Monday, December 15, 2014

Animation pencil test - Turner Internship (Hanna Barbera) 1993




I thought it would be fun to repost this little animation test from a 1993 summer internship in Hollywood. Our assignment was to show a character caught steeling cookies from a cookie jar, and "Jurassic Park" had recently been released. When everyone's tests were completed, the instructors held a literal gong show, complete with a little gong for the tests that were less-than-par. Thankfully, I survived that one!

Shortly after, I brought this pencil test along as part of my reel and portfolio to Industrial Light and Magic (ILM); they had flown me up to be interviewed as they ramped up the CG animation in "Casper". It was so awesome to meet people like Spaz Williams, who had recently built and animated the groundbreaking digital T-Rex in the aforementioned "Jurassic Park"... and there I was timidly showing this little guy to them!

After I then finished my second year at CalArts, on June 6, 1994, I was hired at Disney Feature Animation in Glendale. Ten years later, when the Florida studio was closing, ILM was one of the many studios that came down to look at prospective artists, and once again I showed them my work.