Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500204
12 KEYFRAME MODEL DESIGNER AMBER HARDIN HAS BUILT A CAREER BY BLENDING STRUCTURAL THINKING, IMAGINATION, AND ART. BUILDING DREAMS Being sent to her room as a kid was not exactly a punishment for Amber Hardin. "Because what was in my room? An entire world that was going on in my head," she says. In her room she had two choices: Legos or drawing. The Model Designer, whose career in the animation industry has spanned more than 25 years, was not one to follow the instructions on the Lego box and instead came up with her own fantastical creations. As for drawing, hours would fly by as she lost herself in the world of her imagination. Hardin recalls her entire family watching Saturday morning cartoons in the 1970s— above: Hardin worked on a mural for the parking structure roof at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. below: Hardin gives a tour and drawing demonstration to kids at Nickelodeon. shows like The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Then a new wave of animation hit that really grabbed her attention: shows like Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and Voltron. Enthralled, she began redrawing what she saw on TV. Her parents noticed her sketches–skulls, guns, and robots. Her mom struck a deal with her. Whenever she drew one of those images, she'd also have to draw one of her mother's requests. This included landscapes and tractors, which helped her to expand her range. By the time Hardin was 11, she became fascinated with graffiti art. This led to an apprenticeship with street art pioneer Jeff "Doze" Green. She studied his technique and worked on several projects with him, an experience she calls both a master's in art and a master's in philosophy because of his belief that art is influenced by a person's perception of the world. When Hardin was only 19, she was invited to work with the art department at Roger Corman's studio in Venice Beach. She recalls being asked to draw a futuristic submarine-secret underground base-space station. She sketched on the spot, and the response was, "Great, let's build it!" Hardin was surprised to be asked for her artwork's dimensions, and amazed that her drawings were going to be built. This was a huge step for her development as a Model Designer. She learned technical drawing from the builders, who showed her how to turn her vision into a real-life, practical set. From Corman's studios Hardin moved to New Line Cinema, and then she serendipitously bumped into a high school friend who worked at Hanna-Barbera. This led to T H E C L I M B