▲ Sheridan student Tim Melnyk created this course animation with the assistance of Wacom Cintiq tablets
Advertising feature: The prestigious Sheridan College has a reputation for excellence in animation production – and Wacom tablets help give its students a creative edge
Sheridan College is one of the oldest and most prestigious animation schools in the world, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate students what DreamWorks CEO and founder Jeffrey Katzenberg once described as “the best in animation training”.
Founded in 1967, and offering animation courses since 1971, Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario attracts animation students from all over the world. After graduation, students go on to secure jobs at leading studios including Pixar, DreamWorks, Nelvana and Electronic Arts.
Along with a one-year postgraduate visual effects programme, Sheridan offers three animation courses: a four-year Bachelor of Animation degree, a one-year postgraduate programme in Computer Animation, and a one-year postgraduate programme in Computer Animation (Digital Character Animation).
▲ “I primarily work on Wacom products now the industry is mainly digital,” says Miranda Quesnel. “At home I use an Intuos5, but our labs at Sheridan are equipped with Cintiqs”
BA Animation coordinator Mark Mayerson explains that Sheridan’s teaching philosophy is to produce graduates with all-round filmmaking skills to give them the best chances of success in the world of work. “We produce generalists. Students learn to make a complete film by themselves, starting with nothing. We believe that this maximises our students’ chances to stay employed in a constantly evolving business. They go on to work in features, videogames, TV series and mobile apps, and their jobs run the gamut from design, storyboarding, modelling, rigging, animation, lighting and compositing.”
Sheridan’s training environment is both formal and studio-like, tailored to the needs of the class and the projects. “There are lectures and demonstrations,” explains Mayerson, “And the students have studio spaces to do their work and where they can interact with instructors on a one-to-one basis.”
As students progress through their course and the demands on their creativity and productivity grow, Sheridan ensures that they have access to pro-level equipment – including graphics tablets to help them interact with software in a more natural way.
“The third-year studio is divided into ten ‘mini studios’ to facilitate the third-year group films,” says BA Animation technologist and instructor Mario Positano. “Each mini studio has four high-performance computers and four 21-inch Wacom Cintiqs. Fourth-year students are required to complete a thesis film, so their studios are more open, and equipped with over 50 computers and 50 large Wacom Cintiqs.”
Sheridan has 150 21-inch Cintiqs, 10 12-inch Cintiqs, and 35 drawing tablets available to its animation students. “We started with the small 12-inch Cintiqs over five years ago,” says Positano. “These Cintiqs are still being used, but we’ve added a sea of the large Cintiqs and keep adding more every year. Right now we’re planning some more changes for September, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see more Cintiqs on the list. They are a critical tool to our studios and our students’ future.”
▲ “This year we have nice 21-inch Cintiqs in our studio,” says third-year Bachelor of Animation Tim Melnyk. “They feel so natural because you are drawing right on to the screen”
PROFESSIONAL SETTING
“Cintiqs were turning up in many studios,” says Mayerson, “so they allow our students to work in an environment closer to the professional environments they’ll experience after graduation. Also, the majority of students prefer to be working on a tablet and drawing directly into their software package of choice. There’s no longer a need to scan drawings or to shoot drawings on linetesters if the drawings have been done directly on a computer using a tablet.”
“An unexpected benefit that has surfaced is the use of these Wacom Cintiqs beyond 2D digital animation,” adds Positano. “More and more students are gaining an interest in 3D modelling with ZBrush as well as painting 3D models. Speaking to some of these students, they mention that the process feels more organic with the Cintiqs.”
THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Third-year Bachelor of Animation students Tim Melnyk and Miranda Quesnel have found that Sheridan’s generalist approach to training has enabled them to grow as artists, and are confident that they are learning the techniques they’ll need to eventually break into the industry. “Sheridan offers a diverse combination of courses, so we get to do a bit of everything, from life drawing to animating to layouts and painting,” says Melnyk. “I think it’s important to be versatile, even though I prefer certain fields over others.”
▲ Work by Quesnel. “I’ve fallen in love with the collaborative process”
“I’ve really fallen in love with the collaborative process that animated filmmaking is,” says Quesnel. “I love that I’m still constantly learning and figuring out better ways to communicate visually. I probably will still be learning for the rest of my animation career, and I think that’s fantastic.”
“The most satisfying aspect is definitely seeing how far myself and my peers have come since we started our journey into animation just a few years ago,” adds Melnyk. “I discovered a huge pile of sketchbooks the other day with all of my old work. I was a little bit horrified at what I once thought was good, but then it puts everything in perspective and shows you how much you’ve grown, as a person and as an artist.”
Both Melnyk and Quesnel enjoy regular use of Wacom equipment as they develop their projects. “Wacom tablets have been an amazing tool that I couldn’t imagine working without,” says Melnyk. “My main passion lies in painting backgrounds and environmental concept art, and the tablets allow me to work far faster and more accurately than any other tool I’ve worked with. There’s no disconnect between the hand and monitor, since you’re drawing directly on the work space, so I have total control over line quality, just as if I were drawing with pencil on paper. This makes tasks like sketching or animating on the computer a lot more comfortable and accurate. Most importantly, it’s an extremely fast and intuitive way to work, which means less time fiddling over things and more time making art.”
“I use Wacom tablets to animate, draw, paint, and composite,” adds Quesnel. “Basically, anything I do for my programme, I do on a Cintiq now. I sketch using them, storyboard on them, animate with them – all of the artwork is done on either a Wacom Cintiq or a Wacom tablet. They’re fast, intuitive, and an essential part of my workflow.”
BEYOND SHERIDAN
Given Sheridan’s 40-year endeavour to provide its students with the best animation tools and techniques, it’s no surprise that graduates have no trouble finding work in some of the industry’s best renowned studios. Mark Mayerson says that Sheridan has a tried-and-tested routine for helping its animation students to achieve their desired job roles. “We have a co-op for the summer between years three and four, and an industry day at the end of year four where student films are screened for industry guests.”
“We also host an online portfolio system to which students can post their art, animation and demo reels,” adds Mario Positano. Instead of displaying the artwork in a blog form, it has 30+ categories a student can post to. An interested studio will have access to the individual student’s portfolio, and only see the categories the student has used. This has proven to be a useful tool for both the co-op process and for graduate employment.”
▲ Background painting by Tim Melnyk. “We get to do a bit of everything”
“Sheridan has a lot of great connections, and relationships with small and large studios, which is great when the time comes to find a job,” says student Tim Melnyk. “It’s a very competitive industry, and ultimately it’s up to the individual, but having a name like Sheridan in your corner certainly doesn’t hurt!”
NEW RELEASE
Meet the new Wacom Cintiq 13HD
The latest interactive tablet to join Wacom’s Cintiq family is the 13HD, which combines high-definition resolution with advanced controls and comfort to enhance your 3D and 2D creative work. Its best-in-class interactive screen is able to display 16.7 million colours at a true HD resolution of 1,920×1,080 pixels, enabling you to enjoy rich, detailed graphics as you work. There’s a choice of four viewing angles using the supplied stand, and the screen has a comfortable viewing angle of 178 degrees.
The Cintiq 13HD is accompanied by a battery-free Wacom Pro Pen, with 2,048 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity. The ergonomic design gives you comfortable and precise control. A complementary case stores the Pro Pen and any spare nibs. Enhancing your control further are a Rocker Ring and four ExpressKeys, each of which you can customise with a keyboard shortcut equivalent for triggering favourite commands in an instinctive way.
The Cintiq 13HD is available at the beginning of April from selected retailers and your regional Wacom eStore.