Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4522
November 2009 42 gradually, you were doing better and doing more complex animations almost without realizing it," he says. After students posted their assignments, a designated mentor would record a video critique of the work, where the person scrubbed through the shot and explained what he or she liked and what he or she would change. "It is one of the best ways of learning I have ever come across," says Liobera. e students also had weekly meetings with their mentors via Webcam, where assignment questions and problems were addressed. "Sometimes the mentors even pulled up animation clips that inspired them, and would talk about them. is was always a lot of fun because you could feel the high energy of both the mentors and your fellow classmates. It was diffi cult not to learn in this atmosphere," Liobera maintains. Liobera looks back fondly on his men- tors, including Delio Tramontozzi from ILM, David Smith from Pixar (who Li- obera calls "the master of body mechan- ics"), Greg Kyle from Laika, Pixar's Victor Navone (who "did breathtaking animation demos"), and Brett Parker from Pixar. Pro: Part 5 Education: Part 4 and Counting Liobera graduated from Animation Men- tor in September 2006. While many of his classmates in the US were landing jobs, he was unable to do so because he had no work visa. So he kept busy with anima- tion projects and continued his studies. In March 2007, he discovered Blue Sky Stu- dios, when a former classmate, David Sloss, having gotten a position there, showed Liobera's reel to the animation team. ey liked it and contacted Liobera, who still did not have a work visa. Undeterred, Blue Sky hung in there, and after four months of paperwork and legalities, Liobera got the visa. "By the end of September 2007, I was offi cially a Blue Sky animator. Woo-hoo," Liobera recalls excitedly. When Liobera arrived at Blue Sky, the studio was in the last four months of pro- duction for Horton Hears a Who!, and he recalls being wowed at the animation be- ing done there. "I know about squash- and-stretch, but these guys were taking it to the next level," he says. "I was super excited about how much I could learn at this place." Seeing that it was crunch time, most of Liobera's shots in Horton were very "small"—one of his fi rst assignments was to make the speck of dust that fl ies around the title and into the jungle of Nool in the beginning of the fi lm, he recounts, with his endearing sense of humor coming through. Liobera also did some other, more chal- lenging shots, too. "I was fi nally doing feature animation, and everyone was supportive," Liobera says. "I remember learning so much just by talking to other animators about what they were doing." Next on Liobera's plate came Blue Sky's third Ice Age fi lm, released this past sum- mer. While the story was being worked out, he and the team did the Ice Age short "Surviving Sid," which enabled him to prove his skills and familiarize himself with the iconic characters. "I was animating Sid! How awesome was that?" he says, display- ing the type of enthusiasm for the craft that is usually reserved for newcomers, not those who have been around the block a few times over. For Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Li- Advice from a Former Student After enduring the many twists and turns that led Lluis Liobera to his dream of becoming a feature-fi lm animator, this dedicated artist never let his eyes off the ultimate prize. Here, he offers advice to those embarking on a career in the industry. • Be sure to choose animation because you love it, not because it is fancy or cool. "Even though it is the best job in the world, it is hard work, and there are many ups and downs," Liobera says. • Be willing to work long hours. In the heat of production, you will have to make sacrifi ces because you have to get the shots done in time. • Realize that it is a competitive industry—"a healthy competition," as Liobera puts it. • If you really love the industry, dedicate yourself to it. The more you learn and experiment, the more you'll appreciate it and enjoy it. • Practice makes perfect, and this is very true in animation. Never give up. Keep at it. • Continue to learn, using as many sources as you can. • Immerse yourself in as many animation-related disciplines as possible. Read about animation, but also about acting, psychology, story, art, and history. • Train your artistic and animation eye as much as possible, and refi ne your sense of entertainment. • And, experiment with everything you learn about. Each piece of anima- tion you do is a learning experience, always. "It's a long path, but the end result is really worth it," says Liobera. Education