, story, and performance through 3D applications.”
Ketty worked in video game development during the late ‘90s after graduating from Bowling Green State University with a BFA in Computer Art & Animation, handling 3D modeling, animation, lighting, texturing, and special effects. He has been teaching in higher education since 2006, leading him to a tenure-track position with NKU’s DFX program in 2017.
“The DFX program is special because we offer a well-rounded education in all things 3D Computer Design,” he says. “The benefits of the program allow our students to develop strengths in a variety of disciplines, opening up more opportunities for careers in different areas.”
Source: LAIKA
Even before the establishment of the university’s official animation major, NKU graduates have found success in the field.
When Jessica Holtman enrolled at NKU in 2014, the spatial arts major had no idea she’d be working in animation after graduation. Growing up, she always had an appreciation for the handcrafted puppets that starred in stop-motion movies like “Coraline” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, but had never considered that working with them for a living could be a viable career path. That all changed when she stumbled on a behind-the-scenes video about “Kubo and the Two Strings”, nominated for Best Animated Picture at the 2016 Academy Awards.
“It stitched in videos of people working at their desks and making the puppets,” Holtman says. “It was one of those eye-watering moments where you’re like, ‘I want that.’”
Faculty emeritus Steven Finke, sculpture area coordinator, encouraged Holtman to see where that initial spark of inspiration would lead.
“He told me to really pay attention to those moments: That’s your brain telling you what you really should be,” she says. “It wasn’t like I shifted everything to go into animation. I did something like a 1% change in my life and artistic practice. It wasn’t a huge difference, but as time went on, it became bigger and took me on a completely different route than I expected.”
Five years since graduation, Holtman is currently living out that dream, working in the Landscapes department at LAIKA Studios: the Portland-based animation company responsible for “Kubo” and “Coraline”. She recently visited NKU’s freshman Art & Design class to give a presentation about her current work.
LAIKA’s upcoming project is feature-length adaptation of the young adult novel Wildwood, a low-fantasy tale that takes place in an enchanted forest just outside of Portland. Holtman’s job is to craft realistic backdrops for the film, from the shops of the city’s St. John’s neighborhood to verdant wilderness.
“We put everything that’s organic on the set: trees, dirt, rocks, roots, puddles, sticks, twigs, flowers, or anything else you’d find outside,” she says. “You would think, ‘Oh, you could just put dirt on a set,’ but you can’t. It’s not very sterile, and it has microbes in it. It’s alive. That's what you want in dirt generally, but not necessarily for this particular practice. We want everything to be fairly clean.”
The journey to LAIKA, however, started with learning to make busts and sculptures out of the materials commonly used by stop-motion studios, like silicone. One of these projects was a silicone self-portrait, which was purchased by the school and is currently on display in the Fine Arts building.
“It’s kind of creepy, but I’m really proud of it because it was the first thing that I ever made in silicone,” she says. “It turned out well, and it ended up winning best of show. It’s very important to me.”
Following her senior year, Holtman landed a job at Life Formations (now LF Studios), a Cincinnati-based company that produces animatronics and sculptures for theme parks.
“In the year and a half that I worked there, I learned so much,” she says. “But in all that time, I was doing this to ultimately get to LAIKA. A friend of mine who was interested applied and got hired there, so I submitted a profile as well. I didn't feel like I was qualified to submit for the animation department, but I felt more than qualified for the art departments. I was lucky enough to get an interview and got in.”
Holtman’s advice to students interested in pursuing a career in the animation industry is to make small changes to your daily routine, which can add up over time.
“You don’t have to transform your life in one fell swoop. You can watch five minutes of stop motion a day or sketch for twenty minutes,” she says. “It can end up being life-changing.”
She also recommends taking opportunities as they come, crediting NKU retention specialist Candice Van Loveren Geis with helping her gain valuable experience as a student.
“I really wanted to do things, and so she would keep giving me more and more opportunities. That could be volunteering, working on a grant program or doing an after-school class for kids,” Holtman says. “I learned something from every one of these little things that I did, and they all kind of accumulated into being able to talk to people, being able to organize my thoughts and being able to organize people. All three of those things together meant that I could potentially take on leadership roles.”
This new program at NKU is at the forefront of equipping students with the right skills and experience to embark on an animation career. Visit our website to learn more about this program or the 14 of other creative tracks available in Art & Design. The possibilities are truly endless.
